Ethiopia Child Sponsorship Program
"I remember when I lost both of my parents everything became darker and I became hopeless but [God] gave you to me and lightened my darkness...Now because of your help I am able to go to school. I will try to study hard to fulfill my dream to finish my education, be a doctor and help poor orphans like me."
- Tihun, 8 years old, letter to her sponsor
The Children
The toll that AIDS/HIV, famine, war and extreme poverty have taken on a whole generation in Ethiopia is staggering. In communities throughout the country, it is commonplace for children to have experienced the death of one or both parents. Orphaned, these children sometimes remain in their home with siblings or grandparents or rely on the assistance of struggling communities for their existence. Our Child Sponsorship Program is able to provide hope for many hundreds, and potentially thousands, of children in providing them and their communities with the basic needs of food, shelter, education, and healthcare. Even more importantly, child sponsorship allows children to share their future with their families in the country they were born.
The Benefits of Sponsorship
Sponsorship of a child in Ethiopia costs $400 per year. These funds are currently used to provide children and their families with access to basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, education and healthcare. Many families are also able to use the funds to invest in livestock or equipment as a means of renewable income. Still others have been able to use the money to improve their homes, begin small businesses or even start savings accounts, thereby investing in their own futures. Plans are currently being introduced to use sponsorship funds for community development projects that will benefit all children living in the community. These funds will provide children with access to healthcare, education, clean water and sanitation, and other needs identified in the community.
Dr. Tsegaye Berhe, Wide Horizons Representative in Ethiopia, explains that "with sponsorship money, children can live with their own relatives, within their community and in their native country and can obtain the appropriate amount of food, health care and education. [Child sponsorship can] save not only the life of the child but also can improve the life of the entire family and the community at large."
Sponsors receive a photograph and profile on the child they sponsor, plus 1-2 updates per year from the child. Social workers in Ethiopia closely monitor the children's progress, help enroll children in school, and assist their families with investing funds. They also translate and deliver correspondence between sponsoring families and the children.
Learn more about how child sponsorship works.
Humanitarian Aid
Alongside the sponsorship program, there are a number of ongoing medical, educational and other types of community development projects in the areas where sponsored children live. Information on community projects in Ethiopia is available here or by contacting Ali Crandall at acrandall@whfc.org, or 781.419.0340.
Thousands of children in Ethiopia await your help. For more information on sponsoring, contact Julie Wilder at jwilder@whfc.org, or 781.419.0357.
Begin your sponsorship of a child in Ethiopia now!