Sponsor a Child - It's an Amazing Way to Make a Difference

If you're like me and maybe don't really want children, but you'd still like that connection and the feeling you're helping a child, a great compromise is to 'Sponsor a Child.'. There are many charitable organizations you can do this through, all of whom offer different monthly prices and different areas of the world to choose children from. And yes, that's correct - you can usually choose the child you sponsor.

Over the last seven years, I have sponsored 11 children from many areas of the world. I sponsored two children from Thailand, because that's where I live. I also sponsored five children from various African countries, one from Vietnam, one from Guatemala, one from Brazil and one from Ecuador. I sponsored through several different charitable agencies, but these are my favorites.

Christian Children's Fund (CCF). First of all, I'm not Christian and would never sponsor through an organization that provided services for poor kids only if they were forced to have Christian teachings. Christian Children's Fund doesn't do this. It provides poor children with an education no matter what religion they are, and it doesn't force any religious views or teachings on them. CCF was my favorite organization to sponsor through.

CCF presently charges $24 a month. For that, the child you choose gets an education, basic health care, nutritious food and their community gets things like clean water, help with building houses, new schools and a whole lot more.

To sponsor a child, go to their website at Christian Children's Fund and look through the photographs of the children available. They have sponsorships available in 31 countries including Vietnam, Brazil, Kenya and many other places, so there's bound to be a child in a country you're interested in.

Children International. (CI). Children International has slightly cheaper sponsorships available at $22 a month. They work in 11 countries. I sponsored my first sponsored child through them in Guatemala and it was a wonderful experience. They also allow you to send packages to your child and take photographs of the child with the gifts you send, which was wonderful to see.