Sponsoring a child? 1 May 2012 at 9:36AM in Charities 29 replies 4.1K views

Ch1ckenlady

Hi all.

For a while now I've been considering sponsoring a child abroad.

I realise that it would be a long term commitment and in principle, would like to proceed and I see that there are a few charities who do this.

I am concerned however that the money would not benefit the child in full and may get siphoned off with costs, local troubles etc etc.

Does anyone have any advice to offer as to who is best to approach or has anyone done this - what was their experience?

Many thanks.

oldtoolie

You might be interested in this thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=767119&highlight=child+sponsorship

and this radio broadcast

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011pppf
A Child to Sponsor
Listen now (30 minutes)
Last broadcast on Fri, 10 Jun 2011, 11:00 on BBC Radio 4.
SYNOPSIS
Sponsoring a child in the developing world is a hugely popular form of giving. Millions of donors are linked with millions of children thousands of miles away. But this form of aid has often sparked controversy. Over the years, many of the large sponsorship charities have revised the way they operate their child sponsorship schemes. There are now two very different approaches - that of regular donations to an individual child versus giving sponsorship money to community development.

marywooyeah

What a lovely idea op. I sponsor a little girl in Rwanda through action aid, it's fifteen pounds a month and they are very upfront about how much goes to the child, if I remember it was about eleven or twelve pounds and I get letters from her periodically. You can choose to sponsor a boy or a girl and choose the locality but I opted for them to choose the child, I feel an extra special connection as out of all of the children in the world I got her
If I were you I'd have a look on their website or phone to speak to someone for some info, thee are a few charities that offer sponsorship have a look round until you find one that feels right for you x

1jim

We sponsor a child in India for £10 through http://www.heal.co.uk/sponsor-a-child.html before opting for this charity I did a load of research and was amazed at how much other charities spend on pay etc. heal only have volunteer staff so no wages, all money goes to support the child etc. another thing some charities do is to ive you a "generic" child to sponsor, with heal you know who you are helping and can even send letters/ emails or presents to the child if you wish. I would thoroughly reccomend supporting a child this way

ska_lover

Ch1ckenlady wrote: »

Hi all.

For a while now I've been considering sponsoring a child abroad.

I realise that it would be a long term commitment and in principle, would like to proceed and I see that there are a few charities who do this.

I am concerned however that the money would not benefit the child in full and may get siphoned off with costs, local troubles etc etc.

Does anyone have any advice to offer as to who is best to approach or has anyone done this - what was their experience?

Many thanks.

Hi there,

For a few years I was sponsering a small girl in africa. Really enjoyed doing it and used to get the odd letter come through the charity from her mother teling me of her progress etc. The charity was a very well known one, and were happy to oblige in telling me where costs were apparently going, and I used to send presents to her

Unfortunately the small girl contracted Malaria and died.:(

To say I was stunned and devastated was an understatement. I was furious with the charity and rang them more than once.

Even typing this out is making me shake with anger tbh

All that sponser money and they didn't do such a basic thing as get her immunised from Malaria!!

In my experience, I would never do it again, as I am now left with an awful empty feeling that the good I thought I was doing, made little difference if any, to her short life. Heartbroken about it all.

purple.sarah

ska_lover wrote: »

Hi there,

For a few years I was sponsering a small girl in africa. Really enjoyed doing it and used to get the odd letter come through the charity from her mother teling me of her progress etc. The charity was a very well known one, and were happy to oblige in telling me where costs were apparently going, and I used to send presents to her

Unfortunately the small girl contracted Malaria and died.:(

To say I was stunned and devastated was an understatement. I was furious with the charity and rang them more than once.

Even typing this out is making me shake with anger tbh

All that sponser money and they didn't do such a basic thing as get her immunised from Malaria!!

In my experience, I would never do it again, as I am now left with an awful empty feeling that the good I thought I was doing, made little difference if any, to her short life. Heartbroken about it all.

Getting immunised against Malaria is not a basic thing. "Malaria vaccines are an area of intensive research. However, there is no effective vaccine that has been introduced into clinical practice."- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria_vaccine

I'm sorry to hear the child you were sponsoring died but it wasn't the charity's fault for not vaccinating, as there is no Malaria vaccine.

faerie~spangles

Do some research and sponsor a child / young adult who is living in poverty here in the UK.

purple.sarah

faerie~spangles wrote: »

Do some research and sponsor a child / young adult who is living in poverty here in the UK.

Isn't that in effect what people are doing when they pay the taxes that help pay for their free schooling, free medical care and any benefits their parents receive? In some other countries they don't have that support so child sponsorship could be the only chance they have of going to school, for example.

There are great children's charities to donate to in this country but that is not mutually exclusive to donating to children's charities in other countries. They are all children who need help. Are their lives less important if they are of a different nationality?

rosalie-lavender

I have been sponsoring a child for over 30 years. It has definitely enriched my life and has been very good for my children to see that not all other children are as lucky as they are.

I am currently sponsoring my third child. The previous two have grown up and left the programme. It puts life into a bit of perspective when you get a thank you letter for a Christmas gift and they are thrilled to have shared a chicken for a special family meal. One year I had a photo of my boy with a football he had bought with a birthday gift. How many children in this country would be so thrilled with a football? I listen to the list of things that the children I work with have every year and a football to them is nothing, evidenced by the poor way they treat the school equipment!

I will sponsor a child as long as I am able to.

cracklepop

purple.sarah wrote: »

Getting immunised against Malaria is not a basic thing. "Malaria vaccines are an area of intensive research. However, there is no effective vaccine that has been introduced into clinical practice."-
I'm sorry to hear the child you were sponsoring died but it wasn't the charity's fault for not vaccinating, as there is no Malaria vaccine.

Very true. A few years ago I was in Malawi and taking every possible precaution again malaria (the most up to date advice on anti-malaria tablets, covering up at dusk, Deet Insect Repellent etc.) and I still managed to get Cerebral malaria which is the most serious / life threatening form of malaria. Even with a very good tour guide with lots of medicine and access to excellent doctors it was touch and go. A child in a rural community with limited access to doctors and medicines would have had little chance. Very sad, but you really shouldn't blame the charity or feel angry about the situation.

This is one of the reasons charities make such a big deal about mosquito nets.

Anyway, back to the OP. I've sponsored children for about 10 years now. In my case it's more a community project with the money going to support development projects that will improve the child's life. Personally, I see this as a much better use of the money, but that's my opinion. It's a lovely thing to do either way.

ska_lover

Oh please stop turning this thread into a 'lets prove ska lover wrong' thread. Ok, you have proved me wrong with your research, I still feel they should have provided some help - they didn't - they took my money and little good came of it.

I was heart broken over it. But I am glad that complete strangers can get some kind of satisfaction by repeatedly telling me I am wrong, and I shouldn't feel how I feel.