We can’t change the world. But we can change a tiny part of it. We can’t solve the problem of child poverty. But we can save one child and change a life forever.

Step by step, we can make a difference.

Pledging to sponsor a child for just a few dollars a month will truly transform and change that boy’s or girl’s life forever. Just over a dollar a day doesn’t buy much here in the United States. But in the poor countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, just over a dollar a day buys hope and health. That small donation every month to sponsor a child ensures that a child will be given, probably for the first time:

• nourishing food

• clean drinking water

• regular medical care and immunizations

• a good education leading to job training

If you sponsor a child through a Christian charity, you can change a life forever as the child will also learn about Jesus Christ and the Gospels, and about God’s love in his or her life. The aim is to help a child not only grow and thrive but to fully change by developing unique gifts so that each child can become a happy and fulfilled adult.

Sponsor a child projects are long-term and organized with the support of local churches and communities. The child sponsor can be assured that the money sent is used to the child’s best advantage.

Sponsorship is a gift like no other. A child who lives in dire poverty, without any hope for the future, finds his or her life transformed. The food assistance, clean water, shelter and medical care that sponsorship pays for means each child can grow healthy and strong. The education and training means that each sponsored child has the chance to secure a good job, and that one day the grown child can support his or her own family.

The spiritual nurturing can change the sponsored child and means the children learn how precious they are to God and how to trust in His love throughout their lives. To sponsor a child is evidence of Christianity in action. It is the foundation to change a life forever. It is a very personal and loving way of giving.

A child has only one sponsor, and everything that child receives is through the kindness of that individual. The message to the child is clear, and it is beyond price. "You are cared for. You matter. I’m right behind you! I want your life to change forever."

If you sponsor a child, you are encouraged to build a relationship with the child over the months and years through the exchange of letters, photographs, small gifts and prayers. There may even the chance to visit the child in their own home country.

The child in turn greatly values the communications from the sponsor. Each sponsored child knows what a blessing it is to have someone offer support so generously. Every single child in dire poverty has known misery and despair and the constant fear of disease and death. Having a sponsor has lifted that child from that terrible fate. The tragic fact is that about 21,000 children younger than 5 die every day in the world’s poorest countries. Hundreds of millions of children live without even the basic amenities of sufficient food, safe drinking water, or medical care.

To sponsor a child is to do your bit to help the world’s poor. Child by child. Step by step. To change one child’s life forever.