The best way to change a child’s life is to change the world in which they live. World Vision Child Sponsorship is a child-focused and community-based programme which aims to help the sponsored child’s family and community become self-reliant and get out of poverty in the long run.

Through the Child Sponsorship Programme, World Vision pools the monthly contributions of sponsors to implement Area Development Programmes in sponsored children’s communities. Partnering with local leaders and villagers, World Vision helps form the plan, including the goals, timeline, budget and resources allocation, etc. When the direction is confirmed, we will begin improvements in the areas of water, agriculture, healthcare, education and economic development based on the community’s needs. In this way, sponsored children will have basic necessities such as access to clean water, nutritious food, basic healthcare, and a chance for education. In addition, World Vision also carries out HIV work focusing on prevention, education, and caring services in the community to protect sponsored children from the epidemic.

When you sponsor a child, your HK$240 monthly donation will be pooled with other sponsors’ contributions to implement the Area Development Programme in your sponsored child’s community – cash will not be given directly to your child or to the child’s family.

To help a child grow up in a healthy environment and be free from poverty, it is necessary to help the entire community achieve sustainable development, not just meeting the child’s individual needs. For example, we won’t use your donations to buy water from afar for your sponsored child, but we will help the community dig wells and train villagers to maintain the water supply system, so that the whole community, even the next generation, can have access to clean water. This is the most effective and long-lasting way to change a child’s life.

Of the total income for the financial year 2010, World Vision Hong Kong's administration costs were only 1.9%, fundraising costs were 2.8%, and public education was 1.1%. This means that for every HK$100 received, HK$94.2 was allocated to global development programme, while HK$99.1 was spent on relief work.

Asia: Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka
Africa: Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Sierra Leone

With the help of community leaders and villagers, World Vision identifies vulnerable and needy children in the area. When a child is sponsored, his or her brothers and sisters, and all the children and families of the community will also enjoy the benefits. For example, everyone can enjoy clean drinking water and medical care when a new well is dug and when a health clinic is built in your sponsored child’s community.

No. World Vision assigns only one sponsor per child.

World Vision Child Sponsorship is a child-focused and community-based programme. We focus on the well-being of children, thus both sponsored children and non-sponsored children benefit from the Area Development Programme. For example, with the cooperation of villagers, World Vision builds a school and provides training to teachers, which benefits all children in the community.

The major difference between sponsored children and non-sponsored children is that sponsored children can enjoy the unique relationship with his or her sponsor. Through correspondence, sponsored children feel love and care from their sponsors. In addition, World Vision staff visit sponsored children regularly, monitoring their progress in terms of growth, health and education in order to provide appropriate help. Sponsors will also receive annual reports about their children’s progress.

A child’s photo does not always reflect their needs. When your sponsored child’s family knows the photo will be sent to the sponsor, they will make sure their child look their best for photo-taking, even if it means borrowing clothes from neighbours or relatives.

World Vision implements an Area Development Programme in a sponsored child’s community to help their families and the communities gradually alleviate poverty, approximate 15 years. When the community becomes self-sustainable, your sponsorship will come to an end. Hence, the duration for sponsorship varies depending on the progress of the community’s development.

However, changes in a child’s circumstances may affect the duration for sponsorship. Your sponsorship will end when your sponsored child finishes school, gets married, moves out of the community,* or his or her family has achieved a better living condition. In these cases, we will call you or give you a written notification, and invite you to pass on your love and care by sponsoring another child in need.

If, however, you would like to discontinue your sponsorship, please contact our Donor Services Department for sponsorship termination. We will try to find another sponsor for the child as soon as possible.

*Some sponsored children may leave the community temporarily, e.g. moving out of their parents’ home to search for jobs and returning soon after. To avoid losing their sponsorship, World Vision local staff will monitor their situations for six months. Once we confirm that the child has permanently moved out of the community, we will notify the child sponsor. Donations received during the period will be used to support the on-going development projects in the child's community.

Yes. Children are delighted to hear from their sponsors and will write back. As most children live in remote areas where postal systems are not well developed, and the letters are handled by our office for translation, verification and delivery, it may take three to four months for your sponsored child's letter to arrive in your hands.

All children love being cared for. Your correspondence to them can make them feel your love. You can ask your sponsored child about his/her hobbies, family and school life, etc. in the letters. When writing to your child, consider their environment and culture, and avoid sensitive issues like wealth, politics and religions.

Yes. World Vision organises supporter tours regularly to enable donors to see our work and understand the local needs, and for sponsors to visit their sponsored children in the country where they live. Please refer to our bi-monthly magazine Shi Qing and browse our website for details.

You can also visit your sponsored child by yourself, with the exception of China. In accordance with the policy of our China office, a sponsor may arrange to visit his or her child only through supporter tours organised by World Vision.

Since most sponsored children live in remote areas that lack external communications, please contact our Donor Services Department at least two months before departure to allow better arrangements with the field office on your visit.

In addition, visitors are required to sign and comply with our Visitor Guidelines to ensure the security and privacy of visitors and the sponsored children.

When you become a child sponsor, we will send you an information kit about your sponsored child, including his or her photo and basic personal details. Later, you will receive a letter from your sponsored child introducing himself or herself. After a year of sponsorship, an annual progress report with your child’s recent photo, growth progress, and development in the community will be sent to you. In addition, you will get a Child Sponsorship annual report summarising the overall achievement of Child Sponsorship in the last financial year.

Your monthly donation has already provided your child with essential necessities through the Area Development Programme. You can send small gifts such as stationery, bookmarks, and postcards to your sponsored child. However, please do not send cash or expensive gifts, e.g. watches, electronic goods, jewellery, cash and food, because this may create jealousy and conflicts amongst the children and their families. Also, many developing countries have import restrictions and impose high tax on these goods.

Yes. World Vision Hong Kong is a tax-exempt charity of the HKSAR Government, so your donations are tax-deductible. To encourage charitable donations, the HKSAR Government exempts up to 35% of assessable income or profits on approved charitable donations.

With our official receipts, child sponsors in Macau can also enjoy tax deductions according to the tax ordinance of the Macau SAR Government.

Receipts are issued for all donations. In order to reduce administration costs and better utilise our resources, an annual receipt listing the total donations in the past fiscal year will be issued to Hong Kong and Macau child sponsors in every April and January, respectively.

You can use direct debit, credit card, PPS (Payment by Phone Service), crossed cheques, our online donation service, or you can visit our office in person to make your donations.

Direct debit is the most effective donation method to help reduce our administration costs, followed by credit cards.

You are welcome to share the joy of sponsorship with your friends and relatives and invite them to become child sponsors, helping more needy children. However, on social media networks, please do not disclose your sponsored child’s personal particulars, such as his or her full name and ID number, to protect the child’s personal privacy.

Rising inflation and food prices continue to add great pressure on the poor. According to the World Bank, overall food prices have gone up 30 percent from September 2010 to September 2011. To cope with this, poor families are making every effort to reduce their expenses on food, education, and healthcare spending, which, unfortunately, affects their children's development.

World Vision's Area Development Programmes have inevitably been affected by increasing prices of raw materials, fuel, and food. For example, the cost of fertilisers, seeds, metals, and transportation. After much thorough discussion and budgeting, we conclude that an appropriate rate adjustment would allow us to maintain our current work in communities, including areas in agriculture, water, healthcare, education, economic development, and food security. We will continue to train villagers in livelihood skills and support them in tackling challenges posed by high inflation and rising food prices, so that improvements in sponsored children’s communities can be sustained.

No. We do not adjust the Child Sponsorship monthly rate on a regular basis.

We have decided that a rate adjustment is necessary this time in view of the impact of high inflation and rising food prices on our Area Development Programmes. We see the need for this measure so that sponsored children will continue receiving help as well as maintaining our frontline effort which includes agriculture, water, healthcare, education, economic development, and food security, etc.

Yes. World Vision will respect your decision to keep your monthly rate unchanged. We will only adjust your rate after your indication of agreement.

Our decision to increase the monthly rate came after thorough consideration. The global increase in inflation and food prices pose great challenges to our Area Development Programmes. While the price of raw materials, fuel and food continue rising, the purchasing power of the same amount of donation is, in fact, decreasing.

However, we are committed to meeting the basic needs of sponsored children and to maintaining the quality of our work. We cordially invite you to consider increasing your support by HK$20 per month so that our development work can be sustained without compromising quality and quantity.

After processing all the rate adjustments, we will reallocate project resources and adjust project scales based on available resources, in order to maintain the quality of Area Development Programmes and sustain the improvements in the lives of sponsored children.

Each year, you will receive an Annual Progress Report from your sponsored child. You may refer to the section on community development for updates on how your child has benefited from community work.

At the same time, we encourage you to write to your child both as a means to cultivate friendship and to understand how his/her life has improved. You are also welcome to visit your child (for those living in countries other than China) in person and to learn more about World Vision's work, locally.