How Can I Sponsor a Kid In Africa?

It does not take much to sponsor a kid in Africa or Asia and change a life forever. According to UNICEF, children are more likely to live in poverty than adults, and they’re more vulnerable to its effects.[1] Millions of these children grow up lacking the food, sanitation, shelter, healthcare and education they need to survive and thrive. As they grow, these kids suffer from their poor living standards, develop fewer skills for the workplace and consequently earn lower wages as adults.[2]

Sponsorship helps free children from this cycle of poverty.[3] Take, for instance, Rondale. He often skipped school to hang out with his friends. His parents weren’t educated, so he didn’t feel he needed to be either. Rondale really just wanted to help his father on the farm and stay with his parents; neither goal required an education. His parents had enrolled Rondale’s little sister in GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program, and she was flourishing. She received hygiene supplies, meals, proper clothes and other essentials. She received academic support and moral lessons, so she conducted herself well. Rondale’s parents wanted the same for him. They knew education was the key to escaping poverty, so they wanted him to do well with his studies and thrive in the future.

So, his parents decided to enroll Rondale in the Child Sponsorship Program as well. A new chapter in his life began, changing his daily habits and lifestyle. He got involved in different activities in the program and started to focus more on his studies, spending more time learning than goofing off. Rondale’s attitude also changed. He began treating his parents, teachers and other adults with respect. Rondale and his sister eventually graduated from the program. She went to university and later met and married a government employee. Rondale trained to be an auto mechanic. He supports his parents by working in a car shop and helping his father with farming. Without the guidance and molding of the program, Rondale would probably be much different—maybe an alcoholic—but he now leads a more stable life.[4]


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