By Tallie Betscher, Child Sponsorship Coordinator
Starting a child sponsorship program was not initially on Back2Back’s list of things to do. As we learned about and developed holistic orphan care, we realized child sponsorship could help provide holistic care for the children we serve. To go deeper with each child would require a team of people to help us. Sponsorship is a way to connect caring people with the children who need them. At just the right time, as He always does, God opened the doors for us to start a child sponsorship program.
It has been exciting to see what God has been able to do with a program we left in His hands to lead and guide. One of our favorite verses at Back2Back is “Do not despise small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (Zechariah 4:10). I believe with everything in me God delights to use ministries like Back2Back because, when we do something right, it is God who gets the glory.
Over the past three years, we have seen a 90% growth in child sponsorship each year. There are now 525 children in the program, spanning 20 children’s homes or communities, and four countries. This growth is a blessing and encourages continued prayer for the remaining 16% of the children to be sponsored. Through child sponsorship, we have been able to improve the diets of the children, make improvements to facilities where they live, hire tutors and psychologists, and raise the pay of caretakers. Our ability to promote healthy development for the children is a direct result of the generosity of sponsors. Children are thriving as they build relationships with people they know pray and care for them. That relationship alone does miracles in the lives of the children we serve. We invite you to pray with us about becoming a child sponsor.
As we have grown, we have also learned. We have seen things that work well and opportunities to grow. At Back2Back, we are not afraid to change and are constantly asking ourselves how we can improve. As a result of questions like this, we have made some exciting changes to Back2Back’s Child Sponsorship Program. Moving forward, we will offer three levels of sponsorship, to span a greater range of partnership opportunities. We will begin to provide more frequent updates to sponsors to describe how their sponsorship donation is being used to improve the life of their sponsored child. It is our goal for each child to have an individualized plan for holistic care in the five key areas: spiritual, physical, educational, emotional, and social health. Click here to learn how you can make a difference in the life of a child through sponsorship today.
Tallie serves in Back2Back’s U.S. Office in Cincinnati, Ohio as the Child Sponsorship Coordinator. She enjoys using her gifts and talents to serve orphaned and vulnerable children around the world.
Editor’s Note: This article, originally appearing in Back2Back’s Spring/Summer 2014 issue, misstated the number of children in the program as 325. The correct number of children in the program is 525.