If you've decided that you wish to sponsor a child, your first priority will be to find an international charity that allows you to do so. Once you've made this decision, you'll need to identify a specific child who can benefit from your financial donations. This process typically involves browsing dozens of profiles online, which can be a time-consuming process because each child needs help and you can't help them all. While one child's individual story may appeal to you and prompt you to sponsor him or her, it can be a good idea to think about other factors in advance that will help you to make your decision. Here are some factors to consider.
Country
Many children's charities allow you to sponsor children in a variety of different countries, so narrowing down your country of choice can be a good place to start. There are children in need in many different nations, and it's worthwhile to think about a particular country to which you might have a connection. For example, perhaps you visited a Latin America country on a school trip several years ago and found the people to be warm and welcoming. In such a scenario, you might like the idea of giving back to this country by sponsoring one of its children.
Gender
You may also wish to think about which gender of child you want to sponsor, as this can help to narrow down your choices. One gender obviously isn't automatically more deserving of child sponsorship than the other — rather, you'll need to think about your personal feelings. For example, if you're a woman and you had a challenging upbringing, you're likely all too familiar with the difficulties that girls can face as children. You may feel as though helping out a girl in need will help her to avoid some of the challenges that you went through.
Waiting Time
When you browse a sponsorship website to look at the profiles of different children whom you can sponsor, one detail that you'll often notice is how long each child has been waiting for sponsorship. This is a topic that can certainly appeal to you emotionally. For example, when you see a child who has been waiting several months for sponsorship, you might immediately feel for him or her. Even before you begin to seriously evaluate the children, you might favor the idea of choosing a child who has gone a long time without getting a sponsor.
I greatly enjoy helping people, especially children, so I entered a career where I could help others, but I didn't make a great income. While I love my job, I sometimes wished I had entered a higher-paying field so that I could donate to many worthy causes. One day a co-worker told me that she had just spent time overseas helping the needy and the humanitarian organization paid for her travel costs. I soon took a trip overseas myself and learned just how rewarding it can be to volunteer your time. I now embark on a humanitarian mission every year during my work vacation, and I enjoy every minute of it. I am eager to spread the word about the many ways a person can help others, even if they are not wealthy, on my new blog!