Omlet Smart Autodoor - New in box

[Redwing]

I'm quite interested in sponsoring a child, does anyone have experience of this please?

 

There seem to be a few charities I can do this through, I dont mind the cost which seems to be around £15-17 a month but I'd like to be sure the money actually benefits the child and I know some charities are better than others when it comes to the amount that ends up actually with the 'good cause' I am not sure which charity would be best

 

I know it sounds terrible but I also really dont want constant requests for more money when I used to donate monthly to one well known animal charity they used to bombard me constantly with sob story requests which made me feel like I wasnt doing enough for them already

[Snowy]

My friend does this - i'll ask her which charity it is through as she is very astute and I'm sure she will have researched this beforehand!

[Busybird]

I sponsored a child through Actionaid from she was about 6yrs old to when she left the village to find work.

 

Actionaid uses the money to fund projects in the village that will directly benefit the child but also the community. They are keen on training locals to do what needs to be done rather than bringing in outsiders so, for instance, they provided the materials to improve infrastructure and expert advice but the villagers did the construction.

 

I got regular photographs of my child and drawings, then written messages from her. Actionaid advises on the sort of things that sponsors can send the child so I would send her postcards showing the area I live in and photographs of my family. I was not allowed to send her gifts or money directly and she did not have my personal details. All contact was through Actionaid.

 

When she left the village I was asked if I wished to sponsor another child or if I would be willing to donate to a fund that provides continuing help to her village rather than aimed at an individual. As I felt I had got to know her village a little I now support that.

 

I do get requests from Actionaid for more money - generally when they were trying to provide disaster relief. We support a number of charities and I always get my husband to open letters we get from any of them and just pass me updates.

[Space Chick]

I used to sponsor a little girl in Uganda through a Christian charity. I sponsored her from when she was 6 until she was 14. Then one day out of the blue, I got a letter saying that they had given "my" child to an American business man, so I was no longer sponsoring her, and they would re-allocate me another child.

 

I wrote to them saying, that I wanted to continue to sponsor my child, and couldn't understand why she had been taken away from me. I was told that she would need more money as she got older, and this American businessman had gone to the village and had met this child and wanted to sponsor her. I wrote back again saying they could have contacted me for more money for her (which I would have given, as I committed myself to this child) and that my father had been to the village and had met the girl I sponsored (which was one of the reasons why I started sponsoring her, as her story was particularly heartbreaking - which I can't go into on a family forum)

 

I was basically told tough, that she wasn't going to be my child anymore.

 

So I wrote back and said that I would not like to sponsor another child, and I haven't.

 

It may sound stupid, but I felt a connection to this little girl, she would send me letters, I would get copies of her school reports, I had seen her progress. Also when our local church would go and visit the village every year, I would send additional money so they could buy her supplies eg. a mattress of her own , extra school books, even a football. The whole thing really upset me.

 

I still give to 3rd world charities, as I feel it is my duty having had the good fortune to have been born into an affluent society where I have food to eat and a roof over my head, however I will only donate "impersonal" things now, like money towards a new well etc.

 

Sorry if this has put you off Tasha however, I thought you should see all sides.

[Jules.]

We have sponsored a little girl called Veronica for the past 4 years through

 

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

 

She's 11 now.

 

We use the money from our egg sales ( 25p an egg) to send her extra money each year as a gift for her family, usually about £70, & also we send her £15 at Christmas & her birthday time.

 

I was talking to my dad whilst we were on holiday last week about priorities, & I am ashamed to say that I spend more on my contact lenses ( £25 each month) than I do on our sponsorship of Veronica

[Willow]

I sponsor a child through Worldvision and whilst they do spend letters requesting extra funds it's not bad compared to other charities I have and still support. I used to support a wider range of charities but some started sending me letters with my bank details already printed on for me to complete which made me really as could easily have put that into paper recycling without realising.

 

I had hoped my boys would write to the boy but he doesn't speak/read English and their French wasn't up to communicating that way either. So doing it again I'd probably opt for an English speaker as it would be possible to have a more personal connection. We get an annual update.

[BeckyBoo]

Yes, we used World vision, we sponsored a child in Bolivia called Virgina from when she was about 5 for three eyars, then I couldn't afford it anymore and I felt awful having to give it up. She used to send us pictures and letters which they translated so we'd get the original and the translation. My favourite ever was when she drew round her hand, the photos were amazing. When I can afford it I'll do it again through them, you got some "crisis - need more money" letters but I put them in the bin as I couldn't give more and it was fine.

 

it's a fantastic thing to do, there are so many needy children living in needy communities

 

BeckyBoo

[Chucky Mama]

We sponsor a little girl called Charifatou from Niger via World Vision. We have sponsored her since she was 4 (now 9) and will continue until she is 16. World Vision send us birthday & Christmas cards to fill in and send to her and send us regular photos and updates. We send her a parcel of toys, clothes, sweets etc direct to Niger every Christmas - always small cheap gifts (that she can share with her family or communtity) as we are told that expensive parcels can 'go missing'. So far she has referred to each parcel in updates so they have got through.World Vision tend only to send up donation request if there is a disaster like the recent earthquakes etc. we don't feel pressured by them.

[Olly]

I began sponsoring a child in Kenya some years ago. When I started, you were given the name of a child and you got a school report, photos and usually a card at Christmas or Easter drawn by the child. A few years ago, the charity changed its method of working, and instead of sponsoring a particular child, you now get a general report and no individual update. I have to say that although I've continued with the standing order, I feel much less committed to the sponsorship now. I always knew that the money went to the community, not to one particular child, but I enjoyed the feeling of personal contact. I think it's probably significant to say that I can't remember which charity it is - I just pay the standing order now, but I'm much less interested in their work.

 

I haven't used any of the other sponsorship organisations but it's worth considering that sponsoring one child in a poor area isn't always the best solution - sometimes a new well, new latrines, uniforms or desks for the school is actually more beneficial than giving just one child an education and possibly dividing them from their peers. I've always assumed that most of these charities support community projects focused around the school, and I think that's right, but I did like getting the photos and reports.

 

There's a useful website here which compares different sponsorship charities.

 

I did it because I believe that educating children in poorer countries is absolutely essential for the future of the world - it's no good providing food, if the country cannot produce new farmers, nurses, doctors, teachers and leaders. In Africa in particular, a girl who finishes primary school education is much more likely to get work, and to avoid HIV/AIDS infection, and to bring up healthy children.

 

Most sponsorship schemes are around £15 a month. I spend more than that buying coffee

[whoopsie]

I have a sponsored 'daughter' called Rabeya through World Vision and it is wonderful. I love to get her letters and pictures, and learn about how she is developing. I even get her school report! The best thing for me though is that I know without sponsorship she would not be able to go to school at all. She has a hard life and her parents are very poor, but knowing that I can do something for her gives a lift to my day. It's not expensive but i definately think it's worth every penny.

[Aunty e]

Wretched forum ate my message!!!!

 

We sponsor a child through Plan International, they don't contact us by phone to ask for more money, but do send the occasional letter with special campaigns. Our first child is nineteen and we can't sponsor her anymore, but we sponsor another child, who I don't feel quite as connected to as Eless, but probably because it's only been a year or so.

 

I'm going to sponsor a child on Mog's behalf, but haven't quite gotten around to it yet. I know what you mean about pushy charities though, a certain charity for the blind will not elave me alone. I'm so glad we changed our number when we moved, it's been brilliant not having anyone call!

[docsquid]

I sponsor two children - an older lad in India who I have sponsored for almost 10 years now, and I have agreed to continue so he can go to secondary school and get the qualifications to become a policeman, which he wants to do. I also sponsor a little girl in Burma. This is through World Vision.

 

I get regular updates and reports, not just on the children themselves, but also on the community projects that are funded. The projects are managed and run by local people, so they are not imposed from outside. I send Christmas and Birthday cards to each, and get updates at Christmas, and at other times of the year too.

 

I write and send little things to the lad in India, but can't do any enclosures for the little girl in Burma because of policital restrictions in her country, and I hope one day I will be able to send her more pictures and communicate a bit better.

 

I think World Vision are good - they give you the opportunity to help other people when you send cards to your sponsored children, but it is not compulsory. They also put out appeals when there are major disasters, such as in Haiti, as they often already have workers on the ground there.

 

Also, not forgetting the elderly, I sponsor a Grandparent through Help-the-Aged in the Philippines, via a day and residential centre for the elderly.

 

I will definitely take on another child once the lad in India leaves school. He looks so much more healthy than when I first came across him, and it is a delight that he is now writing to me in English.