Sponsor a child as a school

ActionAid works in the remote Kukra Hill area in the east. Over 60% of teachers aren't trained and only 40% of children go to school. As well as renovating schools and providing equipment, we are training teachers so that children can receive quality education.

ActionAid is mainly working in the north of Nigeria where, after years of government neglect, health services, schools and roads are in ruins. Working with communities and the local government , we are helping to improve education - especially adult literacy - healthcare and supplies of clean water.

Over 12 million people's lives were destroyed by the floods in Pakistan. Overnight, they were left without food, shelter and clean water. By sponsoring a child today, you could help their whole community get the essentials they so desperately need to survive.

In the Caraveli province, near the south coast of Peru, basic essentials like water and education are scarce. Fishing is important to the area but without money to buy equipment fishermen struggle to make a living. ActionAid is working to help them improve their catch and their income.

Almost two thirds of Rwandans live on less than a dollar a day. As well as peace building work following the genocide of 1994, ActionAid are helping to rebuild the destroyed school systems by training teachers and getting communities more involved in education - with particular focus on education girls.

Senegal has the fastest growing population in Africa which has created pressure on the education system. Only half of children are able to enrol in a primary school. ActionAid are working with poor communities to get more affordable schooling, especially in rural areas, and to improve healthcare and water supplies.

As one of the world's poorest countries Sierra Leone has extremely poor infrastructure. Healthcare is particularly problematic as there are few health centres and medicines are in short supply. ActionAid are helping to establish health centres, as well as running immunisation programmes for children.

Somaliland is one of the poorest countries in the world with three quarters of people living in poverty and one in ten children dying before their fifth birthday. ActionAid has been working in Somaliland for over 15 years. Our focus is on providing safe, clean water, improving livelihoods and education.

Many children in rural areas of Tanzania are unable to attend school because they can't afford the uniform or because they are needed to stay at home for chores. ActionAid are establishing local schools for these communities with timetables that fit their routines. We also work to improve livelihood.

Health facilities are very limited in rural Uganda. ActionAid trains village health workers who teach the wider community about sanitation and immunisation - and our immunisation programme has already helped thousands of children. We also work to improve education supplies of clean water and farming methods.

Trafficking is an increasingly serious problem in Vietnam. Families desperate to give their children a better chance send them off to work, but children often find themselves forced into prostitution or child labour. ActionAid is working to tackle the root causes of trafficking. We also work to improve health, education and clean water.

Many poor families in rural Zambia are dependent on subsistence farming to survive, but droughts and floods are common. ActionAid provides immediate help during floods with food and shelter but we also work long-term with families - helping build new homes and provide seeds and tools so they can farm again.

With the fourth highest rate of HIV and AIDS in the world, thousands of children in Zimbabwe have lost one of both parents and are now struggling to look after themselves and their siblings. ActionAid works to ensure these children can go to school and are cared for in the community.

ActionAid works with the most vulnerable people of the lower castes, mainly Dalit communities. Normally, Dalit families own the least fertile plots of land, so ActionAid is working together we communities to improve the amount of food they can grow, as well as setting up credit groups so that people can start businesses.

ActionAid's sponsorship programme is mainly in the Tres de Fevereiro south of Mozambique. Here there is just one school with eight teachers responsible for 600 children. Teachers often run two classes at the same time. ActionAid are working to improve education by establishing non-formal education centres.

Weakened by malnutrition, many children in Malawi fall victim to preventable diseases. They can't get healthcare because families are too poor to pay, or the services are too far away. ActionAid works with local traditional healers and government health authorities to provide good healthcare within communities.

Our work in Bangladesh focuses around the slums of Dhaka and the lowlands of Netrakona, which is particularly vulnerable to cyclones and flooding. Safe, clean water is especially a problem and ActionAid are working with communities to build tube wells and teach communities how to maintain them.

In Brazil we work in the favelas (slums) outside of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, as well as rural areas in the north. In the favelas gangs, violence and intimidation flourish. Children are especially at risk because they only go to school for half a day. We are establishing centres to keep children away from gangs and teach them new skills.

Burundi's child mortality rate is one of the highest in the world, with 1 in 5 dying before their fifth birthday. Amongst our work here ActionAid are focussing on improving healthcare, especially ante and post-natal care. Education and livelihood training are also priorities for the country.

Three decades of civil war has made Cambodia one of the poorest countries in Asia. With no formal property ownership system, powerful people are taking land and leaving poor people landless. ActionAid are working with families to teach them their rights, helping them reclaim land and improve farming techniques.

In some rural areas of Ethiopia up to 85% of people are illiterate. Although primary schools exist they are badly equipped and poor families cannot afford the fees or equipment. ActionAid works with local people and government teachers to set up learning centres which offer lessons at flexible times to fit around essential farm work.

The majority of the population in Gambia relies on agriculture to survive, yet only 17% of land is suitable for farming. Unpredictable weather has caused severe poverty for rural people. ActionAid is working with farmers to improve the supply of water as well as farming techniques

Like many African countries, poor children in Ghana have little chance of getting an education because they're needed to work - this is particularly an issue for girls. ActionAid is teaching the community the importance of education and working to establish informal education centres with lessons timed to fit around chores. We also work to improve healthcare and supplies of clean water.

Poor diet seriously affects the health of people in Guatemala, especially mothers and children. Many communities are very remote so people can't reach their nearest health centre. ActionAid are helping communities set up health centres which will bring health care into remote areas. We also work to improve education and livelihood.

ActionAid works predominantly in the far west and Thiotte regions of Haiti - isolated areas where basic services are virtually non-existent and women and children have to walk miles to fetch water. ActionAid is helping to build both family and community water cisterns.

Our work in India is predominantly with the Dalit communities - a group of people at the bottom of the caste system. As the poorest people, Dalits are expected to do the most degrading jobs and are excluded from society. ActionAid is working to help improve access to essentials - clean water, healthcare, education and livelihoods.

Dinah breaks stones for construction work every day from 6am until nightfall, often without lunch or breakfast. The money she makes will buy about 500g of maize after 2 days work, which is not enough to feed her family. Someone like Dinah urgently needs your help. Through child sponsorship, you can change a life.

Around a quarter of people in Lesotho go to bed hungry because there is so little land available for farming. ActionAid are working with families to grow better crops so that they not only have enough to eat, but they have surplus to sell. We also work to improve education and healthcare.

Liberia is a country scarred by 14 years of civil war. Poverty is most acute in rural areas like Tchein and Konobo, where farming is the only source of food and income. ActionAid is working with the communities to ensure children gain a quality education, parents are able to make a living and all families have access to safe, clean water.