In times of crisis, children in poverty are especially vulnerable and face uncertain futures. Your monthly gift of $39 to sponsor a boy will provide him with access to life-changing benefits children need, such as access to medical care, educational support, life skills and even job training before graduation.
Right now, there are thousands of boys waiting for sponsorship. And in countries like Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines and Zambia, young boys need our support.
With child labor problems prevalent in many developing nations, young boys are often forced to drop out of school to work and help their families survive. In some cases, out of desperation for income or through intimidation, they resort to gang and drug activity. Sponsoring a boy and providing the right interventions can help him change his entire life trajectory.
As a sponsor and partner with our nonprofit organization, you'll be able to see your impact firsthand through letters and photos from your child. You’ll see just how much you’re helping vulnerable children when they need it most.
Questions? Call 1-800-888-3089, chat or send us an email. View more options.
Roughly one in five Honduran and Guatemalan boys under 14-years old work to help support their families.*
The Philippines has one of the highest gender-based performance gaps in Southeast Asia, with boys’ functional literacy rates at 67% and girls’ at 74%.*
Fewer than 40% of Zambian boys graduate from upper secondary school.*
Children International’s comprehensive program includes working alongside children and families to help ensure that boys’ educational opportunities remain a top priority until graduation. Interventions like tutoring assistance, helping cover transportation fees, providing access to libraries, computer labs and more, all help ensure boys learn to read, write and stay in school.
Boys in poverty often lack access to quality education. Teaching shortages and outdated or insufficient facilities exacerbate the pressure on boys to work to help their families, leaving less time to focus on their formal education.
In areas with rising conflicts, boys face far higher risks of being forced into recruitment by armed groups or violent victimization. Two of every three children abducted for armed conflicts are boys.*
Cultural gender expectations play a significant role in hampering the mental health of boys. For many, the notion of learning how to manage stress, identify emotions, boost self-esteem, and even the concept of mental wellness itself, is both foreign and uncomfortable.
Our Child Protection Protocols, combined with the partnerships our local staff develop and cultivate with community leaders and other organizations, help protect boys from the negative pressures and influences of drug use, intimidation, violence and other unsafe behaviors.
The stressors of growing up in an impoverished household, often without easy access to clean water and nutritious food, can cause or exacerbate emotional decline, especially anxiety and depression. Our social-emotional wellness programs give boys the tools they need to learn how to cultivate and protect their mental health. Boys need to know that mental health is health, and it needs to be treated just as seriously and as urgently as physical ailments.
Child sponsorship connects two people — a sponsor with a generous heart and a child living in poverty. From toddlerhood to young adulthood, our child and youth development program equips kids with crucial life and job skills to break the cycle of poverty. For good.
At Children International, we believe every child deserves the chance to thrive. And with support from caring individuals and philanthropic organizations, young people around the world are unlocking their potential. As they get older, they gain vital life skills and explore future career paths that help them pursue meaningful work and path out of poverty.
Your role as a sponsor and friend in your child’s life makes all this possible — and lets them know they are not alone in their fight for a better future.
*Tax-deductible
Your support as a child sponsor provides a boy or young man who is living in poverty the mentorship, skills training, educational opportunities and confidence he needs to achieve his goals. Through our community-based initiatives and programming, you are helping change a child’s life, so they can rewrite their story, empower their family and give back to the community.
Your support provides your sponsored child with access to life-changing benefits through our innovative, holistic approach, such as medical and mental wellness care, empowerment initiatives, education programs, and more. The interventions you make possible are focused on giving children the support and tools they need to be healthy, stay in school, graduate with the skills needed to pursue meaningful work, and create lasting change in their community.
Children International is proud to support children, families and communities in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines and Zambia.
82% of Children International’s total operating expenses fund programs for children and youth. So, the majority most of your donation dollars go toward exactly what you intended — supporting children in poverty.
Child sponsorship is a voluntary, ongoing contribution you can cancel at any time — you’re in charge of how long you sponsor (and how many kids you sponsor).
You can change your monthly giving anytime by contacting our Care Team. Your child will continue receiving program benefits, and we’ll find another sponsor as soon as possible.
Children International is a global child and youth development organization working to end poverty for good. Headquartered in Kansas City, we serve 218,000+ children across 10 countries, creating lasting change that helps them reach their full potential.
Ending poverty begins with children. That’s why we invest in programs for children and youth throughout their first two decades of life — strengthening communities through local staff, education and health access, empowerment, career readiness, and partnerships that help families break the cycle of generational poverty.
If you recently attended a concert and received a child packet, you were provided with a code that you can use to begin sponsoring that child. Please click here to go to children.org/start and enter your code.
I’m only one person and there’s only so much I can do. But I can do something. You don’t have to be a millionaire. You don’t have to be able to do huge things [ … ] to make a really huge difference for a child.”
