Timeline

FAQs

My donations

You can be confident that World Vision is an organisation that spends your money well. Overall, from the total income that we raise from a variety of sources (of which sponsorship is just one) in 2017 we spent 89p in every pound on charitable activities. This ranged from health, hygiene and sanitation through to education and campaigning efforts. The remaining portion of the money was used to raise more of these funds as efficiently as possible.

In 2017, across all our sponsorship programmes, sponsorship money in the communities where we work was spent in the following areas*:

 

All of these things improve the lives of children, including your sponsored child.

*Projects are categorised as a single sector, but a project often works in several sectors to achieve child well-being comprehensively. 

No, your donations don’t go directly to your sponsored child or their family. That's because experience has taught us that it’s more effective to use the money on projects that will benefit their whole community. So we invest in schools, clinics and other services to benefit all children, including your sponsored child.

We only run our sponsorship programme in countries where we have our own offices. This means we make sure we can fully account for all the money we receive. We have audited accounts that are publicly available at any time. As a charity, we’re regulated by the Charity Commission – a legal body, which oversees all UK charities and their activities. We’re a not-for-profit organisation, and we know that the continued support we receive from generous people like you is dependent on our efficient use of supporters’ money.

Our Annual Report is available to anyone who requests it, or you can view it online here »

How sponsorship works

You're the only sponsor of {child_name}. But sponsorship helps more than just {child_gender_himher} – your generosity extends to {child_gender_hisher} family, community and other children in need. The money you give each month will transform life in your {child_name}’s community by giving them clean water, nutritious food, healthcare, education and a way to earn a living – so that {child_gender_heshe} can enjoy a childhood free from need and full of promise. Meanwhile, the friendship you build together will bring {child_gender_himher} real hope and encouragement, helping {child_gender_himher} reach {child_gender_hisher} full potential.

We work with national governments and other international agencies to identify the communities that are most in need. We then meet with community leaders and the wider community to get a better understanding of their challenges, and together we develop a long-term plan to break the cycle of poverty. Find out more about how sponsorship works »

It’s the community members themselves who decide which children will become sponsored and represent their community. However, sponsorship brings much needed change to more than just the children who are sponsored — the benefits extend to each child's family, their community and other children in need. For every child you help, four more children benefit too, because of the way we work with communities.

Children can generally be sponsored up to the age of 18 (or 21 if they’re still in education or training). However, this depends on the project and child’s circumstances. Depending on the age of the child, many people sponsor the same child for over ten years, until they reach adulthood or leave school, which can be at different ages depending on where they live. But it also depends on how long we’ve already been working in the community when you start sponsoring – if we’ve already been there a while, your sponsorship of that child might not be as long.

Once your child’s community can stand on its own feet and we’re ready to move on, or if your sponsored child leaves the sponsorship programme for any reason, we’ll let you know and we’ll give you the opportunity to sponsor another child.

There are many reasons why children might leave the sponsorship programme – for example they might move out of the area with their family. Unfortunately, if this happens it means you’ll no longer be able to sponsor your child. We know that saying goodbye isn’t always easy, so if your child leaves the sponsorship programme for any reason, we’ll contact you to let you know. We’ll also give you the opportunity to sponsor another child if you wish.

We work in communities for around fifteen years – sometimes even longer. During this time we’re able to transform the lives of your sponsored child and other vulnerable children. With clean water, healthcare, food and an education, children become healthier and happier, with greater hope for the future. And their communities become better able to cope with whatever challenges come their way after we leave.

Last year, three of our projects came to a close and this was a real cause for celebration. It meant that, thanks to sponsors like you, more than 110,000 lives were changed for the better.

When we leave a community, we invite sponsors to sponsor another vulnerable child. To find out how long we’ve been working in your child’s community, and when we’re planning to leave, visit the ‘More about my community’ page from your child's timeline.

In all our work, World Vision listens to and engages with children to make sure that everything we do addresses the specific challenges they face. As well as making sure that our work is as beneficial as possible, working with children in this way also builds their confidence and helps with their development as they learn to speak out and play an active role in shaping the future of their community.

My sponsored child

There’s loads to discover about {child_name} and {child_gender_hisher} community ({child_community} in {child_country}) on My Sponsorship. Visit the ‘More about me’ page to find out more about {child_gender_himher} and {child_gender_hisher} family. Go to the ‘More about my community’ page (from the timeline) to find out about where {child_gender_heshe} lives in {child_community}. And look out for updates and videos on your timeline to see the difference your ongoing support is making. You’ll also hear about {child_gender_himher} regularly by post and email (if you don’t get emails from us and you’d like to, please call us on 01908 841010).

Every year you’ll get an update directly from {child_community}, but another great way you can get to know {child_name} better is to write to {child_gender_himher}. You can do this quickly and easily on My Sponsorship. Simply click here to choose a bright, colourful template, add your message and attach any photos you’d like to share with {child_gender_himher}. And if there’s something particular you’d like to know about {child_gender_himher}, just ask!

We know that from time to time you may have questions about your sponsored child or about what you read in your updates and letters. If you do, please call us on 01908 841010 or send us an email at sponsor@worldvision.org.uk, and we’ll be happy to help. Please bear in mind that if we need to get in touch with someone in your child’s community to answer your question, it may take a little while for us to be able to get back to you.

Yes! Once you've been sponsoring your child for a year you're welcome to go and visit them – we have many sponsors who simply can't stop raving about the amazing experience of visiting their sponsored child. Making this happen does take a lot of preparation so we ask for a minimum of three months' notice if you wish to arrange a visit.

Updates, letters and gifts

Throughout the year, you’ll get updates by post and email (if you don’t get emails from us and you’d like to, please get in touch either by email: sponsor@worldvision.org.uk or call us on 01908 841010). Some of these will be direct from your child, others will be about the changes that are taking place in their wider community. These updates will include stories, photos and videos to show how your support is transforming the lives of vulnerable children. And each year we’ll send you Christmas and birthday cards that you can personalise and send on to your child.

And remember, all your updates are kept together for you in your My Sponsorship account.

The easiest way to write to your sponsored child is on My Sponsorship. Simply choose a bright, colourful template, add your message and attach any photos you’d like to share with them »

And if you need some tips on what to write, you can also see some handy hints on this page too.

We know that sponsored children love to get letters through the post – and most of them will never have received something with an international stamp on it before! If you’d like to send a letter or gift to {child_name}, please make sure that anything you send fits in an A4 padded envelope, and that you:

  • Write {child_gender_hisher} full name and ID number at the top of your letter AND on the back of the envelope: {child_name} {child_family_name}, {child_id}
  • Write your own name and supporter ID number underneath them: {supporter_name}, {supporter_id}
  • Add an airmail sticker and make sure you pay the right postage for airmail
  • The address for {child_name}'s community in {child_community}, {child_country} is: {child_community_address}.

(If you have more than 1 sponsored child - you can find the address for your other children by visiting the ‘More about my community’ page from their timeline).

If you’d like some helpful hints and tips on what to say to {child_name} in your letter, you can find them here »

If you’d like to send your sponsored child a gift, please remember that simple gifts that they can share are best. Here are some ideas that we know other children have enjoyed receiving:

Young children:

  • Balloons and stickers
  • Hairbrushes or combs
  • Crayons, pencils, pens, and colouring books
  • Small toys (without small pieces that could cause choking)
  • Inexpensive clothing

Older children:

  • Exercise books and stationery
  • Football (send it deflated with a pump)
  • Solar powered calculator or flashlight
  • Sunhat or sunglasses
  • Inexpensive clothing

Your letters go on quite a journey to reach your sponsored child, so it can take up to 12 weeks to get your reply:

 

Please also bear in mind that for us to be able to do as much work as possible in the community where your sponsored child lives, we can only commit to them sending four letters to you per year (in addition to their regular updates). If you write to them more often than this, then they’ll respond to more than one of your letters in one reply.

What you get from your sponsored child will depend on a number of things. If your child’s young, it’s likely to be a relative or someone close to them who writes to you. If they’re older, please remember that – just like here in the UK – some children enjoy writing, and others aren’t as keen. Some may prefer drawing and so you might find your letters contain pictures and colourings instead. Also, many countries don’t have the same tradition of letter writing – or even of children being encouraged to express themselves – so this may be a new experience for your sponsored child.

Bear in mind too, that your sponsored child won’t have had the same education as a child of the same age in the UK. This means that although children can voice what they want to say, they often struggle with reading and writing. So our volunteers make a big effort to write down exactly what your child says so that you can hear directly from them, even if they’re still learning how to write.

Our aim is for letter-writing to be an enjoyable and enriching experience for children. Often, our staff and volunteers will use fun storytelling cards and worksheets to help children learn to think, talk and write about how they feel. By writing to you and telling you their stories, your sponsored child will learn to express themselves, speak up and share their thoughts, possibly for the very first time.

Sometimes sponsors feel they’d like to send extra money to their sponsored child, their family or for the wider community. If you’d like to do this, please call our Supporter Care team on 01908 841010 who’ll arrange everything for you – please don’t send the money directly.

Your gift needs to be £75 or more as there’s a lot of work involved. But don’t worry, we won’t deduct anything. The project staff will take great care to make sure your gift benefits your child, their family and their community in the best way possible. And you’ll get an update on how it was spent, usually within three months.

Christmas and birthday cards

Yes! Sending a card online is quick and easy and is a great way to let your sponsored child know that you’re thinking of them at these special times of the year. When it’s time to send your cards, we’ll send you an email as well as your card in the post (if you don’t get emails from us and you’d like to, please contact us at sponsor@worldvision.org.uk or call us on 01908 841010). Then you’ll simply be able to click on the link and follow the steps to create your card – you’ll also be able to make a donation if you’d like to.

If you'd like to send a present to {child_name} for {child_gender_hisher} birthday or Christmas, please post this directly to the National Office in {child_country} where {child_name} lives using this address: {child_community_address}

You can only send your Christmas or birthday cards a couple of months before these special days. When it’s time to send one of them, the link will appear in My Sponsorship and you’ll be able to create your card and send it to your sponsored child.

If you’re expecting a card to be there and it isn’t, please call us on 01908 841010, or send us an email at sponsor@worldvision.org.uk, and we’ll be happy to help you.

My child's videos

Children love to share their world with their sponsors, so thousands of videos are recorded every month all over the world in dozens of languages. This means that we're unable to provide subtitles. But we know children find their own way to communicate and welcome you into their world and we hope you enjoy this.

All videos are recorded by local staff and volunteers. Children are filmed in familiar surroundings, and anyone behind the camera is trained to help them feel at ease and to capture what they want to say in their own words. However, please bear in mind that for many children being in front of a video camera may be a new experience.

We know that sponsors enjoy sharing their lives with their sponsored child. However, due to the challenges of working in the areas that we work, and because of the number of children we work with, we unfortunately can’t get sponsor videos to their children at the moment.

A great way to share a little of your world with your sponsored child is to use one of the letter templates on My Sponsorship to write to them instead. Children love getting these bright, colourful messages – and you can even attach photos to bring your world to life for them. Click here to send a letter to your child »

Your child’s village may have hundreds of sponsored children, and unfortunately only a handful of these can be in their community video. But we hope you’ll enjoy seeing the changes that are happening where they live and know that this is bringing your sponsored child as much happiness as the children you see in the video.

From time to time we may record special videos of your sponsored child. If we have one of these for you, you’ll be able to find it on My Sponsorship and we’ll also email you (if you don’t get emails from us and you’d like to, please contact us at sponsor@worldvision.org.uk or call us on 01908 841010).

Safeguarding

We take safeguarding really seriously. Find out about the steps we take to keep the people we work with safe, and view our safeguarding policy here »

We know that sponsors love to share their experience of sponsoring with family and friends. Please do show them photos and tell them about your child, their interests and hobbies, the country they live in and how your support is helping them. These are all things that we’d encourage you to share!

However, in order to keep them safe, we do ask you to follow three simple rules:

  1. When you tell family and friends about your child, please don’t share anything that could identify them. This includes their last name, village name or ID number.
  2. Always send your letters through World Vision, and never include your personal contact details.
  3. Because privacy is important to us, we discourage sponsored children from contacting their sponsors directly. If your child, or a member of their family or community, contacts you directly – for example through social media – please do not respond. Instead, contact us so that we can make them aware of the risks involved. We will also explain why it’s safer for them to use our own communication channels.

Contacting World Vision

If you have any questions or queries about your sponsorship, please call us on 01908 841010 or send us an email at sponsor@worldvision.org.uk.

To update your contact details, please visit the ‘Account details’ page. Or to update your payment details, please call us on 01908 841010.

About World Vision

World Vision is an international children’s charity. We believe that by working together with children, their communities, and supporters like you, the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children can be transformed. We bring together people in almost 100 countries, to improve children’s health, education, water, protection and sources of family income. 

Being a Christian organisation doesn’t mean that we evangelise. In practical terms, it simply means that we want to make a positive difference in the world around us as a reflection of God’s unconditional love for all. We believe that every child matters and that every child has a right to reach their full potential. This means that we work with people of all faiths and none – in non-Christian communities as well as Christian ones.

Inspired by Christian values, we’re dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable children. We provide help on the basis of need, and serve all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. We work in many non-Christian and multi-religious countries including Sri Lanka, Somalia and Afghanistan.

Being a faith-based organisation in these countries is a real benefit. Faith is something that unites people – no matter what their religion – so it allows us to work with faith leaders to address deep rooted cultural issues. One example of this is how we’ve worked with Imams in Senegal to address the issue of child marriage.

By sponsoring a child, you’re already making a huge difference and we’re incredibly grateful. But we know that lots of sponsors like to help in other ways too. Here’s some of the things you can do:

Send an extra gift to your child

Some sponsors like to send extra money to their sponsored child, their family or for the wider community. If you’d like to do this, please contact our Supporter Care team at sponsor@worldvision.org.uk or call on 01908 841010 who will arrange everything for you – please don’t send the money directly.

Donate to an emergency

You can help us respond in the immediate aftermath of disasters. Find out which emergencies you can donate to now or give to our general emergencies fund »

Give Raw Hope

Help children in the world’s most dangerous places where we’re not able to run our sponsorship programme. By supporting Raw Hope with a monthly donation, you’ll be helping children to survive, recover and build a future. Find out more about Raw Hope here »

Leave a gift in your Will

Leaving a gift in your Will to World Vision will bring lasting hope for children living in the world’s hardest places. Find out more leaving a gift in your will »

Sponsor another child

You can extend your generosity by helping another child, either in the same community or somewhere new. Choose an additional child to sponsor here »

Pray with us

We believe in the power of prayer to transform lives. Find out more about how you can pray with us »

If you have any questions that we haven’t answered on this page, please call us on 01908 841010 or send us an email at sponsor@worldvision.org.uk, and we’ll be happy to help.

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