Child Sponsorship Criticism

CHILD SPONSORSHIP CRITICISM

Child sponsorship criticism has been done by many people ranging from observers, sponsorship parents who have directly been involved in sponsoring children, officials of some sponsorship programs and other individuals. While child sponsorship is a good thing, there is a whole lot of negatives that comes with it. While, not all the criticisms apply to every agency but all sponsorship programs have at least some of these defects. African Christian is providing this information on:

WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING

• The Anglican journal states that child sponsorship deals with the symptoms of the economic injustice rather than the root cause. Some of the defects and child sponsorship criticism are:

FAMILY DIVISION/ RIFT

• Child sponsorship criticism says that helping an individual is divisive. It means that only one member of the family or a family out of many is singled out to receive special treatment. This could be in terms of food, clothing, education or even special gifts. This would make one of the children feel special than the others hence undermine then. It would also make the parents feel humiliated because outsiders are providing things which they cannot – or frustrated that only one of their children receives help.

FEELING OF INFERIORITY

• Another child sponsorship criticism is that some children would develop a mentality of inferiority since they are always receiving help from outside and from other people. The letters they get from sponsors describing the kind of life they live, the luxuries, exotic holidays and the big cars makes the child feel inferior.

UNREALISTIC ASPIRATIONS

• Child sponsorship programs can create frustrating desires. A child who learns of a sponsor’s large house and reads about the different and perceived better life can become discontented with his or her own community and want to be taken away to that affluent world.

WASTE OF FUNDS

• Most of the funds sent for the benefit of the child end up benefiting the donor organization. This is used in sending them reports of the progress of the children, sending photos and mails from the children. Child sponsorship criticism says that children receive very little compared to what the organization receives on their behalf. Some leaders, who lack integrity, have become wealthy by local standards because of the benefits of being a host ministry for child sponsorship.

LACK OF INTEGRITY

• The sponsors hardly get to know how exactly the child is fairing. Since the letters are written by children, they have to pass through translators where they are censored to remove political comments and requests for money.

MAINTAINING DEPENDENCE

• The sponsored child is constantly reminded that they are the ‘poor relation’. Child sponsorship criticism is that they must always be prepared to show gratitude to the sponsor parents on whose charity they depend.
  

  

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN BECOMING A SPONSOR:

1. The Country:This could be a country with a history of poverty or one you have visited.
2. The Charity- make sure it is registered. In this way you can be sure the charity is regulated and that your money will be spent effectively and appropriately. Check out our list of the best child sponsorship programs.
3. Your budget-If you’re on a very tight budget, then some of the smaller charities accept  smaller donations and this can be even smaller if you wish to share the sponsorship with others. However, most charities request a minimum of$35 per month, but you’re more than welcome to donate more.
4. If you wish to donate more than the minimum, then we’d suggest you consider sponsoring 2 or more children (maybe from different countries) rather than a larger amount to 1 child. In this way, your money is spread wider and benefits more people overall.
5. Religion: Some charities have a strong affiliation with a particular religion, and their projects are designed to bring up their sponsored children in line with this faith. If this goes against your own beliefs then clearly you should choose an appropriate charity or one that is not religion oriented.