What is Child Sponsorship?

Child sponsorship means donating to a child in need monthly. This provides them with the essentials they need to thrive, including medical care, food, water, education and so much more. Through sponsorship, your support can help us release yet another child from poverty in Jesus’ name.

The world’s poverty problem is too big to ignore. But not too big to change.

Poverty can stunt children’s growth, hinder their social and emotional development, and expose them to abuse and exploitation. While many think of it as a simple lack of resources, another painful reality is a lack of hope. Ronnie Mulema, a graduate of Compassion’s program, explains how he felt this way as a child: “Not one person I knew believed in me, and poverty was my forever reality.”

1 in 6 children lives in extreme poverty (World Bank).
Children are more than 2x as likely to live in poverty than adults (UNICEF).
A child who experiences poverty is more than 3x as likely to experience multigenerational poverty as an adult (Melbourne Institute).

Child sponsorship fights poverty

Child sponsorship is designed to empower children to create brighter futures for themselves, their families, their communities and the world. How does child sponsorship help children break the cycle of poverty?

By providing access to education, health care and basic necessities, child sponsorship acts as a catalyst for lasting change. Children sponsored through Compassion are surrounded by safe adults who know them individually, live in the love of Jesus and offer the specific support they need as they journey out of poverty.

Olive shares how sponsorship through Compassion changed her life:

“Growing up, my Compassion sponsors encouraged me and continually spoke truth into my life. The Compassion [center] became a place of healing and restoration. It was a place of refuge for me. I got medical care. I got an education. … My life was forever changed.”

How sponsorship benefits children

$43/month will provide your sponsored child with

Malnutrition monitoring and intervention

Regular medical checkups

Individual mentorship and love

Education assistance and skills training

The opportunity to receive encouraging words and support from you, their sponsor

An introduction to the love of God

Learn more about how child sponsorship helps.

How child sponsorship through Compassion works

Church-driven

We partner with thousands of local churches that tailor our child development model to the specific needs of the children they serve.

Child-focused

Children receive whole-life care that is personal, individualized and relational to the child’s age, gender, health, culture and family situation.

Christ-centered

Because Jesus is our core, everything we do for children is meant to reflect God’s heart through the gospel.

Frequently asked questions

Have questions? We’re here to help!

Why should I sponsor a child through Compassion specifically?

When you sponsor a child with Compassion International, you help equip a child in extreme poverty with the skills and opportunities they need to become self-sufficient and fulfilled adults. Your sponsored child will be paired with a local church where staff and volunteers will encourage healthy development as they grow. Through child sponsorship, that boy or girl will receive personal care and opportunities they would otherwise not have access to. Examples include medical checkups, malnutrition monitoring and care, education assistance, and key life skills training. And most importantly, sponsoring a child gives them an opportunity to encounter the gospel while seeing the truth of the good news in action. As a holistic child development ministry, we focus on the full health of the child. Many organizations focus on combating single factors like economic disparity and scarcity, but we care for children mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Because of that, we don’t just sustain a child through an impoverished circumstance: We work to release them from it. We’re set apart from other organizations through our focus on Christ, our work done exclusively in partnership with local churches and our focus on children and their holistic, sustainable development. 

What sponsors say about child sponsorship

Wonderful Organization!

I love the relational, one-on-one nature of the sponsorships. I love to write letters anyway and now I can use that to encourage and uplift a child who needs it.

Sarah (sponsor)

It Is a Blessing!

This blessing starts with blessing an individual child, then you also bless their family, and then their community as well, and then the blessing returns to the giver.

Kimberly (sponsor)

Overjoyed!

Making the decision to become a Compassion sponsor 18 years ago was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.

Michelle (sponsor)