Sponsor A Girl Today
Together, we can directly empower girls to overcome extreme poverty.
21 Feb, 2018
You can sponsor a girl to go to school
We’re right with you in believing that every girl deserves a decent education. Sadly in cultures where a girl’s social status is lower, her education is seen as less valuable.
We can change this by giving girls access to the classroom and helping them to stay there – something Compassion child sponsorship is proven to do. Educating girls is one of the most effective strategies to combat child marriage, especially as they move to secondary school. When a girl stays in secondary school, she is six times less likely to marry young.
Why sponsoring a girl makes a difference
| Girls in poverty face challenges | Thanks to Compassion UK Child Sponsorship | |
|---|---|---|
| Education | Globally, twice as many girls than boys will never start school. | A girl in poverty receives the fees and resources to go to school. Compassion children are 41.6% more likely to finish secondary school. |
| Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) | More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut. | A girl is given weekly access to a church-based Compassion project where staff work sensitively to educate families and communities about the dangers of FGM. |
| Child marriage | One third of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18. | A girl’s Compassion project champions her education, helping to protect her from being married early. |
| Human trafficking | 71% of human trafficking victims are women and girls. One third are children. | We see the children in our programme every week. Staff at a girl's project will quickly notice if she is missing. |
| Child labour | 152 million children are trapped in child labour, 64 million are girls. | Providing school fees, health and nutritional support, sponsorship relieves the burden on a girl’s family, lessoning their need to send her to work. |
| Self-esteem | Poverty damages a child’s self-esteem. | Receiving one letter from their Compassion sponsor every 6 months improves a child’s self-esteem. |
| Long-term employment | 493 million adult women are illiterate and account for almost two-thirds of the world’s 774 million illiterate adults. | Compassion children are 35.9% more likely to get a white collar job and 75% more likely to be community leaders. |
Sponsor a girl and empower her to overcome poverty
Being a girl is tough. And girls in the world’s poorest communities have it toughest.
Knowing the injustice, you want to take a stand, but it’s hard to know where to start. That’s why we want to give you the opportunity to sponsor a girl. Together, we can directly empower girls to overcome extreme poverty.
My family doesn't see my education as a good thing. That's why it is important to me to be part of the Compassion project. I want my daughter to become educated so her house would be a good house. She would be able to sleep in a good bed that is not made of cow skin and she would go to a good school. -Beatrice, 16, Compassion-sponsored girl
Girls in poverty are denied medical care
- 45% of child deaths are linked to malnutrition. The leading cause of malnutrition in kids under 5 is diarrhoea.
- HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are the three biggest poverty related diseases.
- 1.25 billion women around the world do not have access to a toilet during their periods. And 1 in 10 school-age African girls ‘do not attend school during menstruation’.
Make it a girls’ world: protect a girl’s health
We share your passion for giving every girl access to the health care she deserves. Health support is a key part of the Compassion UK child sponsorship programme. Thanks to the support of their sponsor, every Compassion-sponsored girl is given regular health check-ups and nutritional support.
When Akouvi was first registered into the Compassion programme she was severely malnourished. She couldn’t stand, walk or talk. Akouvi was immediately taken to hospital for treatment. Thanks to immediate intervention and nutritional support she’s now a thriving 7-year-old. Akouvi loves to run.
When you sponsor a girl, you boost her self-esteem
Poverty is a thief. It tells girls they don’t matter – that they don’t deserve to sit at a desk and learn. The girls who graduate from the Compassion programme are not only given access to education, they become leaders in their families and communities.
There is a very big difference between girls in the [Compassion] project and the girls who are not. You can even recognise it by looking at those girls. They have a very high self-esteem because they are getting an education. But above all, because they have been attached to a church and to the Compassion project, they are able to get a lot of other skills from seminars, camps and training. - Francis Mbore, Compassion project director, Kenya
Sponsor a girl like Hilda
“My name is Hilda. I am the eighth child in a family of 10 children. We didn’t have much money growing up and we lived in one room. When I was five years old my dad had an accident which left him unable to work. We had no money for food and I was very scared. I felt like no one cared about me and I didn’t matter.
Then everything changed. When I was nine, one of my neighbours told me about Compassion at my local church. I was sponsored through Compassion and started to go to the project every week. I was fed there and I learnt how to care of myself. I learnt I was special and that God loved me.
My sponsor wrote me letters. They loved me so much even though we never met in person. I am so thankful for my sponsor and everything they did for me.”
Stand alongside a girl in poverty
If you’re thinking through the pros and cons of child sponsorship, Hilda’s story is a powerful testimony. Sponsor a girl and empower her to bring change:
- Sponsorship kept Hilda in school. Now she’s a university graduate.
- Hilda is a school teacher, empowering the next generation.
- A respected leader in her church and community, Hilda is even putting her younger sister through university.
“I made a difference”
I decided to sponsor a girl because I am a girl. I know my sponsored child can now get a good education. She can impact her community a very important way. She can help her community to change, to hope. - Eleanor, Compassion sponsor
Where to sponsor a girl
You may want to sponsor a girl in an area where you or your family already have a connection. You could sponsor a girl in Africa and support a girl in one of the 8 African countries where we’re partnering with local churches.
If you’re looking to sponsor a girl in India, sadly Compassion isn’t currently working in India, but you can empower a girl living in Asia. You can support a girl in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or sponsor a girl in Thailand to overcome poverty.
How to sponsor a girl
1. Start your sponsorship journey by choosing a girl waiting for a sponsor on our website and sponsoring her for £28 a month.
2. You’ll soon receive a beautiful Welcome Pack through the post with a photo of your sponsored child, plus everything you need to write your first letter.
3. Over time you’ll see the difference you’re making through your sponsored child’s letters and photos. Your donations will enable your sponsored girl to be educated, fed, protected and empowered. You can release a girl from poverty and give her a future.
You may also be interested in:
- Meet Aladdin actress Naomi Scott and discover why she's passionate about empowering girls worldwide
Sources: UNESCO, Education for all, International Center For Research on Women, UNICEF, Child Protection From Violence, Exploitation and Abuse, Child Sponsorship: Exploring Pathways to a Brighter Future, International Labour Organisation, Does International Child Sponsorship Work? A Six-Country Study of Impacts on Adult Life Outcomes
WORDS : Becca Stanley
PHOTOS : Compassion International
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