Feed a Child Today!
Many kind-hearted people — like you — are committed to changing the world and recognize that childhood hunger is one of the most pressing societal problems today.
For example, around the world an estimated 149 million children under the age of 5 suffer from stunted growth because of chronic malnutrition.
One of the more popular avenues for addressing childhood hunger is to sponsor a child.
149 Million
Children
How Do You Sponsor a Child?
Organizations that use this model to feed hungry children will connect a donor with a specific hungry child.
The level of personal connection will vary by organization, but may include opportunities to:
- Exchange letters and photos with the child.
- Send additional gifts beyond the sponsorship donation.
- Even visit the child.
Convoy of Hope, a faith-based nonprofit on a mission to break the cycle of poverty, does not use a child sponsorship program.
Rather, dedicated donors who support Convoy’s Children’s Feeding initiative are actually using a form of indirect sponsorship.
This type of sponsorship helps create effective relationships within communities around the world and opens up the opportunity for feeding hungry children living in these areas every school day.
Stories of Children Fed by Convoy of Hope
Consider Komi’s story. He has lived with his aunt and uncle in Togo for as long as he can remember. He doesn’t know his parents.
Because of Convoy’s feeding program at his school, he is intent on studying math and becoming a building contractor someday.
Or, think of Joseph in Zambia whose mom struggles to provide just the essentials for him.
Thanks to Convoy, Joseph eats well at school, is excelling in his studies, and can enjoy being a kid.
Joseph and Komi are just two of the children Convoy’s donors indirectly sponsor. Desislava and Micheline can tell similar stories.
Children in communities in Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia don’t write letters to Convoy’s individual donors, but they regularly express their gratitude for the many kind-hearted people who have come together to make a real difference in the world.
A group that is motivated to put a growing dent in the number of impoverished and hungry children around the globe.
Going Beyond Food
In communities without reliable access to clean water, Convoy also works to create that access, whether through water filtration or the construction of a water well.
As just one example of Convoy’s ability to meet regional need, Convoy’s Africa Waits program is feeding thousands of children across the continent even though sponsoring a child directly is not an option for donors.
With Convoy’s model, donors who may want to know how to sponsor a child in Africa can invest in Convoy’s different feeding programs in Africa and be absolutely confident the result will be nutritious food reaching children in poverty, even though they won’t have the ability to write letters to those children.
Because Convoy’s long-term activity in a community links multiple initiatives, the environment where a child lives can improve on more than one front.
For example, in many communities where Convoy feeds children, it also begins a Women’s Empowerment program that helps moms start their own businesses and more effectively provide for their children.
Similarly, when Convoy’s Agriculture initiative trains local farmers, they often contribute part of their crops to the Children’s Feeding program in their area.
If you’re looking to sponsor a child today, you can do so indirectly at Convoy with a $10 donation to the feedONE campaign — the equivalent of a $10 monthly sponsorship to another agency.
How does feedONE this work?
Convoy has repeatedly demonstrated that it can feed a child at school for a month for just $10.
Although Convoy’s strategy is not how standard child sponsorship works, it accomplishes the same goal — consistently addressing the hunger children face by providing daily nutritious meals at school.
Convoy of Hope openly states it is not a child sponsorship program. However, if you forego the requirement to feed a child within the framework of a sponsorship program you open up for yourself so many more possibilities to fight poverty and feed one or more of the worldwide group of Convoy’s indirectly sponsored children — now more than 639,000 strong.
At special times of the year, you might be inspired to do more for hungry children. A lot of people like to sponsor a child for Christmas. With Convoy, end-of-year matching challenges and periodic Christmas catalogs offer an indirect means of doing just that.
Next Steps
With Convoy, you really can sponsor a child in need — you just won’t be able to name that child. In the end, does that really matter?
Your donation to the Children’s Feeding initiative will join the gifts of thousands of dedicated donors and ensure that more than half a million children around the world continue to receive regular, nutritious meals. And that’s a number that is on track to reach 1 million children by 2030.
Convoy of Hope faithfully releases an annual report that identifies how much money it received in the previous year and how that money was spent.
So, even though Convoy of Hope does not identify as a child sponsorship organization, you can trust Convoy to maximize your donation to feed hungry children and offer them a brighter future.
Donors do not receive photos or any biographical information of children that Convoy helps. But Convoy has a proven track record of creating a measurable difference in the lives of impoverished children and families.