Plan Ireland's Sponsorship Campaign

Sponsor a child with Plan Ireland and make a real difference to the live of a child, their family and community in one of the 50 developing countries where we work.
Please, do something wonderful today.

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How does child sponsorship work?

Child sponsorship is still one of the most powerful ways to help break the cycle of poverty. 
Until the 1970s child sponsorship looked very different to what it does today. Since people started sponsoring children through charities in the ‘30s, children and their families received direct handouts, similar to a welfare system from sponsors in wealthier countries. Research and smarter ways of supplying aid to developing countries showed this wasn’t only unsustainable; it often created tension among communities when some families received money or gifts, and others didn’t. 

Today, child sponsorship is set up to benefit all children. But how? 

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25 sponsored children and 25 letters every month

Everyone should know someone like Mr. Bear. He’s kind, generous and dedicated to his work and family. He’s also been sponsoring children with Plan Canada for over 30 years, and recently, he chose to sponsor an additional five children, bringing him to a total of 25 sponsored children.

Mr. Bear’s sponsored children span the globe in the Americas, Asia and Africa. He’s even posted a map in his office to keep track. Each child’s name and picture is posted on the map, and red string pinpoints their exact location around the world.

When we met with Mr. Bear, we discovered he wasn’t alone in his generous undertaking – in fact, he had a lot of help from one special person – his assistant, Rosemary.

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Inspiration in the classroom: Former sponsored child returns home to teach

Growing up in a poor family in the highlands of Ecuador, Gloria Ermelinda knew what it meant to work hard.

During her younger years, Gloria grew up as a sponsored child with Plan. She began attending school and learned the importance of education – something we value here at Plan. It’s a lesson she learned well – one she now shares with a new generation of children as a teacher. Gloria now stands in front of eager groups of students, teaching in the very school where she was once a student.

As the only one of her nine siblings to complete high school, Gloria places great value on education. She hopes her own children grow up to become working professionals one day, or maybe even a teacher! After all, teaching runs in the family – her husband is a teacher, too!

Gloria and her husband are inspirations. With both of them teaching at neighbouring schools in Ecuador, we hope their stories motivate generations to come.

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Tilbage til skolen: 5 måder at øge bevidstheden i klasseværelset

Det er den tid på året igen! Sommerferien er forbi og millioner af born rundt omkring i verden skal tilbage til skole. Et klasseværelse er et sted hvor nye lektioner bliver lært og nye perspektiver udvikles.

Det er det perfekte sted at øge bevidstheden om emner som fattigdom og pigers rettigheder - emner der påvirker børn i udviklingslande. Men nogle glabale problemer kan være svære at forklare og svære for børn at forstå.

Plan Canada er kommet op med nogle unikke måder at øge bevidstheden i klasseværelset.

1. Classroom sponsorship

2. Pick a cause

3. Essay competition

4. Diversity mural

5. Private screening

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Spotlight på Barouéli, Mali: Tre historier, tre perspektiver del 3

3. Meet Lasseni Traore, 24, husband of Djeneba Dembélé, 23, and father to two children under the age of two.

What was life like six months ago, and how has your perspective changed since?

“Six months ago, I was only thinking about ways to make more money by cutting more wood in bush to sell. This has been my life during the past five years as farming is getting more difficult because of bad rainy seasons. Now, after the meetings we had with Plan, I am learning we have to think of future generations and plant trees to replace what we cut.”

What changes are you seeing in your community since Plan has been working here?

“Lots of changes are occurring, both at the school and in the community. Now we are discussing with women and children at school. Before, we [men] just discussed with teachers and made decisions.”

What changes have occurred in your own life?

“I would say it is all about new thinking now. New thinking about education and new thinking about environment.”

Spotlight på Barouéli, Mali: Tre historier, tre perspektiver del 2

2. Meet Aminta Fomba, 53, wife of Dramane Traore, 62, and mother of nine children, ages 34 to 7-years-old.

As a woman, what have you learned about your role in the community over the past six months?

“We learned that it is important to give equal chance to both girls and boys. Even we, women, were contributing to marginalizing girls by overloading them with household chores. We had a couple of meetings about our role in the new ECD [Early Education Centre] center coming; we want to make sure more girls will benefit from it.”

What changes have occurred in your community since Plan began working there?

“Now we can discuss at the same place with men. Plan is encouraging men and women to discuss development issues, which I appreciate. I hope this will continue.”

What is Plan teaching the people living in your community?

“We learned that preschool education will teach young children hygiene and sanitation. This will be helpful to us as mothers.

Spotlight på Barouéli, Mali: Tre historier, tre perspektiver del 1

Thanks to generous support from our sponsors, Plan began sponsoring the community of Barouéli. Together, we’re hoping to transform the lives of more than 113,000 people, including over 62,000 children, by working with community members to improve their quality of life and to create a self-sufficient community.

Six months into the community sponsorship, we caught up with some of the families living in Barouéli to see how their perspectives have changed since Plan entered the community:

1. Meet Drissa Diarra, 38, husband of Kokoh Coulibaly, 30, and father to five children ages 13 to 9 months.

What has life been like since Plan began helping your community six months ago?

“In the beginning, I was skeptic because we have seen many people coming to collect data and promising things but never show up again. Then, you came for the second meeting to explain what our roles were and we discussed preschool and primary education. I started to think Plan must be a serious organization. Now I am confident you can help our community move forward.”

What changes have occurred in your own life in the last six months?

“I now understand that preschool is important and as soon as the centre will be open, I will send my last daughter, Oumou. Kokoh, my wife, is excited about this too.”

What is Plan teaching you?

“Plan is teaching us to enroll all children at school, boys and girls. We learned that education is the only way to end poverty and this is most important thing for me because if I was literate enough, I would be able to get more benefits from my field now.”