Word & Deed: Focus on Sponsorship

Child Sponsorship: Meeting the Needs of Children

2010-05-11T20:21:00.010-04:00

By Heidi Pronk

The individual child sponsorship program provides a wonderful opportunity for an individual or family in North America to make a personal connection with a child living in difficult circumstances in the developing world. Through pictures and correspondence, it is possible to engage in a relationship and specific prayer for a child while at the same time helping to ensure that basic needs are met.

The child sponsorship program is active in a number of different countries and regions of the world; however, because there is so much diversity from one country to the next, there needs to be some flexibility in the sponsorship program. To cite a few examples, the organizational capacity of our partners in the developing world differs, the level of local resources at their disposal varies, and the needs of families in the communities being served are often unique. We determine appropriate responses after the partner ensures that duplicate services are not offered by the government, the community or other aid agencies. To allow our partners the flexibility to better tailor the sponsorship program to the needs and resources of their respective communities, we are making some modifications to the child sponsorship program.
The program will still consist of several primary components. The first of those is biblical teaching with a minimum requirement of time equal to or greater than one half day of instruction per week. In some countries, the child might receive that through full-time attendance at a Christian school, in others it might come in the form of regular after-school Bible classes. But in all cases, biblical instruction will remain central to the sponsorship program. In addition, education will continue to be a core feature. It is not feasible to establish a stand-alone Christian school in every area. Where that is not possible, there will be a minimum requirement of participation in a public school system with bible classes and tutoring offered after school.
The third main component of the sponsorship program will continue to be nutrition. The partner will either offer hot meals at a central location to feed the children, or they will provide food and work closely with families to ensure that the children have a nutritionally balanced diet. Finally, the sponsorship program will continue to provide the possibility for correspondence between child and donor. As a sponsor, you will receive a photo and at least two items of correspondence per year with the opportunity to write to your sponsor child.
While the above components will be characteristics of the sponsorship program in every region, there are additional services that may be offered in some areas, depending on available resources and partner capacity. A minimum of two of the following elements will be provided in addition to those core features mentioned above:
Clothing. Provide beneficiaries of the program with a school uniform or equivalent. Other inputs may include blankets, mosquito nets, school supplies and additional clothing depending upon the need.
Medical Care. Provide basic medical attention for the recipients in the program.
Dental Care. In a few cases, primary dental services are available as needed to children in the sponsorship program.
Nutrition. Nutritional counseling, hygiene instruction and provision of protein sources may be added to the basic nutrition requirements.
Family services. Provide biblical instruction and counseling for the caregivers or parents of the recipients. Where possible, the needs of the family may be assessed and additional inputs could include garden seeds, fertilizer, hoes, and vocational or agricultural training to qualifying families.
Emergency assistance. In a crisis situation caused by loss of employment, illness, death or natural disaster, the sponsorship program may be used as a vehicle to identify and meet the specific emergency needs of a family on a short-term basis.
The needs of those in the developing world are as unique as the human beings God has created. We trust our partners in the developing world to ensure that the work done through the child sponsorship program is responsive and appropriate. May God bless their efforts and may many children be brought to salvation in Jesus Christ through the child sponsorship program.

Heidi Pronk is the executive director of Word & Deed in the United States.

Face to Face

2010-01-25T15:26:00.002-05:00

By Joe Neels

Joe Neels travelled to Colombia this past February along with six other businessmen to see the Word & Deed sponsored projects there.

I have been a child sponsor for many years already. Through the right organization, sponsorship can be a good way to make a significant impact on an underprivileged child for a relatively small contribution. I just hadn’t realized how significant.

In April 2007, my daughter Leah (then 14 years old) and I decided to each sponsor a child through Word & Deed. We were given Edgar (then 8 years old) and Danise (then 12 years old) from Cartagena, Colombia, as our sponsored children. It is special to receive the first pictures and general information and to receive the annual update.

This past February I had the privilege of meeting our sponsored children face to face. Edgar was quiet and didn’t say much at first. His face brightened considerably, however, when they carefully opened the small gift packages my family had taken much pleasure in providing. Danise stole our hearts and brought tears to our eyes when she spoke her quiet and touching words of appreciation. This very composed young lady thanked Word & Deed, me, and especially God, for their sponsorship and the major changes it had brought to her family. Before this they had been sharing a shack in an incredibly poor, filthy, and corrupt area of Cartagena without much to look forward to. Now she spoke with courage and hope. She was especially thankful for her Bible, which her principal says she carries with her everywhere. She is working hard at school with the desire of one day becoming a doctor. In this way she hopes to “help people and give back to her country.” Edgar loves airplanes and has ambitions of becoming a pilot one day.

I left there that day humbled by their gratitude, with a new appreciation for how much sponsorship means to those who receive it, and thankful for the privilege of being a part of this program.

Joe Neels is a member of the Word & Deed Business Group of Chilliwack and is a member of the Chilliwack Netherlands Reformed Church.

Compassion

2010-01-25T15:19:00.003-05:00

By Henrietta Ziengs

"But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (1 John 3:17 KJV)

It was in May 2008, that we finally applied to sponsor a child through Word & Deed Ministries. We were so excited to receive a photo and some information about our little girl, Yaneth, that we decided to sponsor another child right away. We now have two sponsor children, Yaneth and Gerson, both from Guatemala.

Gerson

Yaneth

Sponsoring children is a lot easier than we ever expected. We set up monthly pre-authorized withdrawals from our account and hardly notice the financial end of things. Although it is challenging to be consistent in writing letters to "our children" who live in a faraway land, where we've never been, dealing with issues we've never had to deal with, it is worth the effort. The letters mean a lot to them and have a direct impact on their quality of life. And of course, we love to hear back from them!

We pray that God will bless these children and their families and look forward to seeing how their lives (and ours) will continue to improve because of the work done by Word & Deed Ministries.

Although we can't and aren't called to respond to every need we see in a financial way, there are many things we can do for very little to help those who can't help themselves

Henrietta and Ruben

Henrietta and her husband Ruben live in Lethbridge, Alberta and attend the Monarch Free Reformed Church.

Sponsor a child!

2009-04-08T14:31:00.018-04:00

Priszyla - 10 Years Old (Colombia)

Johan - 4 Years Old (Colombia)

Elman - 6 Years Old (Guatemala)

Please call toll free to sponsor one of us today!
Canada 1-877-375-9673
U.S.A. 1-866-391-5728

Making it Easy to Help

2009-02-04T16:59:00.001-05:00

By Jacqui VanMeppelen-Scheppink

Word & Deed’s Child Sponsorship program provides a very simple way to make a difference in the life of a child! Our journey began in May of 2002 with a little girl in Colombia named Diana. We had intentions of starting this program a lot sooner, but life was very busy and the thought of adding another monthly obligation of making sure a check was sent, and occasionally writing a letter, was daunting. It would be another thing on the ‘to do’ list and we wanted to be sure our obligations could be met on time. Once our children began moving out of the house, it was time to ‘adopt’ another one.

God took us on some very unexpected paths in the last few years, and we became even busier! However, keeping up with our sponsor child obligations was not a problem. The monthly contribution gets taken out of our bank account automatically each month and sent to Colombia to support Diana. How much easier can it get? At first it seemed a bit impersonal, but if we had waited for the time to ‘do it right,’ this child would not have received our help and support through six years of her life. Regular letter writing is a challenge for us in our busy schedule, but even sending a picture of ourselves or a card once or twice a year is an exciting event for these children.

It is always fun to receive a note or hand-colored picture from Diana, as well as her photograph. It’s neat to see how much she has grown in the six years we have had her as our adopted daughter. When Rick Postma visited Colombia, he even had ‘our’ little girl on video! Thanks to Word & Deed’s program we are able to make a difference in the life of this young girl in Colombia in spite of our busy schedules.

Jacqui VanMeppelen-Scheppink is a Word & Deed volunteer who attends St. Thomas Free Reformed Church with her husband Jake.

Child Sponsorship: FAQ

2009-02-04T15:47:00.006-05:00

Have you ever wondered if you could make a difference in a child’s life? Well you can! For only $35 (CAD) or $32 (US) you can change a child’s life forever! Read on to find out answers to frequently asked questions about child sponsorship through Word & Deed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Sponsorship

Why should I consider sponsoring a child through Word & Deed?
By sponsoring a child, you have the privilege of fundamentally changing a child’s life. Your donation is placed in a fund for all the children. This fund is then used to provide your sponsor child with the following:

A school uniforms.

Basic medical care when needed.

A Christian education.

A nutritious meal each school day.

Basic instruction and counselling for the parent(s).

But most importantly, your sponsor child will hear and, by God’s grace, respond to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. What happens when I send my sponsorship request to Word & Deed? When your request is received, we determine if you have any specifications such as; age, gender, or country. We then fill your request taking those items into consideration as much as possible.

Which countries to the children come from?
A large majority of our sponsor children come from Colombia. We also have schools in India and Guatemala. If we receive a request for a country in which we don’t have any schools, we can sponsor through our sister organization, Woord en Daad, in Holland. They have schools in The Philippines, Haiti, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso, as well as Colombia, Guatemala and India.
How are the children selected?
The sponsorship schools are usually built in the slums of large cities. Because almost all the residents live in poverty, nearly all children are eligible for the school. Parents apply to the school for help for their children and school staff select the children giving the poorest families priority.
Why does Word & Deed work mostly through schools?
Schools provide an effective way of providing aid to the children. Education equips children with the knowledge and life skills they need to escape the impoverished and often abusive conditions they are living in. But most importantly, an education centered on God’s Word provides many opportunities to share the Gospel and teach family values from a biblical perspective.
What happens if I stop contributing or miss payments?
As mentioned in the first answer above, you contribute to a sponsorship fund. This fund, along with an operating fund, ensures all the children in the schools are take care of, even if they don’t have sponsors or if their sponsor is behind on their contributions. If you do fall behind on your contributions we will send you a friendly reminder notice. Do I have to renew my sponsorship? No, this is not necessary. We assume until we hear otherwise that you are willing and able to continue sponsoring your child.
How long are the children in the program?
Normally, the children are in the program until they graduate from school. However, occasionally a child leaves the sponsorship program due to relocation or some other reason. If that happens, we notify you and replace that child with another sponsor child.
How do I correspond with my sponsor child(ren)?
It’s very simple – just decide what you want to send, and send it to one of our offices or, if an address is provided, directly to the country. Some helpful hints for sending mail:

Remember to include the name and registration number of your child(ren).
Ensure your address isn’t in the correspondence to your child in order to avoid receiving “beg” mail from people who may pick up the address.
Send small gifts, such as hair accessories, stickers, or notepads, that won’t stand out and make the child a target for theft. Large, bulky or expensive gifts are costly in terms of postage and import duties and may attract the attention of thieves in foreign countries.
Children love to receive pictures of you and your family.

Heather VanMeppelen-Scheppink is Word & Deed’s administrative assistant.

Testimonial

2008-03-19T20:58:00.000-04:00

I first started sponsoring a child through Word & Deed USA in the spring of 2003, shortly after learning about its mission work. I soon came to realize how easily—and cheaply, in my opinion—I could help. It was not long before I added two more children to my growing “family,” one that summer and another the following year.

For me it wasn’t quite as simply as it seems—pay support money, get a profile and picture of a child and maybe receive occasional correspondence. I wasn’t satisfied with this. They were my “kids” and I wanted to do whatever I could for them. I’m sure it’s not the same as having your own child, but even through pictures and brief messages, a bond is developed.

Due to the distance, correspondence doesn’t come nearly as frequently as I’d like, but I eagerly rip open every envelope from Word & Deed, looking for something. (Unfortunately, not every letter contains new about my “kids.”) My favorite items are the homemade cards the children typically send around Christmas. Due to the mail delays, I get my own “Christmas in July” when the cards arrive! And I can enjoy them more then, since there’s no holiday rush to distract me or detract from the specialness.

I purposely picked three different locations for sponsoring to give me an idea of similarities and differences between the children, their families, and their living conditions. I sponsor an 8-year-old Christian boy from Colombia, a 10-year-old Muslim girl in Burkina Faso and a 10-year-old Hindu boy in India. Aside from sending the sponsor money to keep them clothed, fed, and educated and to purchase an occasional small gift, the only thing my husband and I can do for them is pray. But it’s hard, because we often don’t really know what to pray for-how can I (here in the U.S., safe and sound, happy and well-fed) really know what they need?

I found it especially rewarding to send a personal package to my boy in Colombia when a group from my church went there on a mission trip two years ago. It was fun putting the packet together, trying to pick things he’d like based on note I’d received from him. But the best part was hearing the stories from the group members, getting a picture from them, and receiving a thank-you note from him. (In his note, he specifically listed every item I had sent!)

It amazes me every time I write my child sponsor check to Word & Deed just how much I can do for so little. My husband and I feel truly blessed that we can contribute to the spread of the Word in this way.

Laura DeJong is a mechanical engineer for a plastics company and a member of First Free Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan.