Child Sponsorship changes lives

Sadly, many children today are being impacted by conflict, climate change or natural disaster. On top of this, they are hungry and afraid – never sure when or if they'll have another meal. 

World Vision believes that every child should have enough food to survive – and thrive. They also deserve clean water, healthcare, an education, and to have their rights protected. With these, they have a stronger chance to break free from the cycle of poverty and make a future of their own choosing.

Together, we are creating greater change and making a long-lasting difference in children's futures.

Making a difference through Child Sponsorship

Child Sponsorship is one of the key ways World Vision supporters are transforming children's lives.

Because of Child Sponsorship, children like 12-year-old Hevé now have the tools they need to follow their own dreams. 

Hevé lives with her mum and older brother in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Her mum, Bijou, lives with a disability and this makes it difficult to earn an income that covers the cost of food as well as Hevé’s education and clothing. 

Before Hevé was sponsored, she’d go to school in unsuitable clothes and would often be sent home because the fees hadn’t been paid in time. Missing out on school would have put her behind in her studies and could have impacted her future.  

But then Hevé was sponsored and things began to change.  

READ MORE: 10 reasons you should sponsor a child

How Child Sponsorship changed Hevé’s life 

“When I saw my mother's condition with her disability,” Hevé says, “I thought, who could free us from this difficulty? The only work my mother did was knitting, but she didn't have many materials to help her carry out her knitting.” 

The answer came when Bijou chose to partner with World Vision.  

After Hevé became a sponsored child, her mum received food, a goat, and money to buy knitting yarn. These made all the difference to Hevé and her family’s life. 

“After receiving these goods,” says Hevé, “our mother undertook to sell them, and then she found a new lease of life in our home [in] her role as a good mother. Thanks to her knitting and the sale of the goods received from World Vision, she was able to prepare for the start of my new school year by buying me uniforms, notebooks, a school bag and shoes. 

“I'm very happy with World Vision's presence in our community, which is changing our lives and giving us hope for our future. I couldn't imagine that one day our mother, with her disability, would have the idea of raising goats, starting an income-generating activity and strengthen her knitting trade – because in this community there was no one who [thought] of us as World Vision did.” 

Now Hevé has dreams for the future. “I'm going to school with the hope of finishing my studies and one day [helping] my most vulnerable community.” 

Hevé thanks World Vision sponsors for the commitment they’ve made to the children in her community. 

READ MORE: How Child Sponsorship works

World Vision and the DRC hunger crisis 

Hevé's country, the DRC, is facing one of the world’s largest hunger crises. In large part due to climate change and conflict, 5.4 million people in DRC need life-saving food assistance and 2.8 million children are acutely malnourished. 

Because of our existing presence in DRC, World Vision has been able to respond and meet the urgent needs of those displaced by conflict and disaster. This includes the provision of food, clean water, sanitation, child protection and more.

We will continue to provide this vital support for as long as we’re needed. 

READ MORE: Conflict and hunger in the DRC

You could sponsor a child today

World Vision’s work in the DRC spans 40 years, and in that time Child Sponsorship has benefitted more than 1.6 million children, including Hevé.

Your commitment to supporting a child would help them keep safe and healthy, know their rights, and stay in school. In the long-term they would have better career opportunities and a chance to break the cycle of poverty for good.  

But it doesn’t end here. Your sponsorship would benefit other children too. Because World Vision works with whole communities, when one child is sponsored, four more benefit. 

So that’s five children with enough food to eat, clean water, and all the tools they need to build a future of their choice. A wonderful, long-lasting difference for many years to come.