Right now, there are thousands of boys waiting for sponsorship. And in countries like Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines and Zambia, young boys need our support. Consider, for example, that:
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.
“Sponsorship is something that melts my soul. You are never the same again...”
Marily R., CI sponsor since 1993
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. Use the search tool to find a special boy waiting for a sponsor like you!
Questions? Call 1-800-888-3089, chat or send us an email. View more options.
Boys in poverty often lack access to quality education. Teaching shortages and outdated or insufficient facilities exacerbate the fact that boys are frequently pressured to work in order to help their families, leaving less time to focus on their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.
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.
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 Emotional Well-being program gives boys the tools they need to learn how to 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. Together, we empower children and youth to build confidence, shape their futures and drive lasting change in their families and neighborhoods.
1. Access to physical and emotional health services
2. Educational assistance from early childhood to graduation, including tutoring, school fees and much more.
3. Empowerment programs like leadership training, music, arts and sports, employment preparation, and more, helping children and youth forge successful futures.
4. The tools, opportunities and services that enable vulnerable children to fundamentally change their lives and create their own path out of poverty.
5. The cultivation of a personal connection with someone who cares.
*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.
Children International is proud to support children, families and communities in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines and Zambia.
80% of Children International’s total operating expenses fund programs for children and youth. So, the majority 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 anytime — you’re in charge of how long you sponsor (and how many kids you sponsor).
You can make changes to your monthly giving anytime. Please contact our Care Team to adjust, delay, or cancel. And because of our on-going commitment to our children from the time of sponsorship through graduation, your child will continue to receive benefits from the program, and we will work to find them another sponsor as soon as possible.
Children International is a global child and youth development organization connecting people in the fight to end poverty for good. Headquartered in Kansas City, we work in 10 countries, serving 218,000+ children to create lasting change in their lives, enabling them to reach their full potential and forge a better future for themselves.
We believe ending poverty starts with children, so we focus on programs and opportunities for children and youth for the first two decades of their lives. We strengthen entire communities through the work of our local, professional staff, providing health and education access and assistance, empowerment and career readiness programs, and by cultivating partnerships that help children and 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.
