Sponsor a child

ActionAid believes that all children should have an equal chance to thrive.

Your sponsorship will make a huge difference to a girl or boy in need – ensuring they have enough to eat, an education and hope for the future.

As their only sponsor, you’ll have a special relationship. You’ll receive photos, handwritten messages and regular updates from their community.

You can choose where you sponsor a child, or you can leave it to our team to decide; they know which communities are in greatest need. It only takes a few minutes to become a child sponsor, but you could change a child’s life forever.

What happens when I become a child sponsor?

As soon as you sign up to be a sponsor, we’ll send you a welcome pack with a photo of the boy or girl you’re sponsoring and a little bit about them. And that’s just the start of the journey you’ll go on together.

The child you sponsor is an ambassador for their community. You’ll get two handwritten messages a year from the child you sponsor, telling you about them and their life – they might be letters, drawings, or postcards – plus detailed updates about how they’re getting on from our staff in their country.

You can write back to the child you sponsor. Over time you’ll get a new photo at special milestones so you can see them grow and thrive.

Frequently asked questions

What will my child sponsorship pay for?

Food

Nutritious meals for children and seeds and livestock for families to grow their own food

Education

Schoolbooks, fees, equipment and even a whole new school building in the sponsored child’s community

Clean water

Building wells, purifying water sources, and better sanitation facilities

Healthcare

Medical and dental clinics, basic medical supplies and health education

Things you should know about child sponsorship

50 years
ActionAid has 50 years of experience changing the lives of children and communities through child sponsorship.

38,000
You'll be joining a community of more than 38,000 generous ActionAid child sponsors in the UK alone.

£19.50
We ask for a minimum of £19.50 a month so we can provide lasting support to the communities that benefit from your sponsorship.

Harriet (22) from Uganda was a sponsored child whose life changed thanks to child sponsorship with ActionAid. She is now a young woman studying at a local university.

Robert Asiimwe/ActionAid

Harriet's experience as a sponsored child

Harriet is 22 years old and studying at university in Uganda. She was sponsored when she was a child, and tells us:

"As a sponsored child, I had the opportunity to write to my sponsor.

ActionAid organised special days for all the children to write to their sponsors which were filled with fun events that each of us looked forward to.

It was a new and interesting experience for us to communicate with people in a different country. I had found a friend to whom I could tell my dreams and aspirations. I felt a personal responsibility to pursue my dreams."

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How is my sponsorship money spent?

80% of the donations we receive through child sponsorship goes overseas.
20% is spent in the UK on raising awareness and finding more supporters.

Of the overseas gift:

70% goes directly to your sponsored child’s community or, if there is an exceptional need such as a life-threatening emergency, another community within their country.
30% is used to fund vital projects in other countries around the world where we work, and running child sponsorship so that you can receive messages from your sponsored child, and hear how your gift is changing lives

I'm ready to sponsor a child

About ActionAid

ActionAid is an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty.

Our dedicated local staff are changing the world with women and girls.

We are ending violence and fighting poverty so that all women and girls, everywhere, can create the future they want.

We understand the deep-rooted problems facing women and girls, and we work alongside whole communities to find solutions.

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Contact us

If you have any questions about child sponsorship, don't hesitate to call us on 01460 238 000 (lines are open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm). You can also email us at supportercontact@actionaid.org.

See our frequently asked questions

What ActionAid does

Around the world, women and children are affected the most by poverty. From the moment they are born, girls especially face inequalities and injustice in almost every aspect of their lives.

ActionAid puts women and children at the centre of our work across 45 countries. We make sure girls go to and stay in school, we work with communities to end gender-based violence, and we train women in the skills they need to earn a living.

We also help women and communities prepare for and recover from disasters, at a time when they can be at their most vulnerable. We demand action at local, national and international level. We don’t walk away until we’ve achieved lasting change.

Telma Paulina is a student at the San Juan Villa Nueva School in Guatemala, where ActionAid runs a child sponsorship program

Karin Schermbrucker/ActionAid