%){kind=logo}
Child sponsorship
In Uganda, primary education is almost free... there are no school fees, but parents still have to pay for uniform, pencils, books, even toilet paper. This means many don’t bother and the kids stay at home... or scavenge on the nearest rubbish tip. Lots drop out from becoming orphaned or because their parents are just too poor. Our sponsorship package provides education at the Child of Hope school for the poorest children who want to get to school.
We step in wherever we can to provide sponsorship for children who want to get back to school. It costs just £10 per month – and that pays for some of the school’s running costs and staff wages, uniform, shoes, books, play equipment and resources. That’s amazing to think how far your money will stretch… it’s roughly the price of a newspaper each day in the UK. So... want to help?
Sponsors receive two or three letters a year from the child and at least one photograph every year - so you can stick it on the fridge and remember them! You can make it as personal as you like… some sponsors send letters and birthday presents… it’s up to you and we can offer advice on how to proceed.
Click here to download our sponsorship form
More information, if you’re interested!
While school attendance at the primary level is considered mandatory in Uganda, because everything except the teaching itself has to be paid for – books, uniforms, even toilet paper – the children of Namatala generally do not attend. Their parents, if they have any, simply do not have the money to pay for it.
Child of Hope established a free school for children of the poorest families in Namatala in 2008, expanding from 40 of the youngest children initially to nearly 200 by the end of 2011. This only scratches the surface of the need in Namatala; but it is a start, and by taking just one child from each family, more families are able to benefit. Of course it would be far better to take all the children, but with at least 6,000 in need the line has to be drawn somewhere. The faster Child of Hope can expand, the sooner more of these children can be helped.
How do we decide which children to take? Our welfare team is moving around the community every day and knows which families are really struggling. Long before we get to enrollment day, we already know which children we are going to take through the reports we’ve gathered over the previous year from our own staff. In addition, we work with the local authorities, elders, leaders and pastors to ensure a fair system and that the neediest kids are helped.
Sponsors are allocated a specific child and given a photo and details of the child and his/her circumstances. Children and sponsors are encouraged to write to each other via the Child of Hope offices, and should sponsors wish to send additional small gifts to their child these are very gratefully received. Copies of school reports are also distributed to sponsors.
Child of Hope is extremely grateful to all those who have partnered with them by joining the Child Sponsorship programme. By far the best means of doing this is by standing order; and for those who are tax-payers at the standard rate, gift-aiding the donation significantly increases the amount received at no extra cost to the sponsor. At the present time, all the UK Child of Hope workers are volunteers and the small amount of overheads are more than covered by the gift aid received back from the government. So we can guarantee that every penny of the monthly £10 paid by sponsors goes directly to Child of Hope in Uganda.
All the children are aware that a good education can provide them with the means to escape poverty when they grow up, and it is common to see them over an hour early for school every morning, waiting for it to open. Just £10 per month can bring hope and care for children who otherwise would be doomed to scavenge in rubbish dumps for food, or turn to begging on the streets or crime to survive. For less than the cost of a newspaper you could change a life from despair to hope... in partnership with Child of Hope!
Click here to download our sponsorship form
