Save the children and other groups who advertise on tv. Where you can help a child in 3rd world cntry $22 mo.?

Question

Has anyone ever donated to these organizations? Do you really get letters from the kids in Africa and such. Are they real? What all happens when you donate monthly to them? Is it legit? Please tell me your experiences or your opinion from knowledge about these groups. Thanks!

I'd love to do it but I don't want to be duped! I'd love to hear from someone who really has experience in this. :-)

Answer 1

If you want 100% of what you give to go to the person being helped, Your best bet (if you could do it), would be to decide

1. which country you want to help someone in
2. Decide what kind of help you want to pay for (school, medical, Bibles, clothes)
3. Start looking on the internet, asking at churches, asking friends.
4. Your main goal in doing this would be to come up with a couple of small groups or persons that you could visit for a few days and meet the people in charge in the country where you want to help. (of course after talking to them by email, telephone, what ever)

See for yourself what they do and who they help, YOU COULD EVEN MEET THE CHILD YOU WANT TO HELP AND THEIR FAMILY (IF THEY HAVE ONE).

Any honest person would have no problem letting you come and visit and stay in their home (you pay for your tickets and they will feed you and give you a place to sleep even if it is their own bed). so that you can see first hand what they are doing.

But don't expect to be treated like a king or a queen by these husband and wife teams of missionaries or workers, (we can not afford it and WON'T do it).

To give you an example of $22.00

Here in the Philippines (in the area we live) that would be about 968pesos.

That is about 1/5 of a laborer's family income for the month.

Answer 2

I'm in Oz. I sponsored a little Mexican girl through a church organization. Never again!

After I began sponsoring the girl I wrote & asked if I could receive something from the child - such as a bit of schoolwork or something. They replied, 11 months later, with a single sheet of coloring in (half completed) supposedly by the child.

I paid extra so the child received a special birthday & Christmas present. That was not done. She was given a school bag & a pair of shoes mid year . Other money I had contributed went towards a Mexican gov't dep't for children.

Hey, I was sponsoring a needy child - not propping up the Mexican government.

In a nut shell the organization I was with were extremely poor with communications & information. After 12 months was up they sent me a letter saying my next yearly payment was 'overdue'...!!!!

Where do they get their people skills & client relation skills?

Maybe I just had a bad experience.

Answer 3

In the larger organizations, your money will not go directly to the child but to the community at large although your child will benefit from the services that your donations help fund.

You should receive correspondance. I sponsor 2 kids through CCF and it's been a good experience but in retrospect, I would go through a smaller organization so I could send presents and things to my child. (The larger ones don't allow it) Recently I found a site called www.risingfountains.org

I have been working directly with Mathias Zimba and although I don't sponsor any kids through them (because of my 2 others) I DO send care packages of school supplies every month because his students have NOTHING. You may want to check out the children on his website. He is goodhearted and honest and you may be able to develop a more personal relationship with a smaller organization.

Best of luck!

Answer 4

Save the Children is a very reputable charity. They have been around for years and do an awesome job.

Also, Unicef and Worldvision. I would stick to those three.

Finally, take a look at St. Jude's Children's Hospital. They operate a hospital here in America that takes care of children that have cancer for free if the parents can't afford it. I know that's not what you asked, but it is a great charity you can contribute to here.

Answer 5

Please use world vision if you want to do this, you can check them out on their webpage or go to charity navigator website, they rate these groups, The child I sponsor just became a teachers aid at his school in Ethiopia, and yes I get a lot of letters and grade cards and pictures, world vision is doing what they say they are doing.