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About WorldShare's ChildAid sponsorships

ChildAid is WorldShare's child sponsorship arm and enables donors to support education of children in developing nations throughout the world. We work with a variety of schools, orphanages and other Christian organisations to break the cycle of poverty through education at primary and secondary level.

Our work began in the late 1940's, among the Opium addicts of Kowloon, Hong Kong. Spreading to first to Thailand, Burma and across South East Asia, ChildAid partners can be found in south-east Asia, India, west and southern Africa, central and southern America. Our newest ChildAid partnership is in Albania, Europe!

Sponsorship benefits the whole community as well as the sponsored children. It is part of the holistic approach of our partner ministries.

For example, Grace Christian School in South Africa provides a level of education which is praised by the Government for its high standards. It has expanded over 5 years from 40 pupils to 480 and continues to grow.

Local families are happy to pay a small fee. ChildAid sponsorship enables children orphaned by AIDS to attend the school.

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AIDS Orphans and other needy children sponsored at Grace Christian School, South Africa

Where does the money go?

Sponsorship money is sent to each ministry partner organisation and used for the benefit of all the children. Neither they nor their families receive money directly. It is always used by the ministry on their behalf.

This ensures that the children themselves benefit, and the money is not misused. Every effort is made to minimise costs, so maximising the effectiveness of donations.

Our ministry partners are visited periodically by experienced individuals to build up relations and ensure accountability.

We seek to assist as many children as possible in each community. Targeting funds to communities, rather than individuals, helps us to achieve this.

Sponsorship in action

All our partnerships are with indigenous ministries, but each ministry is different. WorldShare does not impose a predetermined model - we work with what God is doing through his local Church.

There are of course, some common patterns:

All sponsored children attend school, either a local government or a Christian one.
They are normally sponsored until they reach their country's school leaving age: by then we expect that they will have nationally recognised qualifications, either academic or vocational.
Children receive a nutritious hot meal daily - for some of them it will be the only food of the day.
Where appropriate, children are given a school uniform.
All children hear the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, through school or at after school clubs or Sunday School. Those who respond are nurtured in their new Christian faith.

Participation in the sponsorship scheme never depends on a profession of Christian faith by the child or his/her parents. Sponsorship is available to all children on the basis of need, regardless of age, faith, gender or ability; our sponsored children come from all faith backgrounds.

Some ministries provide medical treatment for their children. We are working with others in ministry development to see that all children receive basic medical care, e.g. immunisations, HIV/AIDS education and prevention.