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Asian Child

FAQs about sponsorship

Sponsorship: for whom? to what end?

To bring relief to those who, on our planet, live in a state of misery and distress, often far below the poverty line.

To those who live in slums and in make-shift shelters where drinkable water is an inaccessible luxury; to those who live on less than one dollar a day per family; and to all those children who, instead of attending school, are forced to work to help their families survive, who make their own shoes out of old tires and bits of string, who contract diseases due to the unsanitary conditions in which they live, who have no access to hospitals or medical care and who, all too often, go to bed hungry.

In face of such a disastrous situation, each organization sets its own priorities in keeping with its own values and with reference to the specific local problems affecting the areas in which it intervenes. In general, however, the most frequently targeted fields of action are the following:

  • Education
  • Health care
  • Nutrition
  • Improvement of local resources, housing and the environment

How will my money be spent?

First of all it must be made clear that the money you contribute will not go directly to the child you sponsor or to his or her family. Instead, it will be made available to help finance development programs specific to the community or village in which the child lives. There are at least two good reasons for this:

  • Often the living conditions in those areas can only be improved by first improving the local infrastructure (for example, by creating new schools, hospitals, cooperatives, sewage systems, etc.). To achieve this, the funds contributed by individual sponsors have to be pooled and the projects placed under the supervision of the organization in cooperation with local authorities.
  • In the areas involved almost all families live in the same state of poverty. It would therefore be profoundly unjust to provide aid only to children lucky enough to find a sponsor. This could easily arouse jealousies and give rise to strife in a situation where, by definition, all the poor are equal!

Thus the solutions to most of the problems encountered cannot and must not be restricted to one single family but must be beneficial to the community as a whole. It is worth mentioning, though, that sponsorship plans aimed at a group of persons (for example, a school class) do exist. But if you choose an individual sponsorship you can create a direct personal relationship with the child by sending him or her letters and small gifts in care of the organization's local representatives. This form of support, which is mainly moral support, can prove very useful for the child and falls entirely within the definition of sponsorship.

The organization itself is responsible for attributing the major part of the funds it raises to the relief and development programs set up in the village or region where your sponsored child lives. In practice, 75% to 80% of the funds go directly to the programs, the remainder being used to cover operating costs and overhead.

A majority of the organizations involved are very much aware of the importance of keeping exact and transparent records of the funds they manage and they make a serious effort to do so. Balance sheets and charts showing the sources of the donations and how they are distributed are often available via the Internet and/or can be provided on request.

How much does it cost?

Depending on the case, the cost of sponsoring a child ranges from 20 to 30 euros per month (approx 25 to 38 USD per month) but in practice can be much less if you pay income taxes, given the fact that an important tax deduction on the amounts you contribute may be allowed.

How much is the tax deduction?

This can vary from country to country but in France the most recent fiscal policy provides for a deduction equivalent to the reimbursement of 75% - yes, a full 3/4th - of your total annual donations, up to a ceiling of 470 euros (approx. 610 USD). Beyond this ceiling and up to a limit not exceeding 20% of your annual income, you can still recuperate 66% of the remaining amount.

Exemple:

If your sponsorship organization asks you to contribute 25 euros (approx 32 USD) per month, it will cost you in the end only 6.25 euros (approx. 8 USD) per month - the price of a magazine! Given that the number of people able to contribute such an amount with no impact at all on their standard of living is enormous, there is considerable scope for progress!

It is worth mentioning that some sponsorship sites which have not updated their information on this subject may indicate an initial tax deduction in France equivalent to a 60% or 66% reimbursement but these are the rates which were applicable in past years.

What kind of commitment and for how long?

The children in need of sponsors are often between the ages of 3 and 10. The organization asks that you make only a modest financial contribution (see above: "How much does it cost?") but on a regular basis and, if possible, over a period of six to ten years, which is the average duration of a sponsorship.

But in general you can stop your contribution at any time if your personal situation changes or if you decide to do so for some other reason. It suffices to inform the organization of your decision and no further justification is necessary. However, a minimum participation of one year is desirable so as to allow the organization to optimize its operating costs.

What do I get out of it?

This question may sound incongruous or egotistical, seeing that it is the sponsored child who is supposed to benefit from the action. Even so, the sponsor also has a lot to gain:

  • Personal development
  • An opening onto the world
  • Discovery of a country
  • Discovery of other ways of living
  • Development of personal relationships with other communities
  • The satisfaction which comes from helping others
  • The opportunity to make one's own children aware of the lives and the problems of other children in third world countries

|||||| Education in the world: an urgent situation!

Today more than 100 million children in the world, 60% of whom are girls, still do not have access to schools. 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 have to sell themselves to the labor market - 150 million of them in appalling conditions - to earn a living or merely to survive. 875 million adults in the world - 2/3 of them women - are illiterate.
(Quoted from the site "Aide et Action")

|||||| SPONSORSHIP LINKS

Aide et action
53, Boulevard de Charonne
75545 PARIS Cedex 11
Tél. 01 55 25 70 00
e-mail Aide et Action
Enfants du Mekong
5, rue de la Comète
92600 ASNIERES
Tél. 01 47 91 00 84
e-mail Enfants du Mékong
La chaine de l’espoir
96, rue Didot
75014 PARIS
Tél. 01 44 12 66 66 (sponsorship service Tél. 01 44 12 66 50)
e-mail La chaine de l'espoir
Vision du monde
7, rue Pasquier
75008 PARIS
Tél. 01 49 49 11 12
e-mail par formulaire sur le site
Plan France
11, rue de Cambrai
75019 PARIS
Tél. 01 44 89 90 90
e-mail Plan France
Partage
40, rue Vivenel BP 70311
60203 COMPIEGNE Cedex
Tél. 03 44 20 92 92
e-mail Partage
Centre Français pour l’enfance (CFPE)
23, place Victor Hugo
94270 KREMLIN BICETRE
Tél. 01 43 90 63 23
e-mail CFPE

|||||| OTHER LINKS

Planete-urgence
Against inequalities and the destruction of our planet
MHIGE
Inter-institutional support from French schools to East Europe
Tourisme solidaire
Via the site Uniterre
Dossier familial
Useful information