Lifestyle

There are four places to go where you can sponsor a child online:

1. Sponsor a child with World Vision

2. Sponsor a child with Plan UK

3. Sponsor a child with Action Aid

4. Sponsor a child with Everychild

Although there has been a lot of progress in South Africa in recent years income distribution in the country is among the most unequal in the world.

Almost 57 per cent of the population are living in poverty, and of these, two thirds are Africans. It is estimated that up to 50,000 children die each year from malnutrition or diseases that would be curable with adequate medical care.

It has never been more important to sponsor a child in South Africa.

Charity World Vision, one of the world’s leading relief and development agencies, has developed a child sponsorship scheme which links people in more affluent countries with individual children in developing countries around the world, including South Africa.

Participants in the programme say that becoming a child sponsor is a meaningful and rewarding experience for both the child and the sponsor.

The scheme is simple and easy to join. Would-be-sponsors select online, from the World Vision website, where they would like to sponsor a child – for example in South Africa. The web site then brings up the details of a child according to the criteria that the would-be-sponsor specifies, with a picture, details of their age, hobbies and situation.

If the sponsor wishes to go ahead, the sponsorship can begin right there in then. Sponsors fill out a form and a direct relationship is set up between the sponsor and the child in South Africa.

Sponsors are sent an information pack with further details about the child in South Africa. The sponsor can, in turn, then communicate with the child directly by sending letters and cards. You can even make a visit if you want to, to the community where the child lives.

The charity keeps the sponsor updated on the work that is being carried out in the child's community in partnership with local people. Sponsors receive annual reports on the progress of the child, including such information as how they are getting on at school.

The sponsor's support provides the essentials a child needs to survive such as clean water, basic healthcare and enough food. It also provides an education to try to break the cycle of poverty in South Africa.

But, the charity points out, the direct relationship between the sponsor and the child also gives the child hope through the knowledge that someone cares. Although each is of course different, every sponsored child has one thing in common says World Vision - the knowledge that someone thousands of miles away cares enough about their future to help them.

Child sponsors say that it is also far more rewarding than simply giving an anonymous donation; "I have been amazed by the way the rewards far exceed the contributions I send. Watching my sponsored child grow and flourish is every bit as exciting and wonderful as watching my own children and grandchildren mature" one sponsor said.

"We've given money to charity before, but this is different because you see the person that you're helping; they're not a number or a faceless person, they're real" said another child sponsor.

Child sponsorship is also entirely affordable, and shows how a little money can go a long way. Child sponsorship costs just 60p a day, which World Vision points out is the price of a bottle of mineral water or a can of soft drink.

To find out more about child sponsorship, and sponsor a child in South Africa, visit the World Vision sponsor a child website

You may also like to consider sponsoring a child through the following trusted agencies:

Sponsor a child with Plan UK

Sponsor a child with Everychild

Sponsor a child with Action Aid