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Last time you were here, you were looking to help vulnerable children and families. Your support can save and change lives.
Last time you were here, you were looking to help vulnerable children and families. Your support can save and change lives.
We don't use children's photos because we are very serious about protecting their safety and privacy. Once you have sponsored a child, you will receive a picture of them via email.
Is a 4 year old boy
from Indonesia
His name is Bintang, he growing up in the outskirts of the Yogyakarta city in the central of Java Island, best known for its urban harbor. He is a playful 3 year old toddler who loves to singing and playing with friends. He does not attend school yet, but someday he wants to be a doctor. Bintang lives with his parents in a rudimentary dwelling made of adobe and brick. They possess proper sanitary facilities and use tap water. However, his parents works hard, reaching the end of the month is a constant struggle. His father makes a living by working as a farmer which is does not suffice to maintain the family, while his mother only a housewife. The familys income comes to around USD 25.00 per month, which is not enough to cover the familys basic needs. They do need an alternative income generation whenever it is necessary. Through our programs, Ilyas and his family will be able to improve their standard of living. Your kind sponsorship can help us fill in this similar gap in the life of the community.
His name is Bintang, he growing up in the outskirts of the Yogyakarta city in the central of Java Island, best known for its urban harbor. He is a playful 3 year old toddler who loves to singing and playing with friends. He does not attend school yet, but someday he wants to be a doctor. Bintang lives with his parents in a rudimentary dwelling made of adobe and brick. They possess proper sanitary facilities and use tap water. However, his parents works hard, reaching the end of the month is a constant struggle. His father makes a living by working as a farmer which is does not suffice to maintain the family, while his mother only a housewife. The familys income comes to around USD 25.00 per month, which is not enough to cover the familys basic needs. They do need an alternative income generation whenever it is necessary. Through our programs, Ilyas and his family will be able to improve their standard of living. Your kind sponsorship can help us fill in this similar gap in the life of the community.
Indonesia has become one of the world’s major emerging economies, but it is still home to widespread poverty and inequality. There is a major gap between the experience of children in the regional and remote areas, where ChildFund works, and children in the main cities.
Children in remote areas are far less likely to access adequate school and health facilities, which exposes them to childhood illnesses and diminishes their ability to reach their potential.
More than 20 million people live below the world poverty line and Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, which have a disproportionately negative impact on poor and marginalised communities.
Health: Help children thrive and avoid childhood illnesses by teaching families about healthy hygiene practices and how to make nutritious meals from locally-sourced foods.
Education: Put children on the best path for the future by improving early childhood education in remote communities.
Disaster Risk Reduction: Help communities keep children safe during emergencies by running disaster risk reduction projects in vulnerable areas.
Is a 6 year old girl
from Zambia
Mirriam is a needy child who lives with her parents who are not in any formal employment as they do not have any skill to offer. The family survives through odd jobs though the income generated is not adequate to meet the basic needs of the family. They earn an annual income of about US$400. The family is Chewa by tribe and is christian. Mirriam is not yet in school but enjoys playing with dolls and ball games with her friends. Your sponsorship towards this child will indeed be a blessing in her life. Help brighten her future.
Mirriam is a needy child who lives with her parents who are not in any formal employment as they do not have any skill to offer. The family survives through odd jobs though the income generated is not adequate to meet the basic needs of the family. They earn an annual income of about US$400. The family is Chewa by tribe and is christian. Mirriam is not yet in school but enjoys playing with dolls and ball games with her friends. Your sponsorship towards this child will indeed be a blessing in her life. Help brighten her future.
Three decades of oppressive rule following independence in 1964 contributed to Zambia becoming one of Africa’s poorest countries. In rural areas, four out of five people live in poverty. Zambia’s fortunes have improved recently, but decades of underinvestment mean the country is lagging behind in key areas and there is a lack of jobs and opportunities for people.
Girl, in particular, have limited opportunities in Zambia. Girls are less likely to finish school and are at risk of harmful practices such as forced marriage and early marriage.
Education: Provide learning resources, and renovate or build classrooms and other school facilities to ensure children can receive a quality education.
Water and Sanitation: Provide clean water and hygiene lessons to communities in remote communities to help children avoid childhood illnesses.
Livelihoods: Take the pressure off disadvantaged families by providing the skills and resources they need to earn more income, which can help them pay for their children's education and wellbeing.
Is a 10 year old boy
from Vietnam
Quan lives with his parents in a small house built from poor quality materials which lacks access to proper healthcare and sanitary facilities. His parents work odd jobs and struggle to provide him with basic living needs.
Quan lives with his parents in a small house built from poor quality materials which lacks access to proper healthcare and sanitary facilities. His parents work odd jobs and struggle to provide him with basic living needs.
Quality of life has improved for many children in Vietnam, but not everyone has benefited. Children who live in remote and difficult access communities are far more likely to live in poverty. Health centres, schools and water and sanitation facilities in regional areas are often inadequate, and there are few quality teachers and health professionals.
Children in remote communities face high levels of malnutrition, which can affect their long-term development. Many children from remote communities do not speak Vietnamese before entering school, which can be a major obstacle and can put them behind their classmates.
Education: Improve schools and train teachers to ensure children from the most remote communties can receive a quality education.
Livelihoods: Take the pressure off disadvantaged families by providing the skills and resources they need to earn more income, which will help them pay for their children's education and wellbeing.
Water and Sanitation: Provide clean water and hygiene lessons to communities in remote mountainous areas to prevent childhood illnesses.
“Sponsorship pulled me from nowhere to being able to have a good life in Uganda. It was like a bridge – if that bridge had not been there I would not have been able to get to the other side”
A complete exchange of letters takes about sixteen weeks (6 – 8 weeks each way). This time allows for translation and transportation to and from the child, who may live in an extremely remote area. We rely on a network of community volunteers to collect the letters and often deliver them on foot to each child.
If you don’t receive a reply from your child in over four months, please call us on 1800 023 600 or email info@childfund.org.au and we will look into this for you.
We continue to face challenging times as a result of Covid-19. International postage has been significantly impacted and deliveries may be delayed or temporarily suspended for some countries. The situation constantly changes, depending on the restrictions in both the destination country and Australia.
During this period, we encourage you to stay in contact with your sponsored child. If you wish to write a letter, the post office is best positioned to advise you of the latest situation when you try to mail it. If you are unable to send your letter, please contact Supporter Relations on 1800 023 600 as some countries can accept emails instead.
We are continuing with our much-loved greetings cards. For some countries, there may be delays in getting your card to your sponsored child. Please rest assured that ChildFund is doing everything in our control to ensure children still receive their packs as soon as possible. Any post that cannot be mailed will be safely stored and sent at the earliest opportunity.
At this time, there may also be delays in delivering correspondence from your child back to you. We know this is frustrating, but ask for your patience.
Absolutely! As long as you sponsor a child and make your first donation before June 30th, your charitable contribution will be tax deductible on your next refund.
While social messaging sites can be a great way to keep in touch with your friends and family, they are not always safe environments in which to communicate. For children in particular, the dangers are heightened, as ChildFund is unable to monitor online communications. Social media can leave children vulnerable to the following scenarios:
Ultimately, there are few Australian parents who would allow their own child to have online communication with an adult whose identity they are unable to verify. Ensuring the safety and protection of all children living in the communities where we work is of paramount importance to ChildFund, and unfortunately social media sites pose too many risks to children, which we feel negate the benefit of using them for child-sponsor communications.
Risk for sponsors – Using social networking sites can also leave our supporters vulnerable to criminal or unlawful activities by people acting under an alias. For example, an individual who knows your sponsored child may create a false name using that child’s identity, and attempt to defraud or threaten you as the sponsor of that child.
How to contact your child – To ensure the continued safety of communications between sponsored children and ChildFund supporters, we ask everyone to ensure that their correspondence is sent via the relevant ChildFund country office without exception. This ensures that ChildFund can monitor any communications to ensure that both the sponsor and sponsored child are protected from inappropriate content, abuse and any fraudulent activities.
ChildFund Australia policy – As an organisation, it is impossible for us to guarantee the safety of both parties on social networking sites. As such, ChildFund will take any unauthorised contact very seriously. Where a sponsor initiates any contact with their sponsored child within an online environment, they will be asked to cease this form of communication, and reminded that correspondence must go via our country offices. In cases where the unauthorised communication continues, ChildFund may have to resort to cancelling the sponsorship. In instances where a child or their family initiates contact, we will also remind them of correct communication arrangements, and potentially remove the child/family from enrolment if they ignore this request. We hope that you understand our concerns, and support our efforts to keep communications for both parties safe, secure and unexposed to the dangers of outside interference by unknown persons. We are sure you will understand that ChildFund has to act on any matters that might put either sponsors or sponsored children in danger.
ChildFund Australia takes its obligations to keep children safe from harm very seriously, and our sponsors play an important role in this. You can help us safeguard both your sponsored child and yourself in several ways:
You can read our full Safeguarding Children policy here.
If you have any questions about child sponsorship, our Supporter Relations Team is more than happy to help! Please call us on 1800 023 600 or email webenquiries@childfund.org.au.
