and examples of  how your support is making an impact

We’ve all felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, we are slowly moving toward post-pandemic life and beginning to process the changes and losses we experienced.

But pandemic dangers still exist in many of our sponsored children and youth’s communities. Families living in poverty continue to struggle with loss of income and lack of jobs. Many families don’t know when their children will be able to go back to school ... or when things will get better. Unequal vaccine distribution and lack of public resources make it hard for low-income countries to control the virus and recover from economic setbacks. Experts are warning of a “two-track pandemic,” where the poor will be left struggling for years while richer nations get “back to normal.”

The global community is working to ensure vaccines get to everyone. In the meantime, Children International sponsors are providing a much-needed safety net for children and youth living in poverty.

During the pandemic, sponsorship has become even more powerful — and necessary. Why? Because sponsorship delivers what children and youth need to survive today and the tools they need for a brighter future tomorrow. In moments of crisis during the pandemic, sponsored children and youth have someone to turn to. Whether their family needs help buying groceries or they need help accessing their online classes, they know they aren’t facing these challenges alone.

Here are 5 ways child sponsorship is making an immediate, essential impact:

1. Sponsorship provides access to medical, dental and mental health care.

Many of the communities we serve have limited access to medical, dental and mental health services to begin with. The pandemic put added pressure on those limited resources, making it even harder for families to get the care they need. Sponsorship closes the health care gap. Local medical and dental clinics provide essential telehealth and (when possible) in-person appointments, refer families to outside specialists, help pay for services, and educate families on healthy behaviors. Sponsorship also provides access to mental health supports, including therapy and emotional well-being programs that teach resiliency skills — important as children and youth continue to live with significant pandemic stress.

2. Sponsorship provides direct assistance for families in need.

In 2020, sponsorship helped provide two direct assistance packages for sponsored families. This money was given without requirements; families could use it to meet whatever their most pressing need was at the time — groceries, rent, remote school costs and more. While the pandemic persists, every Children International family will continue to receive two direct assistance gifts a year to help them weather ongoing economic hardships.

3. Sponsorship provides essential education support and empowering life-skills development.

Education is key to leaving poverty behind, but the pandemic has added to the challenges vulnerable students face. Stay-at-home orders forced classes online, but many of the families we work with lack access to reliable internet connections and mobile devices. Parents who lost jobs because of the pandemic have trouble paying for school fees and supplies, let alone internet packages. Some children quit school to find work to support their families. Through the support of sponsors, our local teams have connected students to scholarships, remote learning technology and other educational materials. Virtual tutoring sessions and other online learning opportunities are helping children and youth stay on top of their studies. Local staff also took empowering programs online, so children and youth could continue to develop life skills through sports, arts, music, leadership and more.

4. Sponsorship provides local teams who support children, youth and their families.

A team of skilled local staff and volunteers is at the heart of every Children International community. When the pandemic began, these teams not only had to figure out how to keep providing existing programs and services remotely, but they also had to develop entirely new responses to COVID-19’s new challenges. All of our locations created task forces to coordinate with local governments and other NGOs to meet our children and youth’s pandemic-related needs. And all of our teams also began proactive efforts to stay in regular communication with sponsored families. These calls became lifelines during shutdowns and uncertain times; teams will continue to regularly check-in with families as the pandemic drags on.

5. Sponsorship provides tools for resilience, encouragement and strength.

Finally, sponsorship offers the most powerful gift of all: Hope. Over and over again, sponsored children, youth and their families have told us support and encouragement from their sponsors has meant the world to them during this ongoing crisis. Knowing there is someone out there not only helping meet their concrete needs but cheering them on — that’s a powerful thing. Sponsors are a source of hope to children living in poverty — and tangible proof that they matter.