India Child Sponsorship Program
"As you help me, I get the opportunity to attend school, learn, and read a lot. Now I am trying very hard. I study at school whole-heartedly. I got good marks on my first exam and my mother was very happy. If you would not have helped me, I would not have been encouraged so much. I know not how to thank you for the help which you are giving to me."
- Kavita, age 7
Hold on India Sponsorships
Please note, there is a temporary hold on new sponsorships in India to allow FSC the opportunity to identify children and families who will most benefit. Read more details.
The Children
Fazilat hails from a very poor and desperately needy family. Her father was a hard-working tailor and his meager income did not suffice to support his family (3 daughters and 1 son) or provide them with even one square meal a day. His diabetes now prevents him from working. Fazilat’s mother is illiterate and is not able to help with any financial support. She also was diagnosed with diabetes recently. Due to the family’s desperate circumstances, Fazilat had to drop out of school. Her parents were desperate to give their children a chance for a better future through education and approached FSC for help.
There are thousands of children like Fazilat living in slum communities in India. Often they live in one-room, makeshift homes with large families. Their parents may have jobs as vendors or laborers, but rarely make enough money to pay for food and utilities. Education is one of the only ways out of the life of intense poverty most children face; however, to attend school requires tuition, uniforms, and school supplies. As most families are unable to pay even for electricity in their homes, school is out of the question for many children in these communities, resulting in an unbroken cycle of poverty.
The Benefits of Sponsorship
Family Service Center (FSC) in Mumbai works with impoverished families throughout the city. They have assessed the circumstances of hundreds of children in slum communities and determined their eligibility for sponsorship.
Funds from sponsorship are used to purchase school supplies, uniforms, and pay tuition for a child to attend school. Additionally, social workers from FSC offer counseling and other assistance to the families of sponsored children, in an effort to improve the family's overall quality of life.
Sponsoring a child in India costs $150 per year. Sponsors will receive a child's profile and photograph, as well an annual update from the child they sponsor. Many children have already "graduated" from the sponsorship program, and have gone on to find well-paying jobs in India's growing middle class.
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 India is available here or by contacting Ali Crandall at acrandall@whfc.org, or 781.419.0340.
Thousands of children in India await your help. For more information on sponsoring, contact Julie Wilder Long at jwilder@whfc.org, or 781.419.0357.
Begin your sponsorship of a child in India now!