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 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 child 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 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.
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.
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
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."
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.
Telma Paulina is a student at the San Juan Villa Nueva School in Guatemala, where ActionAid runs a child sponsorship program
Karin Schermbrucker/ActionAid
Page updated 5 May 2023