FAQs

1. What difference does child sponsorship make in the child’s life?

BanglaKids child sponsorship program provides education and improves living conditions of disadvantaged children from resource-poor Bangladeshi families. Apart from education, children are provided with accommodation, nutritious food every day, and medical care when they get sick.

Education has a permanent and positive impact on children’s lives. It is one of the best tools to combat poverty because it opens up new opportunities for young people. Thanks to education, they can get a better paid job, develop themselves, and help not only their families but also their communities.

2. How are children ‘selected’ to join the sponsorship program?

The main reason to include a child in our program is the difficult life and financial situation of their families. Some children have only one parent, some are orphans, and thus cannot afford to go to school. Our international partners base the selection of the children for the program on their and their families’ needs, irrespective of their origin, religion or sex.

3. How much does it cost?

The cost of sponsorship necessary to support one child ranges from 29 EUR to 45 EUR a month, depending on the type of education, age and family situation of each particular child.

You can learn more in the Sponsorship Costs section of our website.

4. For how long will my child stay enrolled in the program?

Your child will be enrolled in the sponsorship program as long as he or she studies. Sometimes, a child leaves the program because of poor school grades or because their family situation has changed. In such cases, we will inform you and you can choose to support a different child.

5. What happens to the child if I can’t continue to support them?

Most donors want to support their children till the end of their studies. However, this is sometimes not possible for various reasons and donors are forced to discontinue their sponsorship. When this happens, the child stays in the program and we try to find another sponsor.

6. How often will I hear from my sponsored child?

You will get a letter from your sponsored child twice a year. Most of the letters are written in Bengali and then translated into English. You can also meet the child personally.

To learn more about the letters, see the Write to Your Child section.

To learn more about meeting the children, see the Meet Your Child section.

7. Can I write to my sponsored child?

Yes, of course! You can write a letter twice a year. It will make your sponsored child.

To learn more about the letters, see the Write to Your Child section.

8. Can I communicate with my child online?

Unfortunately, ADRA is not currently in a position to facilitate online communication between donors and children. All correspondence should be done through the well-established mail communication system (see Write to Your Child).

ADRA shall not be liable for any damages or situations that may arise in the event of any unauthorized contact between the donor and the child.

9. Can I send gifts or money to my sponsored child?

Yes and no. In the past, we tried to deliver your gifts to the children, either personally or by mail. However, both ways were quite demanding in terms of logistics and finance. When a gift was mailed to Bangladesh, it often happened that it was not delivered to our partner organization, or part of the content was missing. For these reasons ADRA introduced gift packages to further support the children and their families. These have proved to be very successful.

To learn more information about gift packages for children and their families see the Buy a Gift section of our website.

We do not recommend sending money to the children. Moreover, it is impossible to transfer money to Bangladesh; to be able to do so, you must be registered by the government of Bangladesh. If you would like to send a present, please send a gift package instead.

10. Can I visit my sponsored child?

Yes, you can. The visit can be a wonderful experience for both your sponsored and yourself. We usually arrange the visits within our monitoring trip to Bangladesh at the turn of March and April. The associated costs are covered by the donors themselves. Our team will take care of the organizational aspects of the visit. Because of our limited human resources, we have to put the interested donors on a waiting list. If you wish to meet your sponsored child, please contact us.

11. How often shall I make sponsorship payments?

It is up to you. You can choose your gift’s frequency during the registration process. Most donors send their contributions monthly. However, some send them quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.

12. Is child sponsorship tax-deductible?

Yes. Donation confirmations (under the Act No. 586/92 Coll., § 15 para. 1, eventually. § 20 para. 8) will be sent at the beginning of the year for the previous year.

13. How do local communities benefit from the BanglaKids program?

Apart from education, the BanglaKids program also provides food, accommodation, and medical and home care. Through sponsoring a child, you are also supporting their family and school, which is beneficial for the local community as well. Another advantage is the opportunity to share potable water and electricity. However, the largest benefit for the community is the educated young person who later, through their work, contributes to the common wealth of the society.

14. I would like to support a child in the child sponsorship program but I cannot afford it. Are there other ways to help?

Even if you can’t afford the full sponsorship cost, you can still become a sponsor – together with somebody else. Join with your friends or colleagues and divide the sponsorship cost among yourselves.

There are also other ways how you can help. Please, see the Get Involved section.