Sponsor a girl

Ten-year-old Sarita (right) and her friend Ranjana live in a remote village in Nepal where girls are rarely sent to school.

Girls here are usually expected to do household chores, babysit and take care of the family animals, instead of getting an education.

But thanks to ActionAid child sponsors, we've set up a tuition centre in Sarita's community, where 35 children are catching up on the learning they've missed and getting extra support from teachers. She spends two hours a day at the centre, and says it has helped her reading and writing skills as well as her confidence.

"I want to be a teacher so that I can teach children of my village and they can have a better future," Sarita says. "Now my mother has also realised the importance of education and she encourages me to go to school and the tuition centre.

"I hope one day I will make my village proud by studying well and being a teacher in the future."

If you believe every girl should get the education that is their right, please sponsor a girl today.

What happens when I sponsor a child?

As soon as you sign up to be a sponsor, we’ll send you a welcome pack with a photo of the child you’re sponsoring and their story so far. And that’s just the start of the journey you’ll go on together.

You’ll get two handwritten messages a year from your child telling you about them and their life – they might be letters, drawings, or postcards – plus detailed updates about how they’re getting on from our staff in their country.

You can write back to your sponsored child. Over time you’ll get a new photo at special milestones so you can see them grow and thrive.

Read our frequently asked questions

Child sponsorship pack

What will my child sponsorship pay for?

  • Action Aid Porridge Feeding Program at Saunyama Primary School in Nyanga District ActionAid’s feeding programme is supplying 11 primary schools with enough porridge for lunch three days a week.

    Food

    Nutritious meals for children and seeds and livestock for families to grow their own food

  • Students Abigail (R) and Purity (L) in class at school in West Pokot, Kenya.

    Education

    Schoolbooks, fees, equipment and even a whole new school building in the sponsored child’s community

  • Puthy, a secure livelihood of model farmers thanks to ActionAid intervention.

    Clean water

    Building wells, purifying water sources, and better sanitation facilities

  • Improving birthing centers to strengthen communities

    Healthcare

    Medical and dental clinics, basic medical supplies and health education

What child sponsorship can do: Purna’s story

Purna is a midwife and has two daughters. Here she’s holding up a photo of herself aged 12, when she was sponsored through ActionAid. 

Growing up in rural Nepal, Purna’s family were very poor - her family couldn't afford to send her to school. But with the help of her sponsor, Purna was able to go to school and fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse, then a midwife. 

Purna has now helped to deliver hundreds of babies, saved many lives and cared for many more mothers and children.

Being without education is like being blind. [But my sponsor] opened my eyes. Because of them I was also able to open the eyes of my children. Education is very important.”

How is my sponsorship money spent?

  • 80% of the donations we receive through child sponsorship goes overseas.
  • 20% is spent in the UK on raising awareness and finding more supporters.
     

Of the overseas gift:  
 

  • 70% goes directly to your sponsored child’s community or, if there is an exceptional need such as a life-threatening emergency, another community within their country.  
  • 30% is used to fund vital projects in other countries around the world where we work, and running child sponsorship so that you can receive messages from your sponsored child, and hear how your gift is changing lives

I'm ready to sponsor a child

Image: 10-year-old Sarita and her friend Ranjana live in a remote village in Nepal, where child sponsorship is changing lives. Bahadur Sadaya/ActionAid

Page updated 29 November 2022