Pen-pals and the Internet ... On making new friends

  

     One of the great things about the Internet is that it enables you to link up with folk around the world as quickly as if they lived in the same street as you, and also to make friends with many of them. Many years ago, when I was a young boy in my early school-days, it was a common practise to make friends via the Pen-pal schemes, and children wrote letters off to names on a list of children in other countries and then eagerly awaited a reply. Sure enough, after a week or two a response would come in the form of a letter with an exotic foreign stamp on the front, and a fledgling friendship was born. In many cases the letter-writing, particularly in the case of boys, would often gradually dwindle down to no more than a Christmas card perhaps containing a brief note, but more often than not the blossoming friendship ran its course in a relatively short time.

      However, in some cases --- and it has to be admitted that it was more often involving a pen-pal relationship between girls --- the friendships developed into much more than an exchange of letters and the odd photograph, and many deep and lasting friendships evolved as a result. Many of these lasted a lifetime, and many pen-pals ended up visiting each other on exchange visits or later, as adults, by taking their family on holiday visits. In this fashion the world became a slightly smaller and far more exciting place.

     I wonder whether the Pen-pal schemes still exist, in these days of e-mails and Internet connections such as Skype which enable you to speak face-to-face with people, albeit in virtual space. I decided to check it out and discovered that there are many such schemes in existence today, a typical one being that run by Double Joy Children's Farm, which is a home and school for children who have been orphaned by Aids in Kenya. You can learn more about it by clicking on the link. On their website, Double Joy comment: "Our children love getting letters from overseas. These letters make them feel valued and go some way toward making up for their losses. They are also of educational value providing a window into a very different culture, and improving their ability to read and write in English." What a blessing it is to all concerned to participate in a scheme which enriches their lives in such a meaningful and yet simple way. 
     In fact there are many schemes running today by which the lives of both children and adults can be enriched simply by communicating with each other. Why not check a few of them out by simply entering 'Pen-pal/Pen-friend schemes' into your search bar.
     I do a lot of my work on the Internet, and as a result I have made many good friends over the last few years, chatting to them either by 'phone or via Skype, and sharing general news about each other's lives. The world, vast as it is in reality, has become much more compact as a result. Although many of the friendships have been new ones, in some cases they have been renewed ones, linking up to people whom I have known in the past and where either I or they have located each other via the worldwide web. In all cases it has been rewarding.
     This week I have made contact with a friend of a friend, and the roots of friendship are just beginning to take hold in the ground. Jon Sheppard is a brilliant photographer, based in Colorado, and he and I 'met up' following comments passed by a mutual Zimbabwe-based friend. I now have the pleasure of getting emails with some great photos attached, and the possibility of meeting up some time in the future on one of my trips to the USA. Check out some of Jon's work for yourself by paying a visit to his website via this link. You can see an example of his work in the photo at the top of this post, and the following photograph whic is of his home area on a winter's night, a picture that I love for it's moodiness.