What is child sponsorship?
Sponsorship won’t change the world, but each sponsored child will have his or her world changed.
Since 1958, our charity has been responding to needs on the ground. Individual child sponsorship is an effective, tailored and personalised solution, because these needs differ from one region to another, and from one child to another.
While the form may vary, the aim remains the same: sponsoring a child means enabling them to go to school, so that they can take control of their future and that of their family.
Sponsoring a child costs £28 or US$35 or SG$50 or HK$260.
In the 6 countries where our organisation is active (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines), part of the population is very poor.
Many children have to leave school to work in the fields, on rubbish dumps or on the streets. On the ground, our local managers, all volunteers, know the families to help and the priority needs. Supported by overseas volunteers, they identify the families to be helped as a priority according to two main criteria:
- Helping the poorest children.
- Help the most motivated families, so that the children can continue their education as far as possible.
Depending on the need, sponsorship money can finance school materials, uniforms, transportation, extra classes, and hygiene kits. This financial support also compensates for the fact that the sponsored child goes to school instead of having to work to put food on the table. Child sponsorship is thus a precious help that benefits the whole family.
Sponsoring a child with Children of the Mekong costs £28 a month (or US$35 / SG$50 / HK$260), of which 75.7% goes directly to your sponsored child and their family. The sponsorship is distributed on a monthly basis by our local programme managers.
Finally, sponsorship provides moral support for the child you are helping. There is an exchange of letters between you and your sponsored child. This bond encourages your sponsored child to stay in school as long as possible, to regain their self-confidence and open up to the world.
Stephanie
I’ve been sponsoring Namphon since 2007.
She was a 6-year-old girl, shy and with learning difficulties. 10 years and many exchanges of letters later, I met her in Laos: a young girl who was radiant, spontaneous and keen to become a teacher. An impressive evolution!
From Europe to Asia, transparency, seriousness and enthusiasm are the terms that best describe Children of the Mekong. There is such a human quality in each of the members who make up this organisation! The desire to take part in this adventure is necessarily contagious!
Stephanie, sponsor of Namphon
MEET THE CHILDREN WAITING TO BE SPONSORED
Brighter Tomorrow: Help the children of Babag, Philippines
In the mountains of Cebu, child sponsorship has the power to send children to school safely and encourage them to chase their dreams.
Empower Lives in Lam Lukka, Thailand
In this neglect community not far from Bangkok, sponsorship is vital in supporting the basic needs of families, enabling their children to attend school. […]
The children of San Luis, between jungle and mountain
In this isolated region in the north of the country, it is difficult if not impossible for the poorest families to send their children […]
Pagna Bour
“I come from a poor family, from a torn family, from a family that has only one dream: that one day their children will come out of poverty.
I come from a family that believed that poverty was not inevitable and fought to make it a life force.
I am one of the thousands of the most disadvantaged young Cambodians who had the chance to meet Children of the Mekong one day.
Thanks to my sponsor. Thanks to them and to Children of the Mekong, I know who I am today. I am lucky! My family is lucky! Cambodia is lucky!”
Pagna Bour
Sponsor a child in four steps
I can make wishes on the country, age of the child, or ask to sponsor a girl or a boy specifically.
Personalise your sponsorship request
After a few days, you will receive by email your Welcome Pack, with the profile and picture of your sponsored child, information about where they live and how your money is spent.
Meet your sponsored child
We will send you a template to help you write your first letter. Feel free to add postcards and pictures of you and your family!
Write your first letter
Each sponsorship is unique. It's up to you to write the story, through an exchange of letters, or by going to meet your sponsored child in Asia!
And the story goes on