Mosso Enterprises

Changing a child's life

Wouldn't changing the life and future of a child living in poverty be one of the best things you could ever do? That's what happens when you decide to sponsor a child.

As a child sponsor, you'll help to provide the basics that every child needs - like clean drinking water, food, health care and the chance to learn to read and write.

You'll also be supporting vital development work in your sponsored child's community, making it a healthier, happier place to grow up.

A child's story

A child born in India is likely to face many hardships. Last year alone, nearly two and a half million children under the age of five died, mostly of preventable diseases and malnutrition remains a silent emergency as almost half of all children under the age of four are malnourished.

India continues to have the highest concentration of poverty of any country. Some 433 million of its 1.1 billion people live on less than US$1 a day. Providing the basic necessities such as health care, education, clean water and even a daily meal are a struggle for many Indian families.

7 year old child  lives in the northern Indian state of Sikkim. Cradled in the inner mountain ranges of the Himalayas, her village is often shrouded in mists and clouds. But the beauty of her mountain top village does not hide the poverty.

Before World Vision established a project (ADP) in this area child’s family lived in a small thatch-roofed house with a mud floor. Her parents are agricultural laborers, but they had no domestic animals of their own, which made farming their small plot of land unproductive. Conditions were so miserable that it was very difficult for the family to survive.

World Vision child sponsorship has transformed the life of the child, and indeed her entire community. Sponsorship means that the child can attend school, it pays for her uniforms, books, shoes and a new school bag. Her family have received materials which have allowed them to extend their house and they have a new mattress and quilts to sleep on. They have also received 2 bullocks, 3 goats and 2 piglets, making an enormous difference to their livelihood.

The community too benefits; its children are educated, they receive regular health check-ups by World Vision health workers, a water tank has been installed, greatly improving sanitation and providing access to clean water, and new projects are being implemented which will provide long term economic assistance to the community.

When asked what the child would like to say to the people who sponsor her, she replied, “Namaste (a Nepali word used to greet someone) and thank-you very much for your help.” The child knows that without the help of her generous sponsors, her future would be bleak, but now she is full of hope and her joy is evident in her smiling eyes.

If you would are interested in sponsoring a child and would like to find out more, visit the World Vision web site closest to you through our international gateway.