Child Sponsorship Questions
What will I receive as a sponsor? Within two weeks after signing up to become a child sponsor, you will receive a sponsor packet that includes a photo of your sponsored child, information about him/her, and how your child will benefit from your sponsorship.  If you are not already on our mailing list, your contact information will be added to the list so that you may begin receiving updates. At least once a year, you will receive updated information and/or pictures of your sponsored child to update you on how he/she is doing.

What benefits will my sponsored child receive?

• Nutritional food
• Healthy living conditions
• opportunity to receive an education

The health of the children is also very important to us, therefore, we make sure that each child receives:

• regular medical check ups and immunizations
• necessary health care appropriate for his/her age and circumstances

Can I write to my sponsored child?
Yes, communicating with your sponsored child can be very meaningful for both you and the child.  Please keep your letters and/or cards brief, however, as they must be translated into the child's native language.  Please clearly communicate in your correspondence to the child your role as a sponsor.  Send all correspondence to the orphanCare International office.  We will then send it to our partner organization in the child's country, so that our overseas staff can translate your letter into your child's native language.  Both your original letter and the translation will be given to your child to keep.  Your correspondence will usually reach your child within a few weeks after we receive it. 

Please do NOT send items for your sponsor child as it is very expensive for us to ship packages overseas.

How long should my child sponsorship last?
orphanCare International's child sponsorship program offers you the opportunity to remain with a child for a number of years.  We encourage our sponsors to consider making at least a one year commitment to sponsoring a specific child.  While we hope that you will be able to continue your support for your sponsored child throughout their school years, we understand that life circumstances sometimes change and you may be unable to continue your support.

A sponsored child's individual circumstances may also change.  A child may leave the program because he/she has become part of an adoptive family or has been relocated to another orphanage setting and is therefore, no longer a  part of the sponsorship program.  


What happens to the child I am helping, if I must discontinue my sponsorship?
If your circumstances change and you can no longer provide financial support for your sponsored child, we will immediately seek a new sponsor via the orphanCare International website and CHILDLINK newsletter.             

What opportunities will I have to learn about the child whom I am sponsoring?
orphanCare International will send you updates on your sponsored child's progress twice per year.  Each update will also contain a current photo of your child along with the information on how they are doing in school academically and socially as well as their current health status.

Will I be the only person sponsoring the child I am helping?
In many cases you will be the only person who is sponsoring your child.  However, some children have very high medical bills and/or special needs requiring additional therapies.  In order to cover these expenses, we may assign more than one sponsor for these children.  If you would like to be the only sponsor for a particular child, we will be glad to discuss the total monthly care cost with you.

can I send packages to my sponsored child?
We understand your desire to send packages to your sponsored child, however, we are unable to accept them for the following reasons:

• High postal costs
• Complexity of foreign postal regulations
• High duty charges in many countries
• Slow delivery
• Possible loss, theft or damage

Can I send money directly to my sponsored child?
orphanCare International requests that monetary gifts NOT be sent directly to your sponsored child as the child's facility is not set up to receive gifts in this manner.  If you would like for your sponsored child to have a special occasion gift, you can forward the funds to orphanCare and we will wire transfer your gift along with a special note attached explaining the purpose of the gift at the time of our regular quarterly sponsorship distribution.

May I send more than one month's contribution amount toward my sponsorship support?
Your pledge may be paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually, whichever is most convenient for you.

How are children chosen for sponsorship?
We work very closely with the orphanage directors in the countries in which we serve.  As children become available for sponsorship, each director will notify us of the specific children's needs and request that we find sponsors for these children.

Many times the children are part of a bigger program such as our education scholarship program for 100 children in Lam Dong, Vietnam.

How does orphanCare International ensure that my sponsorship support will actually reach my child?
orphanCare International works directly with the orphanage directors within each country we have established child sponsorship programs.  We conduct regular audits to make sure the funds are properly received and managed to meet the children's on-going needs.

Are my child sponsorship payments tax deductible?
Yes, all contributions to orphanCare International are fully tax deductible as allowed by the U.S. government.

What percentage of my child sponsorship goes directly for the care of my sponsored child?
We are proud to state that over 90% of all donations received are used for the care of the children and only 8.1% is used in administrative overhead.  We constantly strive to reduce our administrative overhead so that even more donated dollars goes to meet then needs of each sponsored child.

How can I pay for my child sponsorship?
We have tried to devise several payment methods to make sponsoring a child with orphanCare International more convenient.  They are as follows:

• cash, check, or money order
• automatic bank drafts from your checking or savings account
• online credit card donations

[up]