Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Please note: RSVP Sponsors should be resident in the UK or have a UK bank account.
How much does it cost to sponsor a child?
£18.50 per month or 60p a day - the price of a daily newspaper. Your small change really can change the world.
What is an RSVP Sponsor?
As an RSVP sponsor, there is a real connection between you and the child you support. The child you sponsor will know your name, write to you and benefit directly from your monthly sponsorship.
Many of these children don't have parents. Maybe their parents were killed in the genocide, are in prison for genocide crimes, or have died of AIDS. These children are starving for love. So when someone they don't know, in another country, takes an interest to help them go to school and have food and medical care, that person becomes special to them.
What specific benefits will the child I sponsor receive?
The child you sponsor through RSVP will receive things that most of Rwanda's poorest children will simply never see. These things include the following:
- School Fees to enable them to attend school and the provision of a uniform and a pair of shoes.
- Health Care including training in hygiene and personal health, payment of medical bills when they are sick, and supplementary food if needed.
- Care. The child you support will be part of a church-based program where Christian adults offer love, guidance, and personal attention.
- The opportunity to hear the Gospel and learn about Jesus.
- They will also receive a blanket.
Will I be the only person sponsoring the child I'm helping?
Yes. The child you're helping has just one sponsor: you. That's why your prayers, letters and support mean so much to your sponsored child. Even if you choose to sponsor a child as a family or a group (for example, a youth group or a Sunday school class), the child you help will still be relating to your family or group as his or her only sponsor. No other group or individual will also sponsor the child you help.
If I must discontinue my sponsorship, what happens to the child I'm helping?
If you need to discontinue your support, that's fine.BUT do please tell us so we can immediately look for a new sponsor for your child and continue the child's support without interruption.
How long should my sponsorship last?
RSVP sponsorship offers you the opportunity to stay with a child for a number of years, usually through the school year in which the child reaches the age of 18. While we hope that you will be able to continue in your support of your sponsored child until he or she completes the RSVP program, we recognise that sponsors' circumstances sometimes change. You may discontinue your sponsorship at any time.
Please understand that a sponsored child's circumstances may change, too. For example, sometimes families move beyond the reach of RSVP's program and children have to leave RSVP sponsorship.
We will inform you as quickly as possible if any such circumstance affects the child you sponsor, and we'll offer you the opportunity to support another child in need of your help.
How much of my £18.50 a month actually gets to the child?
All donations for sponsorship are pooled as the needs of each child differ widely and some need more help than others. £18.50 is an average of the cost to help a child.
In addition to the benefits listed above, we also want to improve the child's environment, which is why we are helping to build schools, feed the hungry, provide free roofing, goats, cows and give other assistance to the child's family and community. We are also building homes for orphans in the community, and feeding over 200 street children twice a week.
During Primary School years £7.50 of each monthly sponsorship is used as a donation for our general funds. During Secondary School years this drops to £2.50 as High School fees cost more. Without this donation we could not run the sponsorship scheme, have the worker who looks after the children or improve the child's environment. The scheme simply would not work. This part of the donation also generates a fund to help children who go on to further education or vocational courses, pay their fees after sponsorship has finished.
Where sponsors give more than £18.50 a month, the surplus gift is designated for our general purposes.
Can I write to my sponsored child?
Yes, we hope you will. We encourage you to send your sponsored child a personal or family photograph and a short letter of introduction. RSVP's workers will translate your letter for the child you support. Sponsored children typically keep their sponsors' photos and letters in their homes as treasured possessions.
You may write to the child you sponsor as often as you like. When you write, your sponsored child will benefit from knowing that someone in addition to his or her family really cares.
Please do not include your home address or telephone number in your letters. We will give you the address of our Rwanda office.
Will my child write to me?
Your child should write to you (about three times a year). A teacher or worker will help children who have yet to learn how to read and write. Letter writing is developmental for children as it improves their basic literacy, their self-awareness and their ability to put thoughts and feelings into words.
As you share your own family and personal concerns with the child you support, you'll probably discover that he or she is consistently praying for you.
In the unlikely event that you don't get a letter from your child after a period of 6 months, please contact us so we can investigate your child's situation.
What other opportunities will I have to learn about the child I'm helping?
In addition to letters from your sponsored child, we will send you periodic updates about RSVP's work worldwide. Our website and blog will keep you upto date with developments. If you want to know something that doesn't appear on the website, do contact us and we'll try our best to answer your questions.
May I send gifts to my child?
Yes. RSVP encourages sponsors to give additional monetary gifts to their sponsored children for special occasions, to address specific needs, or simply as an act of love. These gifts are another effective way for you to reinforce your care and commitment to your child.
100% of all individual child gift amounts go to that child. Local project workers purchase gifts on behalf of our sponsors and make certain that these funds are used appropriately. As a guideline, we ask that sponsors keep these contributions between £5 and £50 for each child and limit their gift giving to twice a year, to avoid dependancy.
Larger gifts are better applied to RSVP's projects that benefit everyone.
Monetary gifts (ie: cheques) must be sent through the UK office - please write your child reference number on the back of the cheque, payable to: "RSVP Trust".
Please note: the child or their family are not given cash but tell our worker what gift they would like. This is then purchased on their behalf. This avoids problems where there may be alcoholism or other problems in the family. We are not able to specify a particular item from the UK. The child and their family will know best what is needed.
In the unlikely event that you believe a monetary gift has not reached your child, please contact us at the UK office. We have very detailed records of what was sent, when and to whom. In Rwanda detailed records are also kept and we are normally able to trace all gifts successfully.
In the event of a gift that is established to have been received by us and failed to arrive with the child, we will send or resend the gift (at our own expense) and track its arrival.
In the very unlikely event that a gift was not sent by us, it will always be listed as designated for your child and will never be used for other purposes. It will be sent at the next monthly payment to Africa after the matter was drawn to our attention.
Please do not send a gift for your sponsored child before receiving confirmation of sponsorship, as this will lead to confusion in the system.
Can I send a parcel with a present to my sponsored child?
Yes you can but please be aware that not all packets reach our Rwanda office as some Postal Services are less reliable than the Royal Mail. We recommend using Recorded Delivery but even this may not be 100% reliable. We cannot be held liable for packets that do not arrive with the child nor can we trace what happened to them.
Send to the same address as letters for your child. (The address is included in your sponsorship pack).
If you have further questions about sponsorship, please contact us and we'll do our best to answer them.