Child Sponsorship through Grassroots enables some of the world’s poorest children to be educated, receive food, and to get free medical care regardless of faith, gender, caste or race.
A minimum of 100% of your sponsorship money will be spent on the children.
Grassroots’ Sponsorship Schemes are run by local people, charities and churches who know the needs of their communities. From the UK we oversee the work, give management and directional input, check that the money is well used and that the kids are well served.
Sponsorships costs vary in each country depending on local needs and costs.
Tanzania from £3.50 per month
India from £8 per month (cannot sponsor new children at the moment)
Kenya (Good Neighbours) from £5 per month
Kenya (Watu wa Maana) from £20 per month
Romania from £8 per month
Laos from £4.50 per month
Zambia from £4.25 per month
Click here to begin a sponsorship journey
Sponsorship Plus
Sponsorship Plus enables us to cover additional or unforeseen costs. With Sponsorship Plus you decide to give a bit extra on top of your sponsorship amount. For example a person sponsoring at £3.50 in Tanzania might make their standing order for £5 per month or £10 per month. This will help us cover additional items such as:
- > supporting children that do not yet have a sponsor
- > complex medical care for some sponsored children
- > HIV care – which requires that children have extra special food, medicines and specialist assistance from a nurse
- > changes in the exchange rate between UK Pounds Sterling and local currencies
- > and more…
Adding “Sponsorship Plus” is simple. Either give an extra amount with your annual donation or increase your regular standing order. All details of ways to Give Now are here.
This money is vital as we attempt to make our sponsorship programmes both as affordable as possible in the UK and as effective as possible on the ground.
Why does the monthly sponsorship cost vary in each country?
Differing currency exchange rates, the local cost of living and different provision according to the local needs means that some schemes are more expensive to run than others. We do not charge a blanket rate for all sponsorships as this does not reflect the reality. Other organisations may charge a flat rate so you might want to look at their documentation to see what actually happens to your money.
What happens when I sponsor a child
Each year we will send you:
- a recent photograph of your child
- a certificate of sponsorship with information about your child’s progress at school and how they’re doing at home.
- some more information about the project
- a picture or letter from your sponsored child, if they have been able to draw/write one for you.
We usually send all this to you by email but will send it by post to addresses in the UK if you prefer but ask for an extra donation of £3.50 per year to cover P&P.
Please pray for the children you sponsor and that God will begin to overturn the systems that have left them and millions of others oppressed for so many years. In addition we are happy for you to write to your child (see below).
Mission trips to each of the countries we sponsor in happen annually – click here to find out more!
Letters and Gifts for your Sponsored Child
Sponsors can send their child a letter. We do have guidelines of what you can say in these letters (see below). These have slight variations between the projects so we send specific instructions with your sponsorship pack. Here are the general principles:
Letters and cards to sponsored children are normally taken when a team travels from the UK, but sometimes we send a batch by post if that seems more appropriate. There is no pressure to meet deadlines and you can send your letter at any time of year. Please include £1 for each standard sized letter to cover the cost of getting it there.
When sending a letter please follow these simple guidelines:
- Letters must not contain your address, email or telephone number.
- Please be sensitive about the content. Please do not share personal or family problems.
- Please refrain from talking about expensive items you have recently purchased or holidays you have enjoyed.
- The younger children do not speak English but they do love postcards and to get photographs of you or your family.
- All letters will be checked before being given to the child concerned, so please leave the envelope unsealed. (Pop the letter into a larger envelope and send it to the Grassroots office. We will then sort it out and send it on. When you send it to the Grassroots office please make sure you put the correct postage on it or the post office will not deliver it to us.)
Please don’t let any of these things put you off! The children love to hear from you!
We are happy to take letters to your sponsored child but it is hard to take gifts. We would prefer you to send an “alternative gift” rather than give us packages to carry or post. “Alternative Gifts” can be sent at any time of year and can be found in the “shop” – some of the gifts work well for giving to a child or family, while others are more general or are given to a community or school.
Where a child is able, they sometimes write a letter or send a drawing back.
If in doubt, get in touch with us.