FAQs

What is child sponsorship?

Child sponsorship is a way of giving a set monthly contribution to World Vision Ireland. This money goes into our long-term development work within the community that the child you sponsor lives, providing them with the basics that we all take for granted, such as clean water, health care and education.

How much does sponsorship cost?

Just €25 a month. That works out as €5.74 a week, or just 82c a day. Your sponsorship will help sustain a child’s health, provide basic education, and also support fresh water and regular food production in a community. This kind of support enables a community to build for the future and you get to see how this happens, directly, through the eyes of the child you sponsor.

How do I sign up to sponsor a child?

You can sign up online, by calling us on Lo-Call 1850 366 283 or emailing us at ireland@wvi.org. When you sign up online, donations can be made using a credit or Laser card. If you prefer to donate on a regular basis by Direct Debit, simply download and return the form to us (World Vision Ireland, The Mews, Garland House, Rathmines Park, FREEPOST, Dublin 6). Donations can also be made by cheque.  

How is a project set up?

A collection of villages will have approached the World Vision office in their country to ask for support in providing for their community. World Vision Ireland will support the community in carrying out assessments, developing their plan and implementing and evaluating their development programmes.

How many children do you support?

There are currently around 10,000 people in Ireland who are supporting more than 11,000 children and their communities, through sponsoring a child with World Vision Ireland. Our studies have shown that by sponsoring one child, you are supporting around four more children in their fight against poverty and injustice.

How is a child chosen for help?

The setting up of the project allows the community themselves to put forward all eligible children. The community are involved right from the outset. Together with World Vision officials, the programme of work to be undertaken will have been outlined with the community leaders. The actual work in most cases will be undertaken by the community themselves, with support from World Vision where needed. The community are trained in the skills that they require to help support themselves and the community in the long term, so that they are empowered and no longer require aid.

How long will my sponsorship last?

There is no minimum or maximum time period for child sponsorship. Child sponsorship is our main funding for our Area Development Programme (ADP) and should be seen as regular ongoing giving which will then help World Vision Ireland plan long-term solutions. However, if your personal circumstances change at any time, simply advise us and we can cancel your sponsorship with immediate effect. When you become a sponsor, you’re not locked into a contract of any kind.

If you start sponsoring a child at a young age and at the outset of a project, then there is the potential to sponsor that child for anything upwards of ten years if that is what you wish to do. Sponsorship usually ends when a child finishes school. Normally this is until they are 18 but each child’s circumstance may be different and we leave it up to the community to let us know when sponsorship is no longer needed.

The need for sponsorship will also end as the programme enters its transition phase to community ownership.

What happens to my child if I cannot continue sponsoring?

As your money does not go directly to the child, but to the community as whole, a cancellation of your sponsorhsip will not directly affect the child. The child will still benefit from World Vision Ireland’s child sponsor funds which support the long term development of the community.

Can I correspond with my child?

Yes, when you have decided to become a child sponsor we will send you the details of the address of the World Vision office in the country where the child lives. All letters are translated by the World Vision office – yours to your sponsored child, and vice versa.

We will notify you before their birthday so you can send the child you sponsor a birthday card if you wish to, and we also encourage the sending of a card at Christmas too. As a sponsor, we will post these to you in plenty of time for you to fill them in and send them to arrive around the appropriate time.

Click here for more information on writing to your sponsored child >

Can I send presents?

Yes you can. We recommend that gifts are modest and no bigger than an A4 size envelope and must be flat. Posible gifts include:

• Colouring pencils
• Colouring books
• Colourful stamps/stickers
• Football cards
• Hair accessories (slides, hair ties etc).

All gifts go through the World Vision office in the child’s country. It is not possible for them to handle large gifts for various reasons:

• the community’s remoteness and distance from the World Vision office
• the possibility that large items may get damaged
• large gifts could, and are likely to, incur customs taxes and duty which are only applied at the point of entry into the country. We cannot allocate any funds to release these items, and the cost of the administration is too great to allow the sponsor to provide the cost of this themselves.

Will I hear back from my sponsored child?

Every year, we will send you a progress report from the sponsored child's Area Development Programme and a second report on how your sponsored child is progressing with an updated photo for you to keep. Many sponsors find this a very special and moving experience. If you decide to write to your sponsord child, you will receive a response to each letter you send.

How often will I receive letters from my child?

The cycle of sending and receiving letters takes approximately six months. This allows enough time for the various stages required to pass on your letter. The cycle includes the following stages:

• Your letter is sent by you to the World Vision office in the country of the child you sponsor
• It is received by the staff in the relevant field or support office
• The World Vision team then translate your letter so it can be read by the child you sponsor or their family in their local dialect
• A World Vision staff member delivers all the letters for the sponsored children to the appropriate village on the next scheduled visit
• The child sits down and reads your letter!

When they have read your letter...

• Your sponsored child can then respond either by themselves, or with a family member or a World Vision representative
• The response is taken back to the World Vision office, and if necessary, is translated into English for you
• You receive a letter from your sponsored child! (You may receive the original letter as well as the translation, but this varies from country to country)
• When you receive the letter, you can write another one in reply, right away!

How much of my contribution reaches my sponsored child?

World Vision Ireland sends 80% of funds raised to help people living in poverty overseas. Only 20% is spent on administration costs including programme monitoring, staff wages, office maintenance, and marketing. Every year World Vision Ireland publishes an annual report which provides specific details on all financial activities. View the most recent annual report >

I can't afford €25 per month - can I still help?

We would still very much appreciate your help in any way you can. If you like you can give a smaller amount regularly to our Children in Emergencies Fund, a once off donation online, support an emergency appeal like our Haiti Earthquake Appeal or you could hold a fundraiser in aid of World Vision.