Four reasons to sponsor a girl today

When you sponsor a girl, you open the doors to a world of possibility – not just for the girl you sponsor but for their entire community. 

Global experts agree that one of the biggest keys to ending extreme poverty is to invest in the development of girls. Without this, breaking the cycle of generational poverty isn't possible. 

Here’s four reasons why sponsoring a girl transforms her life. 

1. Sponsored girls stay in school 

Millions of girls never have the chance to set foot in a classroom. Right now, almost one in four girls aged 15-19 is neither in school nor employed, compared to only one in 10 boys. Sponsoring a girl helps change those statistics. 

Education is at the heart of World Vision’s Child Sponsorship model, which works to break down barriers that prevent girls from entering the classroom. The benefits of educating a girl go well beyond the classroom: for every year of school education a girl receives, she can increase her future income by as much as 20%. 

Sponsorship works with the entire community. From families to traditional leaders to governments, we promote education’s transformative power to help girls stay in school – building a more equitable world and breaking the cycle of poverty. 

2. Sponsorship reduces violence against girls 

Violence against women and girls plagues every corner of the globe, taking on many forms from partner violence and sexual exploitation to rape and harassment. And although the problem can seem overwhelming, sponsorship tackles it head-on. 

Sponsorship protects girls by helping them understand their rights and encouraging them to speak out. Parents, teachers, faith leaders and others in the community also come to understand which practices are harmful. The results are a protective community network around children, where specific issues are tackled, such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, peacebuilding and bullying.

By sponsoring a girl, you empower her to break the cycle of violence, building a brighter future for herself and for future generations. 

READ MORE: Teen fights FGM 

3. Sponsored girls break the cycle of poverty 

Decades of research shows the burden of poverty weighs heavier on women and girls. It’s usually girls who have to walk long distances to fetch clean water instead of going to school. It’s girls who are expected to get married young to give their family one less mouth to feed. And it’s girls who are more likely to be pulled from the classroom to care for the family.  

All of these norms combine to trap girls in a perpetual cycle of gender inequality and oppressive poverty that exhausts the potential of whole families, communities and nations, as well as the girls themselves. 

Sponsorship tackles that. The community approach to sponsorship means that everyone gets help to break free from poverty, with infrastructure like wells drilled closer to home. Other benefits could be healthcare facilities, livelihoods support like savings groups and small business training to enhance family income generation, and even agriculture improvements like climate-smart seeds for crops and training on best practices. Together, these interventions help ensure girls can go to school and unlock their futures.

4. Sponsored girls are more confident 

Finally, sponsorship offers one of the most powerful gifts of all: hope. Knowing there is someone out there not only helping meet their practical needs but cheering them on as they tackle their biggest challenges is a powerful thing. Sponsors are a huge source of encouragement to children – tangible proof that they matter. 

Over and over again, sponsored children tell us that the personal connection they have with their sponsor builds their resilience and confidence to withstand any crisis. In fact, our surveys indicate that sponsored children who exchanged letters with their sponsors experienced increased hope, happiness, and confidence – all cornerstones to being able to transform their futures. 

Sponsor a girl today and you won’t have to imagine the change you could make to a girl’s life. You will be part of something bigger than just you, creating greater change and making a long-lasting difference – not just to your sponsored child but to her whole community.