There are so many options when it comes to searching for the best child sponsorship program to support. Here are three things to look for when getting involved in an organization:
• Impact
• Transparency
• Connection
What type of needs are met with the sponsorship program?
Child sponsorship has the power to raise up a child in poverty to reach dreams that are seemingly impossible. These programs have the potential to change the trajectory of a child’s future from something painful to something beautiful.
It’s important to make sure you support a sponsorship program that best aligns with your values. Ask yourself what needs you would like to help meet for a child. Next, find out if those needs are being met by the organization.
You can sponsor a child today by clicking here.
One of our sponsorship coordinators enjoys seeing the difference you can see in a child after they’ve been with in the ministry for a while.
“We get the intake photos, and you can tell they haven’t been eating well,” she says. “Then the next year, there are a lot of times they are smiling. You can tell they look healthier.”
We offer three different types of sponsorship: village partnership, family-style children’s homes, and university/vocational program.
Some of the things this covers are tuition, food, clean water, medical care, and spiritual discipleship. Needs vary by program, but it’s important to note that sponsorship allows all of the children’s physical, educational, social, and spiritual needs to be met.
You can read more about the cost breakdown of each of these options here.
Can you connect with the child you’re sponsoring?
Keeping up with the child you’re sponsoring is part of the joy that comes with sponsorship programs. Make sure to check and see if the program offers ways of communicating with your sponsored child. Many organizations encourage letter writing which can be a fun way to get your kids involved and form a relationship with the child you sponsor.
There are guidelines for writing letters to children in our sponsorship program. This allows for a healthy relationship to grow between sponsors and children. It’s also a tangible way for you and your family to stay connected to the child you sponsor.
Sometimes, sponsors even have the chance to meet their sponsored child after years of exchanging letters. Check out this story of sponsors meeting their sponsored child after 18 years of support and writing letters to each other!
What about the children who don’t have sponsors?
The best child sponsorship programs offer benefits to more than just the sponsored children. It is inclusive to all children in their care.
Here’s how it works with our program: the gift of sponsoring a child goes into a sponsorship fund that directly benefits the child you sponsor. It also benefits children who don’t have sponsors just yet. As more sponsors get involved, more children can be brought into our programs.
The great part about this model is that children who are not sponsored can be taken care of and have the same opportunities as those who have a sponsor. This means your gift goes further and makes a greater impact for children in need.
Trust and honesty are important for any child sponsorship program to succeed. That’s why we have worked hard to receive the highest ranking for accountability and transparency from Charity Navigator for 10 years in a row. You can read our profile and history of transparency on Charity Navigator here.
The impact of sponsoring a child
Take a story like Ngadie’s.
As a young girl growing up in Sierra Leone, she lost both her parents and went to live with her grandmother. With two other children in the home, her grandmother struggled to get one meal each day for them.
Even though her grandmother did everything she could to provide for Ngadie, she couldn’t afford school fees. There were many times that Ngadie remembers being taken out of class and sent home because she had not paid her fees.
Then, everything changed.
“I became a part of Children of the Nations and I received food, clothes, shelter, education, and people who took care of me,” Ngadie says.
“Because of my sponsors, education became an option again.”
With the generous support of her sponsors and her commitment to education, she received a degree in Christian ministry, a bachelor’s in guidance and counseling, and she is now pursuing a master’s in counseling psychology.
After receiving her degree, she will provide services to children in Sierra Leone who were at the same place she was all those years ago.
Ngadie’s story is incredible and moving, and the exciting part is that it is not unique to children in the sponsorship program.
George founded a nonprofit to support children in need. Luisa is a teacher at the very same school she grew up going to. Grace is a business owner. Antonio is a doctor and hospital director.
And all of this means one thing: they are changing the futures of their communities.
Each of these stories would not have been possible without sponsorship. That’s the piece of the puzzle that can make a child like Ngadie grow up to be a leader who is striving after her dream of helping others.
There is a long-term impact of sponsoring a child. It’s an opportunity for you to be a part of a team that is transforming futures and lives.
“My life could have turned out so differently,” says Ngadie. “There are still so many young women in Sierra Leone who cannot afford an education. They struggle with abusive marriages, teen pregnancy, poverty, and disease.”
There are so many other children who are following in Ngadie’s footsteps. Will you be a part of helping them get there?
Engaging in a child sponsorship program is a way to stand up against global poverty. When you sponsor a child with us, you play a crucial role in developing a child to be all who they were created to be. You get to watch as the child grows into a capable adult making their dream a reality!
Join a team of people just like you who believe in the future of a child. Learn more about sponsoring a child today!