Empower a child and their community to break free from poverty – for good.

GAF has been working in the places where it is hardest to be a child to break the cycle of poverty. Over that time, we have learned that to really improve a child’s life, we need to improve their community too. The root causes that threaten children’s futures are complex and solving them requires strengthening their whole community. We work to equip children, families and communities with the knowledge, skills, resources and relationships they need to overcome the barriers that children face – and because we empower children and their community, the changes we make together last.

The changes that sponsorship brings go even deeper than the ones you can see. Sponsorship creates a unique connection that can build a child’s confidence, happiness and hope. Knowing they have a sponsor who cares can have a huge impact on a child. Your friendship can give them the hope and encouragement they need to thrive. And as you see the difference you’re making for your child and their community, you’ll find your life changed for the better too.

When you sponsor a child, you can help to change their world. GAF child sponsorship programme helps children living in disadvantaged regions to escape poverty. Experience has taught us that the best way to change a child’s life is to transform the world in which they live – their family, their community and the local area.

As a child sponsor, you partner with us as we work with local families, community groups and governments to break the cycle of poverty and create long-term change. Using your donations, we identify the causes of the child’s poverty and vulnerability, and create development projects designed to address them.

Our goal is that all children in the community will benefit from our work, which can include improved healthcare, education, water, sanitation and food. There are many stories of sponsored children who’ve grown up to live lives they hardly dared to dream of – thanks to generous people like you.

While each GAF Child Sponsor is connected with one child, we make the most of your donations by pooling funds to invest in long-term community development programmes that transform whole areas into places where children can thrive.

By doing this we know that for every child you sponsor, four more children directly benefit, too.

In every case, it’s the community members themselves who nominate vulnerable children to become sponsored and represent their community. And it’s their parents or guardians who then register them in the programme. Children then wait for a sponsor to choose them, or they get to choose their own sponsor at a choosing event.

Kids in the community who don’t have sponsors still benefit from sponsorship-funded community improvements like clean water, health care, education, job opportunities, and more.

Your donations help provide a better life for your sponsored child and their peers and transforms their future in ways they didn’t think possible. Our research shows your sponsorship and the connection your sponsored child feels can build hope, happiness, and confidence.

By writing letters, sending photos, and praying for your sponsored child, you have the chance to build a relationship with them that can enrich both of your lives. Your encouragement can be just as important to your sponsored child as the tangible help your donations provide.

GAF sponsorship is an opportunity to personally connect with a child, family, and community in need. You’ll empower them to work on lasting solutions to break free from poverty, for good. You’ll watch your sponsored child grow up, see their progress, and be a part of their life. Knowing that someone far away cares about them and their future can make a life-changing difference to your sponsored child.

Our 2 years of experience has proven that the most effective way to help a child is to strengthen their whole community. And it means you help more children to thrive. We combine your monthly donations with those of other sponsors to make the biggest impact on the worst problems children face in a community. You’ll give your sponsored child and their community life-saving resources like clean water, nutritious food, health care, child protection, education, economic opportunities, and more.

Each community is different. We start by listening to communities to understand their children’s greatest needs. Then together, we develop a plan and put it into action. We also work with local organisations, churches, and governments to change systems that keep kids trapped in poverty. Our goal is children’s complete well-being – physical, emotional, social, and spiritual.

Because of our community-focused solutions, for every child you help, four more will benefit, too.

GAF works with community representatives to identify and prioritise the needs in their area, such as clean water and education. Once this process is complete, GAF staff and community members work together to select the most vulnerable children based on transparent local criteria. Parents and caregivers in GAF programme areas learn about what child sponsorship is and what they can expect, and then they and their child decide if their child will take part.

Then GAF connects you with a child who is part of the sponsorship programme. As that child’s only sponsor, you have the opportunity to build a relationship with them and track their progress and the difference your support is making over time.

Your monthly donations become part of a powerful collective fund capable of permanently transforming your sponsored child’s community into a place that offers them the future they deserve.

GAF works with communities to plan how to tackle the biggest challenges they face and supports them with the knowledge, skills, resources and relationships they need to put those plans in action. 

We wish the world was just and equitable, and that everyone had the same chances to thrive. However, some of us have been born into countries and circumstances that give us advantages that others do not have.

We believe that everyday people can play an important role in addressing this injustice effectively and respectfully, through an ongoing exchange based on a one-to-one relationship. This approach is not without challenges, but other ways of transferring assets and power from the richer world to vulnerable communities also face problems.

Child sponsorship, on the other hand, provides long-term, sustained support for genuine development. It allows us to invest in local experts who can work for the development of the communities they live in. It creates a direct link for the sponsor, who can choose to build a meaningful relationship with a child and family and find out more about the issues in the world around the child they sponsor.

Our innovative Chosen programme is proving to be a successful experiment in addressing the question of who has agency in the sponsorship relationship. In this case, it is the children who select from a pool of willing sponsors. We are finding this new paradigm is enriching the experience for both sponsors and children, and we will be doing more of it in future.