AFNonlus has 100 active projects in 50 countries around the world, where it provides support to children suffering from malnourishment and who often have health problems. This support is given in centers equipped with outpatient clinics, child care centers, preschool, after-school activities for adolescents, workshops for mothers, and provides real development and self-development opportunities to beneficiaries leading to their full self-efficiency. There are also literacy programs for adults which help provide stability amongst families.
Through their food programs, they seek to restore health to malnourished children and provide sufficient food with at least one meal per day at their centers and distributing meal boxes to families. They also have educational programs, which provide not only regular school lessons but also educational support and training programs, as well as educational materials and school uniforms. Children and their families are also given medical checkups and medicines are distributed to them.
For the children, becoming a sponsored child means breaking free from the traps of poverty and becoming a person essential to the development of his country. For the sponsor, it is an act of openness that connects people and worlds that are completely different.
Guidelines
- HOW MUCH DOES LONG-DISTANCE SPONSORSHIP COST?
The minimum annual cost for Long-Distance Sponsorship is Euro 336.00 which can be paid in a lump sum, in 6-month installments of Euro 168, 3-month installments of Euro 84 or monthly installments of Euro 28.
- HOW LONG DOES LONG-DISTANCE SPONSORSHIP LAST?
The aim of the sponsorship is to provide support to the child until he becomes independent, but the minimum required sponsorship to ensure the child’s stability and continuity with the program is at least 3 years. After that period, the sponsor may withdraw himself from the sponsorship by sending a letter or email or by calling our offices. In case in which the sponsored child goes out of the program because he has achieved full independence to take care of himself, or due to unforeseen events in the program, we shall provide the documentation for a new sponsorship (sponsorship Substitution) which the sponsor may accept or refuse by contacting us (phone, fax, email, letter).
- HOW ARE THE CONTRIBUTIONS USED?
All the contributions received for the program are registered in a database and are sent to the indicated recipient and for various programs through bank transfer twice a year (in November and May). AFNonlus deducts 10% of the contributions they receive for organizational costs. The remaining 90% of the contributions are managed by their local collaborators to provide each child in the Sponsorship program with the necessary food, education and medical care for him to lead a decent life and uphold his early childhood rights.
- COMMUNICATION
The project’s local collaborator manages the communications between the child and the sponsor. There cannot be direct communication between the child and the sponsor to protect the privacy of both. Any communications for the child should be sent via email or post directly to the local organization and should be sent to the address indicated in the child’s information form that the sponsor received during the assignment of the sponsorship. Italian can be used in all of the AFNonlus programs except for programs in India and Lithuania, where only English can be used in writings. All missives will be translated in the local language by the local project administrators. If you find the updates on the project insufficient or inadequate, please contact our office so we may check the situation together and adopt measures, if needed.
- VISITING THE PROGRAM
The sponsor can visit the child and his community prior agreement with the local project administrator to assess the meeting together and arrange the travel. The sponsored children however, cannot come to Italy due to legal problems in leaving the country of origin and entry in Italy. Furthermore, this might also bring difficulties to the child when he goes back to living in a very difficult context after his stay in Italy, where he receives much attention and sees a very different social context.
- SENDING GIFT BOXES
AFN does not send gift boxes on behalf of the sponsors because these often don’t arrive at the destination or have very expensive customs costs. If the sponsor wants to give a gift to the child, he may send money using the same procedures for the payment of the sponsorship and indicate the specific reason for the said payment, and this shall be communicated to the local project administrator.
5. If you are living Outside of Italy, you may contact our collaborator in your nation
Start a sponsorship
Child sponsorship: Euro 336.00 per year
Project sponsorship: Euro 200.00 per year
You may choose to sponsor a child or a project (see list of Sponsorship Programs at the bottom)
If you are living Outside of Italy, you may contact our associate in your country
DEPLIANT
FAQ
However, one can’t speak of a real and true adoption. It is more correct to speak of “long-distance sponsorship”.
Between November and February of each year, the local project administrators will send updates and photos of the child and program he is taking part.
A letter describing the general status of the project will also be sent between June and August of each year.
The regular communications from the projects shall imply that payments for the programs have been received.
In some cases, especially when it is still not possible to create a service center, the money goes directly to families, who are closely monitored by our local collaborators accompanying them or providing counselling.
All management and accounting operations are carried out in observance of current Italian laws and are subject to checks of competent authorities.
Each sponsor has the right to visit the AFNonlus’ Long-Distance Sponsorship Office in Grottaferrata (province of Rome) to see documentations on the receipt and transfers of contributions, communications with the local project collaborators and their yearly accounting of the expenses. Moreover, they can always, and it is a pleasure, if the sponsors come to the location to personally check the project’s progress in terms of growth and progress on self-sufficiency of the persons (children and their families).
Due to the amount of work that the local project administrators have to do daily to support the children and their families;
Because many of our local collaborators have jobs and they do their work with long-distance sponsorship during their free hours, weekends or during their vacation period, therefore, they have little time to reply to emails because their priority is to carry out the daily tasks for the long-distance sponsorship.
It is a precious exchange which paves the way to “experience” the poverty and needs that we sometimes are not aware of. But not only that. Often, as time goes by, our beneficiaries prove to be not only persons of great need, but go on to become persons capable of enriching their culture and are profound humans.
However, sometimes, the child’s family which transfers to a city enticed by the prospect of a better life, suddenly decides to go back to its native village. We try with what’s possible to find them and bring them back and continue the program. But this is not always possible. In this case, we propose a new child as beneficiary of the program.
It’s our local collaborators who are the first to feel disappointed in situations like this, as they see their efforts to help and promote development shatter. We believe, however, that these circumstances are a further proof that humanitarian help, and therefore, long-distance sponsorship, are much needed in developing countries.
We have already had many positive experiences with this, but this should be arranged well with the local collaborator and the International Secretary.
pacchi postali comporta difficoltà doganali e costi molto alti. Talvolta, l’arrivo di un pacco per un bambino ha involontariamente creato discriminazioni con altri bambini del progetto.
Information on Long-Distance Sponsorship projects
AsiaAfrica |
America |
