Where Do Your Sponsorship Dollars Go?

Denee Anderson, Vision Trip team member, with her sponsored child and his mother.

It was a joy and encouragement to have a Vision Trip team come at the beginning of June. We were only able to have seven people come due to required use of a small private MAF plane, but we know that God had a plan for each member of that group to be with us.

There were moments of joy and encouragement as well as moments of heartache for the entire team. The Karawa Hospital is often a sobering experience for many visitors, along with hearing about the complexities of relationships and politics within the church and other organizations. But there were many moments of joy too. Many team members commented on loving time spent with short-term missionaries David and Debbie Williams, and seeing their basketball ministry in Karawa, and making new friendships with people in the neighborhood and the church.

In addition, people with World Vision sponsored children had an opportunity to meet “their kids” and the childrens’ families. I’m sure we will hear more details of some of these visits in future posts on this blog.

After the visit to World Vision, the group brought up an important question which I would like to address on this blog, because it’s likely that you at home have similar questions about child sponsorship.

Where exactly do funds from our monthly giving go?

You are sponsoring an individual child, and the child you write with will know you through correspondence facilitated by World Vision volunteers. The money you give every month will support this child’s community, which will indirectly support the child and their family. For example, your money might go towards an agriculture project where your sponsored child’s parents receive training to raise healthier crops at a greater quantity to insure that all of their children can be well fed. In this way, your monthly giving is making a world of difference to your child.

Jerry Penick, Vision Trip team member, meets his sponsored child.

Direct support given to an individual child creates many problems. If that child is one of twelve, how will the other children in their family treat them? Not to mention jealousy from other families in the community. Distribution of funds is a delicate business, and World Vision has found that giving to the general budget, which supports the Ledia Water Project, projects promoting economic development and sensitization on subjects like good parenting and child rights which will benefit more children in Gemena long-term.

This way of giving is more sustainable, more effective, and more culturally sensitive.

What other questions do you have?

The next post, I will address another question that came up: What is World Vision’s role in evangelism and Christian formation?

Let’s keep the dialogue going – the more informed we are, the better we are able to truly make a difference.