Promises, promises: foreign aid and the Federal election Beyond the snappy slogans, baby-kissing and photo ops inherent on the hustings, policy announcements take centre stage. However, asylum seeker issues aside, it’s been a relatively quiet Federal Election campaign on the foreign policy front.
Of course, elections are more likely won (or lost) on issues closer to home and their affect on voters’ hip-pockets. But if you’re also concerned about what the result on August 21 will mean for Australia’s financial commitment to the world’s developing nations. ... read more
Jill Howe has a passion for the people of Hovdin-Bulgan in Mongolia. She has lived there for a number of years working to reduce poverty and improve educational opportunities in the community. ...more
NEWS
Learn more about development issues and our work by watching these short films and presentations. Come back again for information on upcoming visits by representatives of our overseas partners.
CHILD SPONSORSHIP International Needs Australia
What is Child Sponsorship?
International Needs runs child sponsorship programs in several countries; Bangladesh, Ghana, North India, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Uganda.
Through regular monthly donations, a sponsor in Australia provides much needed assistance for a child, their family and their community.
Sponsors are sent a profile of their sponsored child, which includes a photo and a brief description. Sponsors receive annual reports and letters from the child four times a year.
What benefits does the child receive? Sponsorship provides a child with an education, school supplies, nutritious food and medical care. How this is done varies from country to country, depending on the local environment, the needs of the child, their family and their community.
For example, in Bangladesh, sponsored children live in slum areas, and they are provided with school materials such as books, uniforms and bags, which enable them to attend government schools or an IN Network school.
In Ghana and Uganda, sponsored children attend schools which have been established and are operated by the IN Network
In North India, the sponsored children are all girls and receive an informal education at an IN village centre, focussing on literacy, numeracy and vocational skills.
In the Philippines, children in both urban slum and poor rural areas are sponsored. They attend government schools and sponsorship provides them with books, uniforms, after-school tuition and health monitoring
In Sri Lanka school aged children attend an IN Network Schools to receive additional tuition. . The standard of education they receive in their government school is of such low quality, the only way for disadvantaged children to break the poverty cycle is at a centre such as Canal Bank or the Harrison School. How does this effect the child’s family and community?
Sponsorship is intended to assist not only the child, but the child’s whole family and the wider community. For example in Uganda, there is a project which supplies an animal (a cow, pig or goat) to a sponsored child’s family. The family receives agricultural training so they can use this animal for nutritious food and to generate an income.
In the Philippines, the families of sponsored children can attend parenting skill classes and relationship counselling. In another area of the Philippines, there is a nutritional feeding program for malnourished children of sponsored families and communities. In Uganda, sponsored families, and the wider community, receive medical care at the Makonge Community Health Clinic.
Why does International Needs do child sponsorship, instead of relying on government grants or large donations, etc.?
Because it provides long term funding for a child, family or community, instead of a one-off, or short-term, project.
Long-term sponsorship creates a strong relationship between International Needs and the sponsored community, enabling positive change to occur.
The flexibility of sponsorship allows for children, families and communities to be assisted in different ways, according to their specific needs.
Sponsorship is also educational and raises awareness about the issues of developing countries. Sponsors also have a sense of personal engagement with their sponsored child, and the feeling they are making a positive difference.
Would you like to sponsor a child?
For only $39 a month, you can change the life of a child, their family and their community.
It’s easy to do, either online, or by calling 1300 731 550.
Picured above: During a Mission Trip to the Philippines in 2008, IN Network Philippines arranged for Filipino children in the Nasisi area to be treated to an outing to a nearby fast food outlet. For most of the children, this was a first-time experience.
