Orphan family sponsorship

Family sponsorship is an effective way of giving that sets up a connection between a donor and a family of at least four vulnerable orphan children. The donor will receive an annual update on how their support is assisting the sponsored children and their family.

For the purpose of the Family Sponsorship Programme, we define a family as a group consisting of at least three orphan children and an adult guardian or mother. 

According to Islamic tradition, an orphan is usually a child who has no father. The child will remain an orphan until the age of maturity/understanding.

Due to Islamic Relief’s humanitarian mandate and based on our extensive experience with the communities with which we work, we include children who have a father whose whereabouts has been unknown for two years or more, or one year for refugees and internally displaced people.

In line with the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child (CRC) of which nearly all countries are signatories, Islamic Relief has extended this classification to define a child as any human being under the age of 18. However, it is still possible to continue to sponsor a child beyond the age of 18 in order to support the education of an existing orphan.

You can sponsor a child in 10 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. These countries are:

1. Albania
2. Bangladesh
3. Indonesia
4. Kosovo
5. Mali
6. Somalia
7. Palestine
8. Pakistan
9. Syria
10. Turkiye

The sponsorship programme is for the most disadvantaged families in a target area. We must identify first those orphans who are living in a family with the lowest income. Limited resources mean that we must priortise when selecting beneficiaries. We use an open and transparent process to do so.

Selection for our sponsorship programmes means choosing beneficiaries eligible for the programme based on agreed criteria, usually after a target area or community has been identified. The standard scoring criteria covers the following points:

• Income – Prioritise those with the least income. Income relates to any money coming into the household (i.e. salaries, pension, other sponsorship money, money from relatives etc)
• Size of family and age of children, as well as disability. Prioritise families with a high dependency ratio (i.e. # dependents vs # breadwinners) and families with children and caregivers who are persons with disabilities
• Housing conditions – Prioritise those living in the poorest conditions, especially those with families who do not own their home
• Health – Prioritise children with the poorest health status, including those who are malnourished
• Double orphans are scored more highly than single
• Families living in hazardous conditions (near wastewater drainage, unhygienic areas etc)
• Unemployed mothers are prioritised over working

No, you cannot choose the gender, age or location of your child. We wanted to ensure that orphans of all ages/gender/backgrounds would have the same opportunities of becoming sponsored and felt that removing the element of choice would be the best way to do this.

Based on our own experience and independent reports by respected agencies, such as UNICEF, we find this dependency does not happen in the overwhelming majority of cases. Many families use the sponsorship funds to invest in their livelihoods, such as buying livestock, or setting up small scale businesses.

We look to cover the most basic needs of the family, in terms of nutrition, health and education. The cash transfer empowers the family to utilise the funds for their immediate needs. Based on our experience, sponsorship funds are life-changing for families, offering support and opportunities that they would otherwise not receive.

Once your sponsorship begins, you will receive a Welcome Pack that includes a profile of the family including a photo. If you are paying via direct debit, you will receive this information once we receive the first payment.

This is usually four to six weeks after the direct debit has been processed. If you have made payment for the whole year via cheque/credit or debit card/postal order then you should receive the information within three to four weeks.

We aim to send you a report on your sponsored orphan family every year – this annual progress report is written by the field officers who are responsible for visiting the family and contain information about the children, focusing primarily on their health, nutritional needs and children’s education. Please note that on some occasions, there may be delays in reporting back on the family you are supporting, due to the situation in the countries where the families are residing. 

The donations are received by the family on a quarterly basis. Quarterly payments throughout the year are distributed in March, June, September and December.

The amount directly received by the orphan family is typically 80% but can be impacted by fluctuating exchange rates.

The operational expenses entail the extensive field office work Islamic Relief conducts to ensure best practices are in place for your sponsored orphan family. Families are monitored through both regular home visits conducted by our social workers, and group gatherings, to ensure that they are receiving the full benefits of sponsorship. We are able to use monitoring gatherings for awareness sessions on the sponsorship process, how to maintain good health, the importance of education, and various other topics.

If you have a UK bank account, you can continue to sponsor an orphan family through Islamic Relief UK. However, if you no longer have a UK bank account, but move to a country where we have a presence, you can continue to sponsor an orphan family through that Islamic Relief office. Do let us know and we will assist with this transfer.

If you move abroad whilst sponsoring an orphan family, you should contact Islamic Relief UK who will put you in touch with the relevant team at Islamic Relief Worldwide or the local Islamic Relief in the country to which you have moved, so you can continue supporting the same family. Islamic Relief Worldwide or the local office would need to register you as a new donor and set up your payments.

We request that you give us three months’ notice before cancelling to give us time to find another sponsor. If this notice is not provided, you will be required to make a payment to cover the three months. If you are unable to do this due to exceptional circumstances, the family will be supported by Islamic Relief for a further three months until another sponsor is found.