Give a Child a Chance

You are giving a child the life-changing opportunity to go to school, to sleep in a safe place, to access medical care, to enjoy a nutritious diet, and to make friends. You are helping them to feel safe, secure, and happy, and to fulfil their potential.

If you choose to sponsor a specific named child, your sponsorship provides:

• Their school fees 
• Related supplies such as school uniform and books
• A mattress and bedding
• Other essentials

Alternatively, if you choose not to sponsor a named child, your gift will be used wherever it can do the most good. Depending on the most urgent need at the time, your donation may be used to:

• fund school fees for several children so they can attend a government primary school as day scholars (we do not have funds for every child in need to attend boarding school)

Or

• enable an individual child in urgent need to attend boarding school.

This varies from child to child. Some are fortunate to come from a loving family but one that is too poverty stricken to provide for them. Others have no families or are escaping unsafe and abusive environments.

If you have elected to sponsor a named child, within two weeks of receipt of your first sponsorship donation we will send you information about them, including their photograph and a brief outline of their background.

If you choose not to be linked to a named child, we will still send you regular general updates so you can see how your gift is changing lives.

We recognise that trust is a big concern for donors, which is why we do all we can to be transparent and accountable. This includes:

• Sending you photos of your sponsored child at school (if you have elected to sponsor a named individual).
• Providing termly school reports.
• Each of the children selected for sponsorship meet strict criteria, have had their individual needs assessed, and are known personally to our professional team in Uganda.
• We only partner with trusted schools that we know personally and visit on a regular basis. 
• Children are allocated to a school based on their individual needs and the strengths of the school.
• We encourage our sponsors to come to Uganda for supervised visits with their child to see first-hand how their donation is spent, and the life-changing difference their support brings.  
• We offer supervised volunteering opportunities for young adults to come out to Uganda to see what we do, learn how to help, and spread the word about what we do.

Yes! We encourage you to write to your sponsored child as a way of showing your support, and to help them learn more about the wider world. Be aware however that English is not the first language of most young children in Uganda and so their replies may be in the form of pictures or another form of expression.

All communications pass through Alongside Africa and are vetted by our Safeguarding Officer.

If you have any questions, please email us at enquiries@alongsideafrica.org and we will be happy to answer them.