David Cam
01
// Learn more about the children we sponsor…
// Our littles children in figures and words.
The situation of sponsored children is never the same. Even if the figures below cannot possibly describe the complexity of each individual case, they still help to give a general idea of the situation:
Age of Sponsored Children (in %)
From 0 to 5 years 4 %
From 6 to 10 years 52 %
From 11 to 15 years 37 %
From 16 to 20 years 7 %
We give priority to sponsoring school-age children, and the vast majority of those are between 6 and 10 years old. We always give priority to supporting siblings.
Family Situation of Sponsored Children (en %)
Orphans with neither mother nor father 19 %
Orphans without father 70 %
Orphans without mother 9 %
With surviving mother and father, living in extreme 2 %
poverty or with ill parents
Through the Friendly Haven program, we give priority to supporting orphan children, whether they have lost their father, their mother, or both their parents. The remainder of our support goes to children who still have both parents in cases where the adults cannot provide for their children (for instance, if both parents are handicapped, etc.). Most of the children we sponsor have lost their father. The cause of death can vary, from chronic illnesses to car accidents or even deaths linked to the violence that took place after the 2005 presidential elections.
School Level of Sponsored Children (en %)
Pre-school 2 %
Elementary School 77 %
Middle School 14 %
High School 7 %
More than two-thirds of sponsored children are in elementary school. They are generally between 6 and 14 years old. Many children have already had to repeat years or interrupt their schooling. We know that it is hard for children in such difficult situations to pursue their studies normally when they lack so much and are forced to work.
This is where our sponsorship program comes in, paying the totality of children’s school fees and food costs.
Gender of sponsored children (en %)
Girls 48 %
Boys 7 %
Furthermore, we currently sponsor around forty HIV-positive children. The charitable organizations CREJE and Akaralé, both devoted to the cause of children living with HIV/AIDS, do work on the ground to provide aid to HIV-positive youth and their families. These two organizations also provide medical and psychological aid.
As a final note, we provide aid to a teenager with sickle-cell anemia[1], as well as to a young blind girl. Two years ago, one of our youths also experienced a nervous breakdown with probable post-traumatic causes; he therefore had to be closely observed from a psychological standpoint. He has now recovered from this condition.
It should also be mentioned that almost 90% of the youths we sponsor are affected by malaria and need to receive treatment.
Unfortunately, we regularly lose certain children we sponsor due to health problems. This is always difficult for us: we would like to pay our respects to Denise, 10 years old, who died of AIDS in 2011, as well as to Manuela, 18 years old, who passed away last year from an unknown illness. In order to provide medical care to our children and meet their needs, your support is vital to our cause!
[1] Genetic illness characterized by: low weight and height, nutritional deficiencies, frequent late puberty, cardio-pulmonary defects, a larger-than-normal spleen, retinal disorders, etc.