Sponsor a child this Ramadan

Nine-year-old Sumaiya from Bangladesh is one of the many children around the world affected by poverty.

Children like Sumaiya are facing crises caused by climate change, cost of living increases and the challenges of a post-pandemic world such as inadequate or unaffordable food, and lack of access to education.

But child sponsorship is changing Sumaiya's life and the lives of many children.

After Sumaiya’s school shut down during the pandemic, she began attending a children's space run by ActionAid where she could resume her education.

When you sponsor a child, your generous Sadaqah Jariyah donation will provide food, water and education.

You will also be helping to make sure that a child’s whole community benefits from the sponsorship. Because we believe that children can only thrive when the environment around them supports them to grow and develop.

You'll receive handwritten letters and photos from your sponsored child, and detailed updates about them from ActionAid staff in the country where they live.

This Ramadan, sponsor a child for just 65p a day and see the difference you can make to children and their communities.

Sponsor a child now

Why is ActionAid fundraising around a faith-based month?

Many of our supporters recognise and observe the month of Ramadan and have cited their faith as the basis of their giving in the past.

In this special month of the Islamic calendar, we are offering an opportunity to those supporters who would like to make a donation to fulfil their religious wishes or obligations.

Are you offering a Zakat fund?

No, this is not a Zakat fund. We are appealing for voluntary contributions like your Sadaqah Jariyah donations this month and beyond.

Should I give a monthly gift or a one-off gift?

If you would prefer to give a lower monthly gift, or one-off donation, you can donate here.

What happens when I become a child sponsor?

As soon as you sign up to be a sponsor, we’ll send you a welcome pack with a photo of the boy or girl you’re sponsoring and a little bit about them. And that’s just the start of the journey you’ll go on together.

You’ll get two handwritten messages a year from the child you sponsor, 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 the child you sponsor. Over time you’ll get a new photo at special milestones so you can see them grow and thrive.

Frequently asked questions

Things you should know about child sponsorship

50 years
ActionAid has 50 years of experience changing the lives of children and communities through child sponsorship.

38,000
You'll be joining a community of more than 38,000 generous ActionAid child sponsors in the UK alone.

£19.50
We ask for a minimum of £19.50 a month so we can provide lasting support to the communities that benefit from your sponsorship.

Actress Fay Ripley on sponsoring a child

It's been 12 years and I continue to send letters to the two children we sponsor.

For the price of a takeaway coffee each week, we have a real connection to another part of the world and are making a difference to people's lives.

I am grateful to ActionAid for the genuinely progressive work they are doing for people who need our help."

Sponsor a child

What will my child sponsorship pay for?

Food

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

Education

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

Clean water

Building wells, purifying water sources, and better sanitation facilities

Healthcare

Medical and dental clinics, basic medical supplies and health education

Harriet (22) from Uganda was a sponsored child whose life changed thanks to child sponsorship with ActionAid. She is now a young woman studying at a local university.

Robert Asiimwe/ActionAid

Harriet's experience as a sponsored child

Harriet is 22 years old and studying at university in Uganda. She was sponsored when she was a child, and tells us:

"As a sponsored child, I had the opportunity to write to my sponsor.

ActionAid organised special days for all the children to write to their sponsors which were filled with fun events that each of us looked forward to.

It was a new and interesting experience for us to communicate with people in a different country. I had found a friend to whom I could tell my dreams and aspirations. I felt a personal responsibility to pursue my dreams."

Start my sponsorship

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 80% 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

What ActionAid does

Around the world, women and children are affected the most by poverty. From the moment they are born, girls especially face inequalities and injustice in almost every aspect of their lives.

ActionAid puts women and children at the centre of our work across 45 countries. We make sure girls go to and stay in school, we work with communities to end gender-based violence, and we train women in the skills they need to earn a living.

We also help women and communities prepare for and recover from disasters, at a time when they can be at their most vulnerable. We demand action at local, national and international level. We don’t walk away until we’ve achieved lasting change.

Sponsor a child like Telma, from Guatemala, and you could change her life forever

Karin Schermbrucker/ActionAid