Single hen

[bronze]

I want to sponsor a child as an add on present for ds1s birthday.

 

The US World vision site has this fab option that the UK site doesn't seem to have which is where you can pick the sex and birthday of the child you want to sponsor. I would love to be able to do it like that so I can pick a child who is exactly the same age as DS1 so it can help teach him how lucky he is to have his health and live in this country.

Does anyone know any other charities who do it this way?

[MadMitch]

Not sure about specific ages, I think world vision uk you can select a rough age, i.e under or over a certain age. I used to sponser through Action aid but you cant select an age with them.

[chelsea]

Have been also contemplating this for some time also Bron..

 

This site looks good....you can choose the country, sex and age (I think) also can send gifts if you want and some people even visit their child

 

http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/children-charity.htm

 

If you look in the "sponsorship directory" you can pinpoint the exact country you prefer/greatest need.

 

http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/sponsor-a-child/sponsorship-directory/

[Olly]

I started sponsoring a child some years ago, you could choose a boy or girl and I think education is particularly important for girls so I chose the latter. I used to get a Christmas card every year, and a photo and a sort of 'school report'. I always knew that the money I sent was used for the whole school, not just one child, but I liked getting the information about the child, and feeling that I was changing a life. Maybe that's an old-fashioned imperialist attitude, I don't know! it made it worth while for me anyway.

 

A couple of years ago they changed the set-up, so you are no longer sponsoring an individual child. I get a general 'report' on the community, and while I know the money is still going to a good cause, I don't feel the same excitement and interest that I did when I was sponsoring a named child. I'm thinking of moving the sponsorship to another charity, in fact, because I don't feel the commitment that I had before.

 

Sponsorship is a brilliant thing to do, however you do it, but I can see why it would be more appealing to choose a child of the same age and sex as your son, it would make him feel much more involved. Hope you can find a charity that will allow you to choose one.

[Jules.]

We sponsor a child through Compassion.

 

http://www.compassionuk.org/site/pages/ui_home.aspx

 

We have done so for over 3 years now. I have had a look & dates of birth are on there, & maybe if you contacted them they could search a DOB for you?

 

We get loads of letters, in those 3 years of sponsorship we have had nearly 30 letters & photos.

 

I sell my eggs, & the extra money from them goes to Veronica as a family gift every now & then

 

PM me if you would like any more info, but I can wholeheartedly recommend them.

[bronze]

I might try calling them Jules.

 

I just think it would be good for ds1 to see someone who is just like him yet doesn't have the advantages that he has.

[riane]

We sponsor a child with Plan international. It is very well organised and we receive regular letters and photographs. We send letters and pictures and feel very involved in his life and community.

http://www.plan-international.org/sponsorshipform/

[BeckyBoo]

Just to say we used to sponsor a little girl through World Vision, and it was really good. I picked a little girl who was roughly DD1's age for exactly the same reason, her name was Virginia and she lives in the high plateaus (sp?) of Bolivia. We had school and village reports and regular photos, we could send small gifts and (I thought the best bit) was that we also got handwritten letters from one of the workers in the village which were then translated for us, AND Virginia used to draw us pictures. The best one, she drew around her hand in pencil and sent it to us, Georgia used to put her hand against the picture and it was like they were holding hands.

Unfortunately, with everything, I've had to let the sponsorship go, it was £18 a month and I had to prioritise, but we did it for about 7 years I think, maybe less, as I had ALWAYS wanted to do it. And when I'm rich and famous, (or not so skint anyway ) it will be one of the first "non-essential" things I do again

 

BeckyBoo

[Janepie33]

I also sponsor through Plan International. I didn't get a choice about the child I sponsored, but trusted the organisation to place the money where it was most needed.

I used to sponsor a little boy in India, bt he grew up and went out to work and I now sponsor a girl in Nepal. We get letters and drawings from her and some photographs and an update on what the charity is doing in the area.

 

Any charity you chose to support would be highly delighted. I know some people also go and visit their sponsored child and form close bonds with the children they support.

 

Good luck in choosing your charity.