How Does Sponsoring a Child Help?
Many charitable organizations work with children around the world to provide them with food, clean water, medicine, educational materials, and other living necessities. If you're looking into charities to find one to support, consider sponsoring a child. Organizations that focus on helping children help in many different ways.
1. You're Giving Them Better Health Care Access
Most child sponsorship charities make health care a priority. Many children living in the developed world don't have access to regular health care, immunizations, or basic medicine. As part of the financial gift you give your sponsored child, your child and others in their community may get access to the medical treatment they wouldn't otherwise have.
In many developing countries, children need vitamins and other basic medications to keep them healthy. Charitable organizations often buy sponsored children Vitamin A supplements to prevent Vitamin A deficiency, which can lead to blindness. Other common medical items for sponsored children are vaccinations for potentially deadly diseases like measles, deworming medications to fight parasites, and zinc supplements to help children suffering from diarrhea due to contaminated water.
2. You're Providing Nutrition and Water
Many children in the developing world who need sponsorship don't have regular access to healthy food and clean water. When you sponsor a child, some of the money you donate will go toward supporting your child and their family with food and clean water. Many charities focus on sustainability, so they may spend money on getting a water filtration system in place rather than purchasing bottled water or they might purchase livestock for a family or small community.
3. You're Supporting Their Education
Most sponsored children receive help related to their education as well. Funds can be spent purchasing school supplies and books, and some charities pay teachers or presenters. Giving a child access to a basic education gives them a chance to grow up literate, which can help them work to lift themselves out of poverty.
There are many child sponsorship charities to choose from. Many offer sponsors the ability to write to the child they're sponsoring, and some provide sponsors with pictures and other updates on their child's home and community. Child sponsorship charities usually have several different options for donating — some sponsors make regular monthly donations, while others give a one-time lump sum.
Contact different charities if you want to sponsor a child. You should compare your options before you make your choice by asking questions about how they use donations, what level of contact sponsors have with the children they sponsor, and any other concerns you have.