Friday, July 11, 2008

Sponsor a Child – Save a Life

Just as sponsorship is basely defined as a marketing tool for organizational or individual support; so is ‘child sponsorship’ denoted as a means to aid a young individual, usually through financial and/or educational sustenance.

The children who need assistance are usually from ‘developing countries’ which, as most often is, lack the proper resources to sustain proper living. Some of the top countries that benefit from child sponsorship include Africa, India, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

It is not, however, only the developing countries that receive child sponsorship, but also those of develop ones. Even powerhouses such as the United States have children support organizations that help out the young through means of donation. This denotes the diversity and span in which sponsoring children and young adults are applied.

Saving Lives

There are basically two ways in sponsoring the young – either through individual or organizational means. As individuals, this is directly giving out help to those who are in need of it. As organizations, there are specific institutions that act as the ‘bridge’ for sponsors and child sponsees, where they find the best possible candidates for support and most efficiently utilize the ‘help’ donated by sponsors.

But how does this sponsorship save lives? The number of ways in which this kind of support assists in the improvement of living and prevents loss of life is beyond counting. In developing countries, areas that have been witness of war, economic ruin, political turmoil, natural disasters, and oppression (most often girls and women) – the donations that are given address these issues and focused on the improvement of a child’s life.

In more specific ways, individuals and organizations work with the family of the child and other community members to develop the ability of that community to ‘take care’ of itself. The child that is given assistance benefits from programs that enable him/her to attend and succeed at school, provide needed medical care and orientation in hygienic living.

Child sponsorship not only helps the children, but their family as well. Families are given the knowledge on how to improve their lives by economic programs that provide parent trainings which teach them how to properly support themselves and their children. These programs are most often through proper child sponsorship organizations. Some organizations that practice these applications of programs are Save the Children, UNICEF, and Food for the Hungry.

The Sponsor’s Role as Hero

Of course when one helps another, it is always a two-way effect. The one helped and the helper, although in different manners, are affected. Sponsors have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children by giving out support.

A very important point to understand that the assistance given, whether financial or otherwise, is not only a physical act on economical or community improvement. In its core, child sponsorship is giving hope to those who need it. It is letting the community and the children involved know that they have a chance in living a good life. This point is essentially the most important gift that sponsors (most often unconsciously) give.

As the chain reaction of giving leads to saving lives, sponsors become heroes in the sense that they have helped. Their assistance, however meagre, provided the chance for life improvement by allowing the children and communities involved the access to opportunities they’ve never had.

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