Change a orphan child's life – and their whole community
Every child deserves a chance to thrive – especially those who’ve lost everything. Orphaned children are among the most vulnerable, facing poverty, exploitation, abuse, and a future without education or opportunity.
By sponsoring an orphan, you can protect, support and uplift them, helping their communities thrive. It's a unique opportunity to connect with a child and make a lasting impact on their world.
When you sponsor an orphan, this child may have lost one or more parents. This broader definition of an orphan is adopted by UNICEF and many international organisations but contrasts with concepts in many industrialised countries, where a child must have lost both parents to qualify as an orphan.
At World Vision, we work with some of the most vulnerable orphans in the world, many of who've lost a parent to conflict or ill-health. We use our 75 years of experience to protect children fleeing war and make sure orphans are loved and cared for.
From books to desks to better-trained teachers, by sponsoring an orphan, you can help provide the tools to help them achieve in life. You can help build schools, fund teachers and make sure they have fun, fulfilling activities.
We have always brought healthcare to sponsored children and their communities, but COVID-19 has made this more important than ever. We are working to support orphan children with better nutrition and access to medicine and health professionals wherever they are.
We are educating communities on proper hygiene with training, support and educational materials. The last thing an orphan child living in poverty needs is to become ill with coronavirus.
We provide water not just for the sponsored child but for their whole community, so the whole area prospers. The freedom to drink water - and not to walk miles for it - means the freedom to learn and play as all children should.
Help whole communities
We make a plan with community leaders and the children
See change through their eyes
Letters, photos, videos, regular updates, and an online account
Be their only sponsor
You can form a powerful connection that builds confidence, happiness and hope
Celebrate their progress
See a huge and lasting change in the lives of everyone in the community
Martha was six when she lost her parents. It was the end of the world as she knew it.
Martha’s Grandmother took her and her two sisters in, but struggled to provide for all of their needs. From a young age, Martha was involved in back-breaking child labour, just to help earn enough to put food on the table and keep them all in school.
“I was doing my best to provide for my sisters,” she says. “Sometimes, [we] went to school hungry, and our teachers fed us.” Her early years were plagued with uncertainty and hardship.
Thankfully, when World Vision met Martha, she quickly found a sponsor and her life began to change.
Not only did sponsorship provide Martha with essential school supplies, nutritious food, and a more suitable shelter, but it also gave her new hope.
Now in her twenties, Martha hasn’t forgotten the impact her sponsor had on her life. “Their letters made me feel like I had a family cheering me on."
The encouragement from her sponsor played a pivotal role in reigniting Martha’s dreams. She went on to pursue her studies with renewed passion.
75 years of experience
We’re an international Christian charity working with all faiths and none
Almost 100 countries
Together we transform the lives of the most vulnerable children
Transforming lives
Our solutions are community-led, child-focused, bringing hope and transformation
You can easily sign up to sponsor a child on the Sponsor a Child page. However, the specific circumstances of children available to Sponsor through World Vision on this page vary.
If you would specifically like to sponsor an orphan, please contact our Supporter Care team on 01908 84 10 10.
World Vision has had a child sponsorship programme for more than 70 years, we allow donors to sponsor orphan children who need protection and empowerment.
Child Sponsorship brings much-needed change to more than just one child — the benefits you help provide extend to other children in need, their family and communities through community-based care programmes.
This is because World Vision partners with, plans for and works alongside local community members to help build healthy, sustainable communities for vulnerable children in the world’s hardest places. Learn more about how child sponsorship works.
All of World Vision's work begins with listening to communities in need. Community leaders work with us to identify the most vulnerable children and families who will benefit from child sponsorship.
Because of our community-focused solutions, for every child sponsored four more benefit.
The donation you give doesn't go directly to your sponsored child or family.
For maximum impact and efficiency, your monthly donations are combined with those of other sponsors to ensure consistent support for your sponsored child and their community, as well as other sponsorship communities around the world. This means your donations go much further.
If your circumstances change and you need to stop sponsoring a child, you can do so at any time. If you are thinking about cancelling your sponsorship, please get in touch, as there may be other ways in which you can continue your support. The child you sponsor will continue to benefit from the changes in their community and we will do our best to find a new sponsor for them.
