Q. I’ve got a sponsor child – What now?

A. As we have yours and your child’s best interests at heart we will try and help you keep in contact with your child and gain a more personal relationship with them. You can also send you child letters, cards and gifts, anything that will lift your sponsored child’s spirits. Remember where these children are living is often acutely depressing. We encourage you to write as often as you can with words of encouragement.

Please refrain from including your personal address, as all letters will go through our offices in South Africa.

Q. What kind of gifts can I send my sponsor child?

A. Your child will be happy to receive:

• Stationary/ school supplies
• Letters & photographs
• Clothes and accessories
• For older girls, body lotions and hair accessories
• Games (skipping rope, bat & ball etc…)
• Sports supplies / accessories

What NOT to send your child:

• Sharp or dangerous objects
• Food
• Live objects
• Indecent items
• Fragile objects
• Money (money may end up in the wrong hands and be spent on drugs or alcohol)

The majority of children will not have access to electical items, and as such will not have the means to enjoy CDs, videos or DVDs (unless you know that they own such items).

Please note: Staff will individually screen all letters and parcels before passing them on to a child. Anything deemed inappropriate or indecent will not be given to a child.

Large & Bulky items

If you are planning on sending a large and/or bulky item and are concerned regarding postal costs, please contact our offices with details of the size of the package along with a short description. Our office staff will endeavour to provide you with an estimate regarding the costs of purchasing the item locally in South Africa. If it will be cheaper to source the item in South Africa, you can arrange to transfer the money to our bank account or send us a cheque for the agreed amount and we will source your gift locally and deliver it to your sponsor child with a card from you. By sourcing the item locally, your child will receive the gifts you intended and you will save all the costs of packaging and international delivery. We will also send you a photo of your sponsor child with your gift.

Postal Address for gifts & letters:

PO box 2082

Hillcrest
3650
South Africa

Please note, when sending any gifts or letters to your sponsor child please clearly indicate your sponsorship number and your sponsor child’s number.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact either our head office in South Africa or our UK office.

Q. How does the sponsorship program affect the life of a child.

A. By placing them in a loving home, providing full time education, school uniforms, food, offering them hope for the future through constant exposure to the teachings of Christianity. HIV/AIDS education is ongoing with the sponsor children.

Q. How are children chosen for sponsorship?

A. Our goal is to help and/or house as many of the country’s 3,000,000 orphans as possible. We will place orphans into the homes (an orphan is someone who has lost their mother or mother and father) if there is no one in the extended family to take them on. If they are able to stay safely with extended family then we will support the child in that home. We have found that although certain children’s mothers may still be alive, they are totally unable to care for their child (due to advanced AIDS or other disabling diseases). Therefore there are circumstances where children will be sponsored if they are not technically an orphan.

Q. How long does the sponsorship program last?

A. We sponsor children up from babies up to age 18. When the child has reached adulthood the relationship can continue independently if desired.

Q. What happens to the child when the sponsor discontinues the support of sponsorship?

A. We will endeavour to reassign the child to a new sponsor as quickly as possible

Q. Why does my sponsor child’s letter seem short and not well written?

A: ‘Thank you cards’ and letters may be basic from some children as many children have missed many years of schooling for a variety of reasons. Keeping your questions brief and few may help your child to better respond to you in writing. Some children who were absent from school right up to you sponsoring them will probably be unable to write at all. In these cases our staff will write down the child’s response and will continue to do so until the child is able.

Q. Does my child receive my monthly support in cash?

A. No. By paying for food, school fees and all other needs directly we can guarantee that all your money is actually going where we say it is.

Q. How much is a monthly commitment and should I send it at a specific time?

A. To support a child through Project O   is £25 per month.  The first of the month is suggested but anytime convenient for you is also fine. Some sponsors chose to pay in half year or even full year increments.

Q. Can I send extra cash?

A. Yes of course. Every bit of support we receive will directly benefit the children we work with. If it is for a specific need please ‘tag’ this on the bank transfer and email your requests to our office here in South Africa.

Q. What happens when a sponsor misses a monthly support commitment?

A. We realise that circumstances arise that may make a payment difficult. Please realise your sponsorship is literally a lifeline to these children. Therefore if you become unable to continue your commitment then we simply ask that you inform us and we can make arrangements for another sponsor to take over.

Q. Can I visit my sponsor in the future?

A. Yes. What better way to encourage your sponsor child than to see them in person? More information is available upon request

Q. I want to help promote your cause, can I link to your website from mine?

A. Yes. Of course! We’d love all the help we can get, all we ask is that you send an email to our website administrator (please see Contact Us page for details) in order to notify us of your intentions.