Child Sponsorship: Meeting the Needs of Children

Articles:

Tuesday, 11 May 2010 19:21

By Heidi Pronk

The individual child sponsorship program provides a wonderful opportunity for an individual or family in North America to make a personal connection with a child living in difficult circumstances in the developing world. Through pictures and correspondence, it is possible to engage in a relationship and specific prayer for a child while at the same time helping to ensure that basic needs are met.

The child sponsorship program is active in a number of different countries and regions of the world; however, because there is so much diversity from one country to the next, there needs to be some flexibility in the sponsorship program. To cite a few examples, the organizational capacity of our partners in the developing world differs, the level of local resources at their disposal varies, and the needs of families in the communities being served are often unique. We determine appropriate responses after the partner ensures that duplicate services are not offered by the government, the community or other aid agencies. To allow our partners the flexibility to better tailor the sponsorship program to the needs and resources of their respective communities, we are making some modifications to the child sponsorship program.
The program will still consist of several primary components. The first of those is biblical teaching with a minimum requirement of time equal to or greater than one half day of instruction per week. In some countries, the child might receive that through full-time attendance at a Christian school, in others it might come in the form of regular after-school Bible classes. But in all cases, biblical instruction will remain central to the sponsorship program. In addition, education will continue to be a core feature. It is not feasible to establish a stand-alone Christian school in every area. Where that is not possible, there will be a minimum requirement of participation in a public school system with bible classes and tutoring offered after school.
The third main component of the sponsorship program will continue to be nutrition. The partner will either offer hot meals at a central location to feed the children, or they will provide food and work closely with families to ensure that the children have a nutritionally balanced diet. Finally, the sponsorship program will continue to provide the possibility for correspondence between child and donor. As a sponsor, you will receive a photo and at least two items of correspondence per year with the opportunity to write to your sponsor child.
While the above components will be characteristics of the sponsorship program in every region, there are additional services that may be offered in some areas, depending on available resources and partner capacity. A minimum of two of the following elements will be provided in addition to those core features mentioned above:
Clothing. Provide beneficiaries of the program with a school uniform or equivalent. Other inputs may include blankets, mosquito nets, school supplies and additional clothing depending upon the need.
Medical Care. Provide basic medical attention for the recipients in the program.
Dental Care. In a few cases, primary dental services are available as needed to children in the sponsorship program.
Nutrition. Nutritional counseling, hygiene instruction and provision of protein sources may be added to the basic nutrition requirements.
Family services. Provide biblical instruction and counseling for the caregivers or parents of the recipients. Where possible, the needs of the family may be assessed and additional inputs could include garden seeds, fertilizer, hoes, and vocational or agricultural training to qualifying families.
Emergency assistance. In a crisis situation caused by loss of employment, illness, death or natural disaster, the sponsorship program may be used as a vehicle to identify and meet the specific emergency needs of a family on a short-term basis.
The needs of those in the developing world are as unique as the human beings God has created. We trust our partners in the developing world to ensure that the work done through the child sponsorship program is responsive and appropriate. May God bless their efforts and may many children be brought to salvation in Jesus Christ through the child sponsorship program.

Heidi Pronk is the executive director of Word & Deed in the United States.