The time to act is now. Shockingly, children all over the world are denied fundamental human rights every day, living without access to clean water, education, food, health care and gender equality.

Children lose 443 million school days each year because of water-related illnesses like diarrhea - the leading cause of death for children under five. For girls, lack of access to safe toilets is an added barrier to education. When schools don’t have working toilets or if the toilets are too open or public, girls will often skip school or drop out altogether, especially as they go through puberty and menstruation.

Two hundred sixty-three million children, adolescents and youth are out of school – that’s seven times the entire population of Canada. Children, especially girls, struggle to get to school and stay there due to numerous and often overwhelming obstacles like having to travel long and often dangerous distances to get to school, families unable to pay tuition fees to keep children in school, limited access to food & poor nutrition impacting children’s ability to learn and travel far distances to school.

Globally, more than 276 million people have run out of food, meaning one out of every nine people are hungry, and when food is scarce – girls often eat last and least. When families are unable to afford food, children are the ones who suffer as they get taken out of school to help work while parents may feel forced to have their daughters married early in exchange for funds, helping lift financial burdens and make ends meet for the rest of the family.

A girl is married every three seconds, resulting in almost 12 million child marriages every year. When a child becomes a bride, and soon after a mother, she faces an increased risk of violence, illness and even death as complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death in girls aged 15-19 globally.

Create a meaningful one-to-one connection by sponsoring a child. When you sponsor with Plan International Canada, you help children access education, proper nutrition, health care and clean water, helping the whole community thrive, enabling children to take back their rights and stand in their power.

 

The time to act is now. Shockingly, children all over the world are denied fundamental human rights every day, living without access to clean water, education, food, health care and gender equality.

You can help change this and create a meaningful one-to-one connection by sponsoring a child. When you sponsor with Plan International Canada, you help children access education, proper nutrition, health care and clean water, helping the whole community thrive, enabling children to take back their rights and stand in their power.

 

Sponsorship search

Sponsor a child today to start creating life-long change around the world. *Leave blank to meet children enrolled the longest and most in need.

Hi, my name is

Thao

Gender: Male

Location: Vietnam

Age: 6 years old, Born, December 13, 2017

Hi, my name is

Helena

Gender: Female

Location: Indonesia

Age: 14 years old, Born, February 05, 2010

Hi, my name is

Ritag

Gender: Female

Location: Egypt

Age: 12 years old, Born, September 01, 2012

Sponsor a child and help transform their community

Water & Sanitation

Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene are critical for children's survival, development, and well-being. Some girls walk up to 48km daily to fetch clean water.

Your sponsorship will help improve community access to safe drinking water and sanitary facilities.

Education

Even though education is a fundamental right, over 263 million children cannot attend school.

You can help ensure that more children – especially girls – have improved access to quality education by sponsoring a child.

 

Food Security

Global hunger rates are increasing at an unprecedented rate and millions of people are struggling to meet their most basic daily needs like feeding their families. Children, especially girls, are the first to go hungry impacting all aspects of their wellbeing.

When you sponsor a child, you will help communities build income sources and assets, assisting families to become more resilient and better able to cope in times of economic difficulty.

Child Protection

Though a fundamental breach of their human rights, violence against children is unfortunately widespread in communities around the world.

By sponsoring a child, you will help support targeted community programs addressing specific protection issues, like child marriage.

70%

of people experiencing food insecurity are girls and women.

18%

Only 18 percent of school children in low-income countries receive free or subsidized school meals.

783 million

As many as 783 million people are unsure of where their next meal is coming from.

start of something special

Start of something special

When you sponsor a child, you’ll receive an information package about them and the community they live in plus photos of them and their family. You’ll also receive an introductory letter from your sponsored child, annual updates about them, their community and country so you can see first-hand how your donations are making an impact.

Sponsor now

The power of your sponsorship

When you sponsor a child, you fund life-changing projects in your sponsored child’s community – projects that help children access their basic human rights.

Adequate nutrition

Malnutrition can stunt children's development and pull their focus away from education. With your support, Plan International Canada will teach sustainable farming techniques, support school meal programs, and provide food rations and vouchers in emergencies.

Water and sanitation

Girls often carry the burden of water collection which can mean travelling long distances every day, missing school and being exposed to risky situations along the way. Help girls, families and entire communities gain access to safe, clean water and proper sanitation.

Health care

Each year, around 9 million children die needlessly before they reach their fifth birthday from preventable and treatable illnesses. Together with our sponsors, Plan International Canada works to improve health care for mothers and children, so children have the healthiest start in life.

Education

When you sponsor a child, you help build new schools and work with communities to promote the importance of sending and keeping girls in school.

Family income

Child sponsors help support vocational skills training for youth. This strengthens girls’ economic independence, helping them gain employment and giving them greater decision-making power over their lives.

Child protection

We work to ensure that all children, especially girls, are registered at birth. Without birth registration, children can’t prove their legal age or claim protection under any legislation specifying a minimum age for marriage. Birth certificates also enable children to gain access to critical services and resources.

Help change a child's life.

Three reasons why you should sponsor a child.

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Sponsorship benefits the sponsored child 

“I was a very poor child in Colombia, but my Canadian sponsor showed me the world through her letters. Now I am 50, with an MBA and have traveled to 15 countries. Thank you Plan and my sponsor Miss Louise Miller.”

- Carlos Aparicio, MBA, Plan International Colombia Board Member and former sponsored child

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Child sponsorship benefits the whole community

“I went to visit my sponsored child, Ruby in Ghana, Africa. The money from sponsors funds so many amazing projects that benefit both sponsored children and the children in their community. It makes more of a difference than you can even imagine.”

- Kaitlyn Strickland, Plan International Canada child sponsor

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Sponsorship benefits YOU!

“When I visited my sponsored child, Sidonie it was rewarding to see the significant difference I've made in her life and in the community, especially in such a remote place!"

- Eileen Fernandes-Smith, Plan International Canada child sponsor

Still have questions? We can help!

How much does it cost to sponsor a child with Plan International Canada?

Child Sponsorship is $42 per month, which works out to be just over $10 per week.

How does Child Sponsorship work?

Child Sponsorship provides you with a special opportunity to have a unique one-to-one connection with a child and their family in one of the countries where Plan International works. As part of your sponsorship, you can exchange letters and photos, and build a meaningful connection. Each year, you’ll receive updates about your sponsored child and the progress in their community so you can see how you’re helping change lives. Child Sponsorship programming allows us to combine sponsor contributions to establish a trusted partnerships with communities and create lasting change. This helps secure further grant funding from institutional and government donors to grow community-based development projects, like building schools or water taps, which support sponsored children and their communities for years to come.

How child sponsorship works

Do sponsorship contributions go directly to one child?

No. When you sponsor a child, your contributions support that child and the whole community! Your donations collectively support a wide range of projects in your sponsored child's community that are chosen in collaboration with community members. With more than 80 years of experience, we know that the best way to help every child unleash their potential is by them, their families and full communities to create change together, so they can carry on the positive progress for many years to come.