Looking to know more about supporting a child? Find the answer to your question below. Didn't answer your question? Contact our friendly team members on 1300 789 991 or [email protected].
Your sponsorship supports projects run by our Christian partners. These projects help children learn to break down the barriers of poverty – not just for your sponsored child, but for their friends and family too! Children and families together learn skills to increase their income, build confidence and take control of their future.
The projects encourage children to be part of the solution to poverty. When children choose to become involved with the project, they learn to drive change in their own community. Their special connection with a sponsor in Australia is a chance for them to share their story as they learn and grow.
Some of the activities include:
All these initiatives, and more, provide children with opportunities for a future free from poverty.
As of 3 July 2023, the price of Sponsorship is $52/month.
For our existing Sponsors, monthly contributions will be increasing to $52/month from 3 October 2023.
For $52/month you’ll be supporting a child or young person, their family and their community to address challenges specific to them. Your monthly gift will support child-led projects run by our Christian partners – helping children and young people raise their villages and lead them into a future free from extreme poverty.
For just $12 more each month, you can pick up a ‘Sponsorship & More’ at $64 to contribute to additional project activities that protect the most vulnerable children in Child Sponsorship communities.
We know that our program has worked when we can hand a project over to the community leaders. As communities take over the management of their own projects, our child sponsorship program moves into new locations. Each project lasts around 10 years.
When you support a child, they may be at the beginning, middle or end of their project’s cycle. Your child sponsorship reports will tell you the current phase of the project.
When the project has been successful, it looks like this:
All the children in the community go to school every day. They have enough healthy food to eat, and so do their families. They speak out on issues that concern them and take responsibility for their own future. Their families have enough income to afford school fees, food and health care as well as extra money to cope in emergencies. And the community leadership protects children, advocates for further change, and takes responsibility for their own development.
If you would like to learn more about child sponsorship graduations, go to our Graduations page.
That’s one of the great things about our child sponsorship program – it’s designed not just for the child you support, but for all the children in the community to benefit. So, when you choose to become a Child Sponsor, you’re actually choosing to support a whole community of children. And we can help you choose if you can’t decide.
We don’t! The communities themselves select children as representatives of the program. These children become leaders in their community and play an important role in communicating the changes that are happening. Each child is linked with only one child sponsor.
A child doesn’t have to be sponsored to be part of the program. And sponsored children do not receive special treatment. Rather, our project activities are designed to address the root causes of child poverty, working with the entire community. This approach means that the community becomes a better place for all children, not just those who are sponsored.
The program is offered with a “no strings attached” policy. This means that communities can be part of the program regardless of race, politics or religion and there are no conditions placed on the community to conform to any culture, politics or religion.
We publish reports every year to show the total amount Baptist World Aid spends on projects overseas. See our Annual Reports for the complete picture.
VERY EFFECTIVE! Your generous sponsorship supports development work that will not only benefit your sponsored child… but also their friends, family, and whole community! And life-skills for children, income generation for families, and safer, flourishing communities translate to lasting change for generations to come.
But you don’t have to take our word for it alone . . . Sima is a little girl who lives in one of our project communities in Nepal. Read her story to find out just how effective your Child Sponsorship can be! Read what she had to say.
The short answer is inflation.
In many places around the world, the cost of food and fuel has been rising for the last two years. These increasing costs, combined with the impact of COVID, conflict and environmental crises are having a devastating effect on communities already vulnerable due to poverty.
Costs have increased across every aspect of the work we do—here in Australia; in the offices of our Christian Partners; and within the communities they serve.
To continue working alongside our Partners under these challenging economic conditions, we need to increase the funding flowing through our Child Sponsorship program by raising the ‘price’/increasing the monthly cost of being a Sponsor.
As always, we don’t want to be content to simply continue at the ‘same capacity’ but want to grow our reach to impact more communities. COVID and global inflation threaten to push more people into extreme poverty over the next few years—struggling to survive on less than AU$2/day.
The effects of inflation on families living in poverty are devastating:
The COVID school closures of 2020/2021 impacted the economic and employment prospects of young people and hampered the educational development of children who’ve lost two years of education.
The World Bank reports that, for economies still destabilised by the pandemic, these inflationary pressures could not have come at a worse time.
Different organisations run different programs and despite the similarity in name, Child Sponsorship doesn’t always equate to the same thing on the ground.
Our Child Sponsorship program is grounded in best practice models of development, accredited by the Australian Government, and independently recognised as a leading approach to Child and Youth programing across the sector. We can’t speak to what peer organisations do, but our Partners do exceptional work with the funding provided by our generous and faithful Child Sponsors.
We’re committed to providing ongoing support to our Partners and the communities they serve and recognise that, in the current climate, that requires greater funding. Especially as we want them to grow their reach and expand their impact.
Baptist World Aid is changing the way we share information regarding all our Child Partners, removing their specific date of birth. This is to protect each child’s identity but to also align with our current communication policy. e.g. Martha born June 2008 (instead of Martha born 8th June 2008).
As a child-safe organisation we are proud to have been able to implement this adjustment and continue to protect the identities of the Child Partners we’re honoured to work with.
We’re so sorry to hear that! We understand that circumstances change and that continuing your support may no longer be possible. We also know that some supporters feel like cancelling is their only option, even though it isn’t their first choice. If you’re not sure that you can continue your sponsorship, please give us a call – we’ll be happy to talk through some options with you and, if cancellation is best, we will be happy to find your sponsored child a new sponsor as quickly as possible.
However, because we have a community approach, children can still be part of our programs… even when they don’t have a sponsor. So, if you do have to cancel, please don’t worry – your sponsored child’s involvement with the program will not be affected.
We know that there are many Child Sponsorship programs for you to choose from… and that making a decision about which organisation to support can be tough!
When you choose to sponsor a child through Baptist World Aid, you can be confident that your generous, monthly donation will not only help your sponsored child to break free from poverty, it will also be used to make sure that his or her parents have the skills needed to grow their income and support every single one of their children… well into the future. And that means lasting change for not only a whole family, but for communities and nations too!
As a Child Sponsor you will receive photos, letters and information about the child you sponsor. You will also receive information about your sponsored child’s community and the project you are supporting.
In many countries where we operate, Christians are a minority and children are often from non-Christian families or other faiths. Our Christian partners show Jesus’ love in practical ways, building relationships and trust within the community and reflecting the good works of Christ. We support great development work and this strengthens the reputation of local churches as they share the good news of Jesus.
Communities can be part of the program regardless of race, politics or religion, and there are no conditions placed on the community to conform to any culture, politics or religion to participate in the program activities.
Please do not attempt to contact your current or previously sponsored child through Facebook, email, or any other media. If your sponsored child contacts you, please do not respond to their message or friend request and notify Baptist World Aid immediately. This requirement is in the best interest and safety of both yourself and your sponsored child.
There are a great many children who live in poverty around our world. And any one of them is deserving of your love and support.
When you sponsor a child through Baptist World Aid, you can be assured that each of our Child Sponsorship projects have been carefully – and prayerfully – considered. We choose to work in communities where there is great need… and where we are confident that your generous support can be used to make great impact.
You are welcome to write to your sponsored child whenever you like! However, to lower our administration costs, we send your letters overseas three times a year. Please make sure your mail reaches us by the following deadlines: 28 February; 30 June; and 31 October. The October deadline is best for Christmas greetings!
Please send your physical letters to:
Baptist World Aid Australia
Locked Bag 2200
North Ryde, NSW, 1670.
You can also write to your sponsored child online, by signing into (or creating) your supporter account.
We don’t facilitate visits to children in the program. In the interest of child safety, it is our policy not to disclose the location of the children in the program. Greater interaction between you and the child you sponsor is, instead, encouraged through letter writing and the inclusion of personal photographs. Occasionally, we may facilitate trips to our other overseas projects where you can see the nature of our work. If you are interested in an opportunity like this, please contact our office for more details.
Of course! Additional donations are always welcome!
There are a few ways that you can give extra support to children:
Regular giving: Sponsorship & MORE
Too many children are denied their childhood. So, as well as investing in the child you sponsor, you’ll invest in projects that address specific child protection issues like trafficking, child labour and child marriage. You’ll do even more to ensure children can dream and grow, safe from the impact of poverty. This vital work is funded through our Vulnerable Children Fund.
Regular giving: Better World Ambassador
Supporting where it’s needed most including addressing child protection issues like trafficking, child labour and child marriage.
One off gifts to the Vulnerable Children Fund
Supporting projects that address specific child protection issues like trafficking, child labour and child marriage.
When you register on this website you can easily manage your account, including:
Yes! We are now able to send physical letters to and from children again, following a temporary pause on the international postage of mail. Please send your physical letters to:
Baptist World Aid Australia
Locked Bag 2200
North Ryde, NSW, 1670
If you’d prefer digital, you can still choose to send a Message of Hope to your sponsored child electronically by logging into your MyAccount online.
Our capacity for contact in the field is still more limited than usual, with restrictions varying in each country. Please expect delays in receiving regular letters and progress reports from your sponsored child, and in your letters being delivered to your sponsored child.
At Baptist World Aid we want your generous support to have the most impact it can. That’s why we focus especially on children, working with them to transform communities into safe places where they are loved, nurtured and heard.
When you sponsor a child you help them break down barriers of poverty – for themselves, and their whole community. That means not only can the child you sponsor go to school with a full stomach, or access healthcare when they need it, but their friends and family can too.
We know that local people are best placed to overcome local poverty – that’s why we partner with local Christian organisations in overseas communities who, just like you, are driven by the example set by Jesus Christ – to love, because He first loved us.
Support a child as they transform their community. Become a child sponsor today.
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