Why sponsor a LOHADA child?
By sponsoring a LOHADA child, you will be giving him or her an entire life and future that, without the support of LOHADA, would be otherwise impossible. Your sponsorship will apply to the living expenses of one child, including food, clothes, housing and teaching wages. Unlike other charities, LOHADA will not spend your money on community projects or spend large percentages on administration costs, but we can ensure that all your money is going towards the care and education of the children. There are many reasons children come into the care of LOHADA: Some are orphaned, some abandoned, and many share a single room mud hut with one bed with a large family. Whatever the situation and complex reasons, you can be sure that your money is assisting very vulnerable children. Without the care of LOHADA, it is likely many of the children would end up on the streets begging for money, and some would simply have not survived. These children desperately need your help now. Please help balance some of the injustice in this world by sponsoring a child today.
Doesn’t the government pay for free education?
While government primary schools technically are free, fees for building funds, uniforms and supply costs make education out of reach for many children. Many LOHADA children are without support or have guardians who struggle to simply find money for food. For them, sending children to school is not financially feasible. Class sizes in public schools also are typically large, compromising the quality of education. Classes are taught in Swahili, even though an English-based education is more highly valued in Tanzania. Camp Joshua Primary School provides not only a safe learning environment, but delivers a quality English-based education, so that our children get the best possible chance in life.
What will sponsoring a child actually do?
LOHADA’s Sponsor-A-Child program directly improves the lives of children. Similar programs swallow up much of the sponsor fee with administration costs. But LOHADA’s Sponsor-A-Child program has minimal administrative costs because volunteers and existing staff run the program. The only costs incurred are postage, materials for correspondence and reports, and a small bank transaction fee. Sponsor fees cover the cost of a child’s schooling, including teacher wages, supplies, uniform, food, electricity and water bills, and for boarders, accommodation, care, transportation, clothing, toiletries and bedding.
How much does it cost?
The average cost of schooling and caring for one child is $50 USD per month. We also offer a smaller rate of $38 USD per month for those who would like to sponsor a child but can’t afford the full amount. You are welcome to donate more than this each month or to make a separate one-time donation to LOHADA. (Do this by using the Donate button on the LOHADA Donations page.) The cost for each child differs because some children board and others don’t. Therefore, sponsorship fees are pooled and used to cover the cost of all children. This allows us to educate children even if they aren’t sponsored, and ensures that no LOHADA child will receive preferential treatment.
What will I get for sponsoring a child?
If you choose to sponsor a child, you can correspond with him or her, and can expect to receive at least two sets of correspondence per year. Correspondence will be translated into English and/or dictated by a child for an adult to write. You will receive an electronic LOHADA newsletter that will keep you informed about new projects at the school, events, etc. Your donation will change lives and you can rest assured it will not be forgotten by LOHADA or by our children. You will receive some further details on your child, including a short history and a current character profile.
How do I pay the Sponsor-A-Child fee?
As a small Tanzanian charity, LOHADA currently only has a Tanzanian bank account. You can make a wire transfer into this account, but because bank transfers typically cost $40 USD each, this option is only feasible if you are paying a yearly sum. To reduce banking fees to our sponsors, we offer online payment via PayPal. PayPal is accessible throughout the world, even in Tanzania, and automatically converts currencies to U.S. dollars. LOHADA has received nonprofit status under our U.S. sister organization, Kesho. (Kesho helps children in Tanzania and Kenya to receive an education.) Therefore, LOHADA is charged only a small fee for PayPal transactions. If you wish to use this method, click the Sponsor Now button on the Sponsor page. Fill out the Sponsor form, choose a payment option and hit Submit. This will take you directly to our PayPal page, where you will fill out a form and initiate monthly or annual payments using a credit card. These payments will be billed automatically to your credit card or PayPal account.
Can I share the cost with friends or family?
Yes! We understand that a monthly payment can be expensive for one person, so we encourage you to share the responsibility and joy of sponsoring a child. Get your youth or civic group involved. Ask your church to join in the gift of sponsorship. Consider involving your entire family. We will send all correspondence to the person entered on the ‘Sponsor a Child’ form. He or she will have the pleasure of sharing the information with the rest of the group.
I want to sponsor a child. What do I do now?
Select a child by visiting the Sponsor A Child page. Click “Sponsor Me” and fill out the sponsor form with the name of the child and your personal details, including your name and address. Choose a payment option. When you hit the SUBMIT button, you will be taken to a secure PayPal page to arrange automatic monthly payments, which will be billed to your credit card or PayPal account on the same day each month, or on the same day each year if you choose the annual payment option. If at any time you wish to cancel these payments, you can do so on the PayPal site, following instructions that PayPal will e-mail you after your first payment.