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Two teenagers and a toddler pose by a newly installed water collection point

Transforming communities

How your sponsorship of one child can empower an entire community

Making an impact that lasts

When you choose to sponsor a child, you transform not only their life, but the lives of everyone in their community. That's because the most effective way to make sure positive changes have a lasting impact is to transform a child's whole environment.

Instead of just addressing issues for individual children as they arise, we work in partnership with their communities to tackle the deep seated issues that are the root causes of poverty in the area.

Sponsor a child today and equip them and their entire community with the essentials they need to build a better future; such as clean water, education, healthcare facilities, nutritious food, protection, and job opportunities for parents to improve their income.

The cycle of poverty ends now

Child Sponsorship means empowering communities to help themselves.

World Vision doesn't believe in swooping in and telling people what they need. Instead, communities tell us what they require to become self-sufficient, and through your sponsorship, we can set out a partnership that ensures the resulting transformation endures long after your sponsorship ends.

Seeing your transformative impact

Throughout your sponsorship, you are kept updated of the changes being made to the lives of individual children and their communities, thanks to your support. Many supporters find the experience to be life-affirming for themselves, not just for those they are supporting.

Below is an example of the community update videos we send to our sponsors every year, which shows the community talking about the impact sponsorship has had on them in their own words. Sponsor a child today to hear a community talk about how you have changed their lives.

For every child you support, a whole community benefits.

How Child Sponsorship transformed a community in Vietnam

In the peaceful landscape of Nhu Thanh, where rice paddies stretch out and mountains surround the community, life was not always easy. While many families relied on farming, 13% of the population lived in poverty. Malnutrition was common, with one in seven children affected, and many families struggled with outdated knowledge about proper nutrition.

But everything began to change in 2017 when Child Sponsorship arrived. With the support of generous sponsors, the community started to heal. Families gained access to clean water and better sanitation, and children received the nutrition they needed to grow healthy and strong. Attitudes towards child protection shifted, with fewer parents using physical punishment and more embracing gentle, nurturing ways of raising their children.

A group of children from a play group ride their scooters

Thanks to the commitment of sponsors, Nhu Thanh is no longer a place of struggle—it's a thriving, hopeful community. Children now come together in child clubs to learn about their rights and work alongside local authorities to create a safer, better environment for all. The community has become stronger and more self-sufficient, with people supporting each other through savings groups and collaborative projects.

Children playing at their school playground

Nhu Thanh's transformation shows the power of love and support. It's not just one child's life that’s changed—it’s the whole community, united in hope for a brighter future

 

The ways Child Sponsorship transforms communities

Child Sponsorship FAQs

  • When you sponsor a child, your donation goes towards projects that help the entire community, rather than directly to the individual child. That's because experience has taught us it’s most effective to use sponsorship money on projects that will benefit your sponsored child’s community as a whole, while still improving the well-being of the child you sponsor. This way you can make changes to the institutions and structures in your sponsored child's life, meaning that they benefit right away, and the whole community benefits in the long term.

  • We work with national governments and other international agencies to identify the regions and communities that are most in need and where the most vulnerable children live. We then meet with community leaders and the wider community to gain a greater understanding of the challenges and the opportunities that exist for them and we develop a long-term plan together, to break the cycle of poverty. Find out more about how Child Sponsorship works

  • In short, both! How involved you are in your sponsored child's journey is completely up to you. You’ll receive regular letters, photos, and updates from your sponsored child, and you can write back and send small gifts if you wish. 

    Some of your updates will include an update about the transformation of the entire community.

  • All of World Vision's work begins with listening to communities in need. Community leaders work with us to identify the most vulnerable children and families who will benefit from Child Sponsorship.

    Usually one child per family is enrolled in the sponsorship programme. This is because of our community-based model that lifts not only the individual child but their wider environments. Ultimately we let the community members themselves decide which children to choose for sponsorship. 

  • Sponsoring a child with World Vision costs £30 a month. Our Child Sponsorship is community-led and community-focused so for every child you help, four more children benefit too. 

  • World Vision only works within countries where we have our own offices so we can be sure that we can account for all the money that we receive and how it is used.

    We have audited accounts that are publicly available at any time. As a charity, we're regulated by the Charities Commission – a legal body, which oversees all UK charities and their activities.

    We are a not-for-profit organisation, and we know that the continued support we receive is dependent on our efficient use of supporters’ money. Our Annual Report is available here

Learn more about Child Sponsorship