Child Sponsorship: Removing Barriers for Children

Jesus said it best when he said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these (Matthew 19:14)." If you're not familiar with what was happening on the day that Jesus made that statement, you should know that he was visiting his friends and some parents came so that their children could be introduced to Jesus. His friends with him and tried to keep the children from "bothering" Jesus, and so they tried to shoo the children away. Jesus was displeased and urged the children to come to him.

Jesus' friends had missed the point entirely. They thought that the children were of such little importance to the adults that their desire to meet Jesus was out of the question. One may suppose it would be like a modern day political or pop star having time to spend with a small child or some other "unimportant" person.

The key element in this example is that there are barriers in the way of children accomplishing the goals that are deeply embedded in both their hearts and the hearts of their parents. For the child in a third world or developing country, the parent hopes for their children are the same for every parent: I want my child to succeed. Yet, poverty, no access to medical care and no education will curtail any ability of that child doing anything but remaining in poverty just as their parents and grandparents before them.

While the cultures of industrialized nations are often vilified because of an attachment to wealth, one should note that social stratification occurs in every culture. A child who lives and works in a garbage dump in Mexico, India or wanders the streets in South America, is no less important than a child who lives in an upscale midtown condominium high rise. The small child whose family is displaced by civil unrest, the girl who is sold into a life of unspeakable horror in a red light district, or the young boy who is sent into the fields to work the landlord's farm are all without a viable safety net. Compounding the problem is the prevalence of centuries-old social stratification. So a child who is uneducated, poor AND a member of a "lower socio-economic" class in society, faces almost insurmountable obstacles to overcome.

The intent of most child sponsorship programs is to help the child to break barriers to a more positive and productive future. The sponsorship organization is often based in a nation that is removed from political and sectarian constraints, and is therefore able to break through these kinds of barriers to help a child in need.

A donor can select a child, and participate in the joy of knowing that a life is being changed everyday. Barriers such as lack of education, inadequate nutrition and health care are addressed by the monthly sponsor's dollars, and the child can rise up into adulthood with more hope for a better life. In most cases, the barriers to childhood success are brother either by monthly child sponsorship, or by financial contribution to a special project. We can all do something to change the life a small child in a far away country.