A sponsor is someone like you who's decided to personally invest in the life of a child in need through monthly financial support and ongoing encouragement. Your commitment will enable a sponsored child to participate in Christ-based programs with life-changing benefits including:

• Nutritious food & clean water
• Shelter & clothing
• Basic health care
• Education
• Christian teaching

In addition, you can help your sponsored child develop confidence and self-worth by expressing your love through letters and prayers. As a sponsor, you'll enjoy a real connection with the specific child you support—they will know your name, write to you and benefit directly from your monthly sponsorship.

The entire cost is just $45 per month. This tax-deductible amount helps to cover everything the child needs—housing, meals, health care and education. All funds collected are pooled to implement these benefits to all children at each location. This allows kids waiting for sponsors to also benefit.

Sponsors can give additional monetary gifts to the Christmas Gift Fund to buy presents for your child and others in the program. All money collected for Christmas will be evenly distributed to all the children—sponsored and unsponsored (we don't celebrate birthdays because many of the children do not know their date of birth).

Sponsorships and donations can be made online at www.projecthope127.org or can be mailed to Harvesters International Ministries, P.O. Box 22549, Hilton Head Island, SC 29925 and designated for Project Hope 127.

They will receive five key opportunities that most of the world's poorest children will never get, including...

1. The opportunity to hear the gospel and learn about Jesus. Your Project Hope 127 sponsorship provides kids with regular Bible training and encouragement through a local church committed to Christ and the children in its community.
2. The opportunity to receive an education: This usually means providing the cost of school fees, clothing and supplies. It can also allow some students to stay in school longer if formal schooling is an option.
3. The opportunity to be healthy: The health of the child you sponsor will be monitored and medical care will be provided as needed. Children are taught about hygiene and how to maintain personal health.
4. The opportunity to receive shelter, food and clean water: The child you sponsor will reside in a children's home run by one of Harvesters International’s partners, providing regular meals and clean waters.
5. The opportunity to develop self-confidence and social skills: The child you support will be part of a church-based program where Christian adult leaders offer love, guidance, personal attention, recreation and safety.

Best of all, you get the knowledge that you're helping to guarantee a better future for a child who is living in extreme poverty. You will also receive:

• A Welcome Kit with a photo and info about your sponsored child
• The opportunity to write and receive letters
• Annual progress reports and regular updates

Ages may run from Pre-K through early 20's. A child's age will not necessarily indicate what school grade he/she is in. When children come to the children's home, their education level is assessed, and they are placed in the appropriate grade. There may be different ages in each grade level.

Technically, yes. Some of the kids at the children's homes do have parents, but the adults are so poor or so sick that they cannot provide for their family. Sometimes parents will bring their children to the children's homes, knowing the Christian workers will take them in. It must be so heartbreaking to give up your child rather than watch them suffer. With or without parents, all the kids in our program urgently need sponsorship.

Prayer is a critical link between sponsors and children. Your sponsored child is in need and vulnerable. Your prayers for their health, safety, education and spiritual development are critical. Sponsored children are greatly encouraged when they hear their sponsors are praying for them. As you share your own family and personal concerns with them, you'll discover that the child you sponsor is consistently praying for you, too!

Sponsorship is currently offered through Harvesters’ international partners in Uganda and the D.R. Congo. Other nations could be added in the future.

Our "Global Partners" are ministry leaders operating in their own Country. These ministries are committed to following the Great Commission within a specific region or people group by meeting their physical and spiritual needs.

You can stay with a child right up through the school year in which they reach the ages of 18 to 22. For sponsors who choose to help with their child’s higher education this could mean a few years beyond 18 to 20. Although we hope you will be able to continue your support until a child completes the program, we recognize that a sponsor's circumstances may change. You may discontinue your sponsorship at any time.
By the same token, a child's circumstances may also change. For example, an extended family member could become able to care for a child and take them to live in their home. We'll inform you promptly if anything affects the child you sponsor, and we'll offer you other opportunities.

Being a sponsor is not only about financial support. We encourage sponsors to get to know the child they are sponsoring, and exchanging letters is a great way to build that relationship. You may send cards and letters to your sponsored child via Harvesters office address (shown at the bottom of the page). Sending correspondence through Harvesters enables our staff to maintain required correspondence records and protects your privacy. Sponsor letters will be gathered from sponsors once yearly. We will notify you of the deadlines to provide a card or letter for your child. Whenever possible, we hand deliver your letters to insure they reach your child.

Sponsored kids love to get letters and keep them as treasured reminders that someone loves them! Please follow these simple guidelines for letter writing...

Please Do:

• Keep your letters simple, one page in length.
• Tell them about things you enjoy doing in your spare time.
• Tell them about your job, school, and family.
• Share your walk with Christ
• Share your dreams for your future.
• Encourage their education and relationship with the Lord.
• Tell them about your hobbies and interests.
• Tell them about interesting places you have visited.
• Include pictures of your family and your life. Because dress standards may be different in your child's country, please dress modestly (Beach attire, for example, is not suitable for these photographs).
• Keep in mind that while we treasure our pets in the U.S., children in other countries often do not understand the concept of having pets.

Please Do Not:

• Promise anything you cannot keep. This includes mentioning that you would like to visit sometime. To a lonely child this means you are coming soon.
• Make any type of suggestion that you may want to adopt them or bring them to the U.S.
• Give personal mailing information or phone numbers (for your privacy).
• Share personal financial information with them.
• Send communications inconsistent with the Christian values we share with our partners
• Send gifts (except at Christmas as described above)

Being a sponsor is not only about financial support. We encourage sponsors to get to know the

Your child will write you at least once a year. A teacher or staff person will help children who can't read and write yet. As your exchange of letters grows over the years, you can build a scrapbook of letters and photos from your sponsored child. Your scrapbook will serve as a constant reminder of the relationship you've developed and how you've contributed to their growth.

In addition to letters from your sponsored child, Harvesters will send you periodic updates about your child's progress. Project Hope 127 also has a Facebook page that frequently posts information about trips, the children and the staff. We’d love for you to Like us on Facebook.

Absolutely! Harvesters loves to send short-term trips to work with our ministry partners. You are invited to join any of these trips to work with and visit your sponsored child.

Harvesters conducts audits regularly to make sure funds are properly received, tracked and managed. This ensures that funds are reaching your child's children's home and being spent on planned activities.

Your support is pooled with the support of other sponsors. Together they fund the care of all the children at the children's homes of each Global Partner. This blending of support with others makes it possible to ensure that all the children residing at each children's home are cared for. Our goal is 100% sponsorship of all the children – to raise the level of care for every child in the program.

Harvesters retains 15% of donations for administration of the program. 85% is sent to our partners to care for the children.

Yes. All contributions are tax-deductible.

Yes.

Doug Radford can be reached at doug@harvesters.net