Sponsoring a child in the developing world costs from just €22 a month. Michael Kellyspeaks to four Irish people who have 'adopted' an extra family member through ChildFund Ireland
Many Irish households make regular donations to some charity or another. But do you ever have moments where you glance at your bank statement, see the debit on your account and wonder where the money is going, what it is being used for and who it is helping?
Charities know this, and they have shifted emphasis in recent years to try to make donations more personal, more emotive. That's why instead of asking you to donate a sum of cash, charities now want you to buy a goat, a hive of bees or some ducks. It's why they re-route money they would undoubtedly prefer to be spending in the field, to producing mail-shots to keep donors informed of projects and success stories - something tangible for us to get our heads around.
Imagine if you donated an old coat to a charity distributing clothes to the poor in Africa and you got a letter from an old man in Ethiopia thanking you for the coat and telling you how it had helped him get through the harsh winter. Child sponsorship is a little like that. It's not that you particularly want the thanks, just the knowledge that your contribution has made a difference to someone's life.
In some cases, child sponsors are happy to make their monthly donation and leave it at that. But at the other end of the scale, there are people who make deep personal connections with the children they sponsor. Regular letters and photos go to and fro, and cards and presents are exchanged at birthdays and Christmas. In the case of two of the Irish women interviewed here, they travelled to Kenya and India to meet the children they sponsor.
There are four child sponsorship charities operating in Ireland: ChildFund Ireland, World Vision, Plan and ActionAid. Former Irish Army commandant Mick Kiely is chief executive of ChildFund Ireland, which operates sponsorship programmes in 11 developing countries.
He estimates that 80 per cent of sponsors do not establish contact with the child they sponsor. "We are absolutely fine with that. The other 20 per cent will stay in regular contact by mail with the child. Some of our sponsors take this very personally. We have had a few instances where a child has died while being sponsored and it was almost like a personal bereavement for the sponsor. We try to advise people not to become too emotionally attached because at 18 years of age, the relationship usually stops and that can be very hard on the sponsor."
Sponsoring a child with ChildFund Ireland costs €22 per month. "We guarantee that 80 per cent goes directly for the benefit of the child and their family, so the sponsor knows exactly where the money is going. It's not the same as giving money into a large pot."
So what does the money achieve? "It's a life-changing event for the children and their families. In a country where the average annual wage is $300, it's like winning the lottery. To give you an idea, we might have 400 families applying for sponsorship in a community and we would have 10 spaces.
"The primary focus for us is the health and education of that child. If these children aren't educated they have no chance. When they are educated, it helps their whole family."
To sponsor a child, contact ChildFund Ireland on 01-6762128 or see www.childfund.ie
OLIVE POWDERLY SPONSORS INGRID IN GUATEMALA AND AYANE IN ETHIOPIA
Powderly currently sponsors two children: Ingrid (16) lives in Guatemala and Ayane (9) in Ethiopia. Ingrid and her family - parents and six siblings - live in a two-room dwelling built of wood walls, metal sheet roof and dirt floor. They grow beans and corn for their own consumption, as well as fruit and coffee to sell. Ingrid's health is good, but she suffers from malnutrition.
Ayane lives with his parents and siblings in a small hut made of mud and dry grass in Borchota, Ethiopia. His father is a farmer but their annual income is less than $400. Ayane is not in school yet but helps out by looking after the cattle and likes playing soccer.
"I saw an ad in the papers, in the early 1990s, I think. I am 48 this year but I was 27 ounces at birth and was anointed three times, so I guess I have a soft spot for people who are underprivileged.
"I write to Ingrid about four times a year. She tells me in her letters that she wants to be an air steward and will come visit me then. "Mick Kiely [of ChildFund Ireland] met Ayane while on a trip to Ethiopia and got a photo of him with his Dad. That photo means so much to me. I would love to go meet him. If I got a flight I would be gone in the morning. I don't have kids myself, so maybe that is part of the attraction. It's lovely to have this connection with a child.
"I am a music teacher so this year we are running a concert in Drogheda to raise money for ChildFund. We have kids playing piano, singing and dancing. We gave the kids sponsorship cards and will do raffles and so on. Mick Kiely wants me to try and raise enough money to sponsor a child in each of the 11 countries that ChildFund operates in. That would require about €3,000 each year.
"We have a young lad doing a sponsored parachute jump, people baking cakes, shops in Drogheda donating TVs and DVDs and such like for our raffles. People really pull out the stops for a charity like this because I think they can see something very specific is achieved."
* Olive raised approximately €6,000 at the concert and is planning to use the money to sponsor 20 children.
CIARAN FITZGERALD'S FAMILY SPONSORS SUKJAI IN THAILAND, AYNALEM IN ETHIOPIA AND HERMELINDA IN MEXICO
Former Irish rugby captain Ciaran Fitzgerald is a director of ChildFund Ireland. His children are sponsors. Brian sponsors Sukjai (5) in the Tak province in north-west Thailand. Ciara sponsors Aynalem (6) in the village of Mush in the northern Shoa province in Ethiopia. Neve sponsors Hermelinda (4) in the community of Xonalpu, nine hours from Mexico City.
"I knew Mick Kiely from the Army and he asked me to come on board with ChildFund. I don't have any operational involvement in the organisation day-to-day, but I attend board meetings and I do some promotional work. I was impressed with the accountability, transparency and the management. I also like that it is an Irish organisation.
"I like the personal nature of child sponsorship and how you can keep in contact with the child. The feedback element is really important. I really wanted my own kids to be involved - I call them kids, but they are 25, 21 and 18!
"By comparing their own situations to the lives of these kids, I hope they learn not to take things for granted. I think they get a sense of satisfaction that there is someone out there they help out.
"They keep asking me could we go out to visit one of the children and it's something I would like to do in my capacity as a director. I would like to see first-hand what the money achieves - there's no substitute for that."
CAROLINE LAHARTE SPONSORS AMIT IN INDIA
Laharte sponsors Amit (11), who lives in a mountainous district called Jeolikote, 170 miles north-east of New Delhi. Amit's father is a cook, but he does not earn enough ($171 per annum) to support the family. His mother is a housewife. Amit is attending school and is quite active.
"I started sponsoring in May 2005. I don't have a family of my own, so I just thought it would be nice to do. What appealed to me was that you could have contact with your child. We exchange letters every two months and cards for Christmas and birthdays. I get the original letter which is in Hindi and a translated copy from ChildFund. I have started Hindi classes so I can say a few words in my letters.
"I hadn't planned to visit him, but I have always wanted to go to India. In one of my letters I mentioned I was planning to visit India and he wrote back saying he was so looking forward to meeting me. I couldn't not go then.
"I wasn't expecting to be brought to his home, so I was a little nervous. They were very friendly, open and generous people. Their home was a little stone house on the mountain - simple but very beautiful. They don't have a lot but they welcomed us and prepared a lovely meal. We just felt they were a really lovely family. We could see how well the money is managed and sense how much they appreciated it. His mother had TB and was very ill, so the project office helped get her treatment using the sponsorship.
"Possibly in the future we might meet again, but who knows. If he leaves the project, I wouldn't hear from him again. I hope that doesn't happen."