About your sponsorship Your sponsorship will help provide programs designed to respond to your child’s most basic needs. It will provide your child and their family with better health, better education and a brighter future! Here are just a few of the things that your sponsorship will provide: • Annual vaccinations and health clinic supplies • Nutritional consulting and health awareness programs • School and community pure water systems • Upgrades and renovations to the school and classrooms
1. Where does my money go? Money raised through child sponsorship goes to projects that benefit the whole community, as well as the individual children. Sponsored children act as representatives of their community. At least 90% of the funds raised go to help these communities in need.
2. How are children selected for sponsorship? The selection of children for sponsorship is determined at group meetings in the community where families and the child volunteer to be enrolled in the program. Sponsored children do not receive preferential treatment over other children in the village, which ensures that all children receive the benefits of your sponsorship. They do however receive regular monitoring as part of the program, as well as sponsor letters and small gifts, which are always cherished and gratefully received. • girls and boys are sponsored equally in the community. • a child graduates at 18 years of age, unless special circumstances apply.
3. How does child sponsorship fit with community development? The ongoing commitment of sponsorships allows for a steady stream of funds to be allocated in advance to ensure community development will continue. The number of children sponsored is directly related to a real figure of resources needed to realize the community’s development goals. If CITTA has not found sponsors for children that are part of the program, then that project is not yet fully funded. Communities in need are chosen by CITTA through detailed research based on the degree of poverty and need in each community, as well as time spent in the community by volunteers. Residents of the community; including men, women, leaders and children, are approached individually and in groups to gain a sense of the challenges and priorities in their community.
4. How long will my sponsorship last? We hope you will want to be part of the sponsorship community for many years to come! Our work is long-term, and through ongoing support from our sponsors, we can achieve lasting results. Many of our sponsors stay with us for a significant number of years and some sponsor several children during that time. Many children are sponsored until they reach the age of 18. However long you are with us, your sponsorship is very important to everyone involve.
5. As a sponsor what do I receive? As a sponsor, you will receive updates throughout the year, so you will be able to follow the progress of your sponsorship. You will receive: • A photo of your child and a profile sheet (via e-mail or postal service). •A family profile report introducing you to your child and providing information about their circumstances and their community. •Annual program communication explaining some of the key CITTA projects being implemented into your child’s community. • An opportunity to communicate with your child via letters, or to visit your sponsored child in their village. • An annual tax receipt which allows you to claim the full benefit of your tax deduction with all sponsorship payments and additional donations. • The knowledge that you are making a real contribution to ending the poverty cycle for children, their families, and communities!
6. Could I visit my sponsored child? Yes, CITTA always encourages sponsor to build relationships with the child and community they assist through sponsored visits. Meeting your sponsored child can be a valuable experience that will strengthen your relationship and understanding about CITTA’s work in the community. You are welcome to visit your sponsored child and observe firsthand the development and work provided by CITTA through your valued contribution. Feel free to request more information about sponsor visits! 7. Which regions can I sponsor a child from? Our sponsorship program is located in the poorest regions of India, in the eastern state of Orissa, where CITTA was first established. We are also in the process of developing more programs in Rajasthan, India and Africa. CITTA is non-affiliated with religious or political organizations in its orientation and accepts all children and communities into its child sponsorship program regardless of their sex, race, political persuasion or religion—poverty does not discriminate so nor do we. CITTA is respectful of all cultural differences and does not promote any religious or political agenda in the communities in which we work. CITTA is a registered charity in the USA, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany. A copy of Citta’s latest annual report may be obtained upon request from CITTA or from the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau, Attn.: FOIL Officer, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.citta.org