Sponsoring a child

June 6, 2007 by SUM.

I decided in February of this year to sponsor a child again. I had done this before, but I had to quit this program when my financial resources prevented me from sending those monthly payments. After my financial resources had improved, I opted to support financially other programs for various reasons.

But this year I decided to sponsor a child again because my financial resources had sufficiently improved, and this time I felt that I’m actually able to sponsor a child in the long run.

So, what does the long-run actually mean. Recently, I read the article “Africa’s Storied Colleges, Jammed and Crumbling” in The New York Times. This article raises a very important factor that needs to be addressed, too, when sponsoring a child. The article points out that over decades basic education had been favored over higher learning, and Africa’s best universities are collapsing and becoming more like a warehouse for a generation of young people whose job opportunities in their society are as dim as their uneducated parents.

Therefore I also believe that it is not enough to sponsor a child only through elementary- and high-school education. A long-term approach is necessary to alleviate poverty and increase economic opportunities on the African continent.

I know that I not only want to sponsor a child that will be lucky enough to graduate from basic education, but out of luck attending an acceptable college or finding a job in her struggling economy.

Therefore I decided that I’m in for the long-run.

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