Guest Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 Hello, I was wondering if anyone has any advise or experience of sponsoring a child in their setting? I am interested in sponsoring a child from Kenya as I currently use a persona doll called MATU who is from Kenya. I thought it might be a nice way to learn more about what its like to live there and also to encourage the children to help those less fortunate than themselves. Also If I did go ahead with it can I put the donation (£15 oer month) down on my expenses? Cheers Marie
chocisgood Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 wow fab idea! I support Education for life in mombasa. A lovely english couple Glyn and Jane, who went out there for honeymoon and haven't looked back! Started off as a feeding programme but has grown, they do fantastic work. Also very good at keeping in touch with photos etc and tellin you what they are up to. http://www.educationforlife.net/ check it out
narnia Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 Hi...............here is my tuppenceworth on this: after the Tsunami, we considered sponsoring a child, and when we discussed it with parents, of course tthey were all for it, but some points came up: what happens if the setting closes...........who continues to pay the sponsorship, or does it simply stop, making everyone feel awful, for 'abandoning' the child? Would it be better to pay the money to a children's charity every month, to benefit more children,....say, the Red cross or Oxfam? would it be better to pay for a child to have an operation, for instance, the cleft palate,or eyesight operation and do a speific fund-raiser for this, so we knew the money had been raised? What happens if you hit very hard times and can't afford to send the money? some parents felt sponsoring a specific child was something they would rather do personally and did. So, we send a donation instead to specific charities as and when we have some money.For instance, the Haiti disaster, we had several new children start at our setting who we'd not expected, so sent the extra fees to the fund. I think the whole idea is lovely................just letting you know how our parents felt about it. Could you link up with a school, or setting in Kenya and keep in touch that way?? You could send equipment that they need and know it helps many children and fulfills the desire to encourage help to those less fortunate??
nickylear Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 Hi I'm not sure if this will interest you?.....but I've been coordinating the International School Award at our school. We have had a link with a school in India for over a year & worked on lots of joint projects together, sent letters & emails & in the processes learnt lots about each others cultures. We've recently linked with two African schools, (one is a orphanage) & plan to do the same type off work. Linking with schools around the world in this way has been a great way to introduce new cultures, shared ideas with each other & challenge misconceptions that we may hold about each other. (e.g. children in Indian use blackboards & chalk for their lessons, in fact our link schools ict facilities are much better than ours) Hope this info is ok, I think it's fine to sponsor child but I think this type of partnership can be off great value. The link is for the British Council global gateway....they are great at offering advice & support. http://www.globalgateway.org.uk/ Hope it all goes well, Nicky XXX
Guest Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 Yes I agree with you, but I have found a site where, although you only sponsor one child, the money goes to help improve the lives of all those in their village. I guess its something that I will need to consider as to whether I can 'keep it up'. I wasn't planning on asking for parents to contribute, I was just going to commit to it myself. Oooo a lot to think about! Cheers!
HappyMaz Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 Interesting topic! As for whether you can claim it back on your expenses, I'd say your accountant was the best person to answer that one! Maz
Guest Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 I don't have an accountant, just me! I'll try my development officer tomorrow. Thanks 4 all the ideas/help etc...... Marie
HappyMaz Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 I don't have an accountant, just me! Then you could also try the Inland Revenue - nothing like getting the information from the horse's mouth! Maz
Guest Posted February 23, 2010 Posted February 23, 2010 We sponsor a child in nursery but it is through Plan and I believe the money goes to the village to help in a general way.
Cait Posted February 23, 2010 Posted February 23, 2010 (edited) we sponsor two children at Preschool. We started this because our children have no awareness of children from different cultures. We started sponsorship when the girls were 3, the same age as the children at Preschool at that time. One child (from Thailand) is now 11 and the other from Ethiopia is now 6. We get lovely letters from them and pictures and the children enjoy sending pictures back. It's actually me who pays for the sponsorship, but as I was going to do it anyway I don't have any problem with that. Compasion UK is the company we use. Edited February 23, 2010 by Cait
Guest Posted February 23, 2010 Posted February 23, 2010 Thank you all for your help and advice, Marie xxx
Guest Posted February 23, 2010 Posted February 23, 2010 I can endorse chocisgood's comments about Education for Life. I've sponsored a child for several years throughout his primary education and am continuing with his 4 year secondary education. I know Glyn & Jane quite well and am hoping to visit them in the summer - I am so excited! It will be very interesting to see how the nursery works. I think it will be very different from the English model!
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