What Happens When I Sponsor a Child in Africa to Go to School?
Many child sponsorship programs worldwide exist to help equip children to leave poverty behind them. When you sponsor a child in Africa to go to school, you are opening the door for them to walk beyond the constant need that defines their lives.
GFA World has started expanding its Child Sponsorship Program to Africa where a high percentage of the world’s poor live. UNICEF’s report, “Children in Africa,” reports these statistics:[1]
- By 2055, the number of children in Africa will reach 1 billion, the largest concentration of children on any continent.
- Since 2017, the regions of sub-Saharan Africa have had the highest birth rates, which is only set to continue.
- Unless something changes, 300 million of the expected 730 million births in Africa by 2030 will not be attended by a health professional.
- Over half of the deaths of children under the age of 5 worldwide in 2017 occurred in Africa.
- 85 percent of all childhood deaths in Africa are of children age 5 and under.
- Of all deaths of children under 5 in Africa in 2016, 36 percent were from pneumonia, malaria and diarrhea.
- Projections are showing 31 million children age 5 and under will die in Africa before 2030.
- Because of all these changes and challenges, Africa will need 4.2 million additional health workers in order to meet WHO minimum standards, as well as 1.3 million primary school teachers to meet the best pupil-teacher ratio by 2030.
The odds are stacked against the children and youth of Africa for many reasons. One of the best ways out of poverty and the complications that go with it is to make sure that these children, the ones at risk for the statistics listed above, get an education.
When a child is enrolled in GFA’s Child Sponsorship Program, the GFA program staff make sure that the child is going to school, has the supplies they need and that they get regular help with schoolwork. Often the parents are unable to assist as they never had an education themselves. The children also receive vital assistance according to the needs of the community such as nutritious food, medical care, and clean water.
You can help make all of this happen for just $35 per month when you sponsor a child. Pray about that today and seek God’s heart for this continent of children at risk.
Learn more about how to sponsor a child in Africa[1] “Children in Africa: Key statistics on Child Survival and Population.” UNICEF. January 9, 2019. https://data.unicef.org/resources/children-in-africa-child-survival-brochure/.