Before you sign up
Questions to ask before you sponsor an orphan
Eight questions any good programme will be glad to answer. Tick them off as you go.
Eight questions before you sponsor an orphan
- What exactly does the monthly amount pay for? Ask for the breakdown.
- Is the money pooled or given to one child? You should know which.
- Where does the child live, and with whom? Family, foster care or a home?
- How are children chosen? And by whom?
- What will you hear, and how often? Reports, photos, letters?
- How is the child’s privacy protected? With whose consent?
- What is the safeguarding policy? Ask to read it.
- What happens if I have to stop? Is another sponsor found first?
See how to help orphans in Gaza, with every pound shown. DonateOpenly ranks UK Muslim charities from their public records, out of 10.
What good answers sound like
Specific
A breakdown of what the money buys, not a vague promise.
Family first
Care within the child’s wider family where safe, as the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (2009) ask.
Honest
A yearly rhythm of news, and a plain reason when a report is late.
Check the organisation as well
Find it on the Charity Commission register for England and Wales: the number should match and the accounts be up to date. Scotland and Northern Ireland keep their own registers.
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