Sponsor Guidelines

The aim of the Charity is to support some of the most impoverished and vulnerable children in our Nursery School, through State Primary School and into Secondary School. We hope and expect that as educated citizens they will be able to make a difference to their own lives and to the lives of others in the future.

To assist with the costs of the provision of the Nursery and the support system for the children through Primary school the Charity will seek sponsors for individual children.

We asked some sponsors what it meant to them to sponsor a child:

Sponsoring a child at Kinamba is one of my life’s greatest pleasures. I get progress reports, letters from the child full of what she wants to be as well as the joy of seeing her in photos growing up to be a rather lovely citizen of our world. We take so much for granted in the west, including our access to education, and to give a child the chance to make the most of themselves but laying the basis for a happy rewarding life is a privilege I am so pleased to have.

We feel it to be a real privilege to be able to help these children; it is really lovely to be able build a relationship with them through cards and letters. Ultimately we are helping change their future from one with hardly any hope to one with great hope, We want to help them help themselves starting with something every child is be entitled to…

How wonderful that a sponsor’s commitment to a child can make such a difference to their future.

I hadn’t anticipated just how rewarding the sponsoring experience would be; the photo updates showing how your child is growing, school reports demonstrating they’re trying their best at school and their drawings and letters are heart – warming to receive.

How the system works

During Nursery school the children are nominated for sponsorship.
From the Nursery sponsored children transfer to State Primary School. During their time in Primary school they are further supported by the project staff with additional lessons, homework support, sport coaching and holiday clubs. They also receive a nutritious lunch each day. Some children receive lunch on Saturdays also.
Subject to a satisfactory result in the National Examinations and given the sponsor support, the students transfer to boarding schools for the 6 years of Secondary Education.
Those students who do not achieve a sufficient standard for boarding school are supported in State Secondary School on a day basis in the local area, initially for three years to complete the Rwandan government Basic 9 year programme of education.
At the end of Senior 6 the students can progress to university or other further educational courses. In the case of those students completing the basic 9 years there are possibilities for vocational courses like mechanics, welding, hospitality training for hotel work, hairdressing etc.

Children are screened during Nursery 1

The criteria for selection include the level of poverty and deprivation and assessed academic potential. No more than two children per family will be considered so the system can be as equitable as possible.

Teachers prepare brief profiles of each child stating age, ability, level of poverty and how many children in the family.
A maximum of 20 children are chosen annually for offering for sponsorship and are placed on a priority list.
Sometimes children come into the system later and may be added to the priority list for sponsorship depending upon their circumstances.
Once a sponsor is found the children and their parents/guardians are informed that the sponsorship is to pay fees, food, school materials and project support when the children are not in state school i.e. half of each school day, either 8 – 12 a.m. or 1 – 5 p.m.
The family is required to sign a contract, agreeing to support the children by getting them to school on time, helping them to be clean and tidy, to care for the materials and replace lost items and liaise with us in case of any difficulties encountered, e.g. long term sickness, unexplained absences. The children are required to be with us every day during the week when they are not in State school.

At the end of Secondary School

Trustees have agreed that we will support the students and their sponsors through to the end of Secondary Education. At this stage the students could progress to university or to other further educational courses, depending upon availability and the level of achievement in the National Examinations.

We would expect our direct involvement to cease at this point.

Individual sponsors may decide to continue to support the student into further education. We propose the following support for this to happen.

We will put the sponsor and the student in direct communication via email.
We will support the student in finding a suitable placement for further study.
We will advise the sponsor of methods of payment of fees with the bank account details of the institution – we will never advise that money for fees is sent direct to the student.
We will draw up a contract between the student and the sponsor so that both parties understand the level of commitment and know what can be expected each of the other.
Sometimes a sponsor will agree to pay for additional expenses e.g. a computer. Staff in Rwanda would be able to assist with this if necessary.

Loss of sponsor

Sometimes the students lose the support of their sponsor for one reason or another. In the event of the loss of a sponsor the charity guarantees to try to find a replacement or continue to support the student at least until the end of Primary 6 In exceptional cases the charity may continue to support a student in State Secondary School until the completion of the Rwandan Education Ministry 9 year basic provision.

Child and sponsor protection

All our sponsors are known to us directly or indirectly through friends and relatives. For your protection all communication between child/student and sponsor until the end of Senior 6 goes through us.

Sponsored children are given the names of their sponsor but they are never given contact information, neither email nor postal address. This is so that sponsors are not faced with unreasonable demands for support as the children and their families can sometimes have unrealistic expectations of what can ask for or receive.

We are happy for photographs to be posted by sponsors but we ask you to respect our request and not name children when making your photographs public for example on Facebook.

Communication

We will send you a photograph at least once a year so you can see how your child is developing. We hope to be able to send termly school examination results.

At the end of the school year we will send you a copy of the school report and a picture/drawing from your child.

Sometimes sponsors send letters, cards and small gifts in the post. If you do this, please let us know so the staff in Kigali can expect something in our post box. We will let you know when anything arrives, though please be patient as it can take several weeks, sometimes months to arrive.

What does it cost?

As of August 2018 we ask for a monthly contribution of £20 or $30 during Primary school rising to £30 a month or $50 in secondary. If costs increase we will inform you.

If you would like to join our sponsor family please Contact Us.