Sponsor a Child, Preserve a Family

A Lifeline for Children in Crisis

The work of Wide Horizons For Children takes us to parts of the world where children live on the edge. These children and their families aren’t just dealing with a single crisis: They live each day engulfed by crises — war, famine, disease, lack of sufficient shelter — all beyond their control. Having to deal with any one of these crises would be extremely difficult, but when they combine to form a perfect storm, the confluence of crises can be unfathomable.

And that’s when a family is tipped over the edge towards collapse.

When a family collapses, a child is at great risk of being orphaned or abandoned. We do everything we can to help prevent this from happening. Through our more than 50 years of working with orphaned and abandoned children, we’ve learned an essential truth: that by intervening early — before a family is pushed over the edge — we can help keep that family together. We can help a family survive, stabilize, and thrive.

Every child needs a stable, loving family. That’s why Family Preservation is so effective.

Family Preservation is a holistic approach to providing these families in crisis with the stability they need to navigate the brutal consequences of the crises they face, and help them reach the other side.

We have programs in Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Burundi.

This Family Preservation work is our primary focus today. To match the complexity of the needs of children in crisis, our Family Preservation work is personalized to each child and family, as each situation is unique. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t transform a child’s life as deeply.

What Makes Our Child Sponsorship Program Impactful?

The Road to Transformation

Not all child sponsorship programs have the same transformative impact on the future of a child in crisis and their family. WHFC has a unique approach which includes:

Tailored Help: The services each child and their family receive are tailored to their specific needs.

Expert Assessment: A qualified expert — such as a trained social worker — assesses and monitors each child and their family, adapting the services as required.

Nutrition: We ensure each family has food to eat, with extra for the growing children.

Access to Healthcare: We provide medical insurance and help build medical facilities when there is none.

Education: We make sure each child is enabled to go to — and stay in — school.

Reliable income: We provide assistance to each child’s parents — ranging from grants to skills training, and other assistance — in order to set up a small businesses capable of generating a reliable source of income for their families.

Our Results Speak for Themselves

In Ethiopia, before we added Income Generation support to our program, 96% of families in those communities lived in extreme poverty. After five years, more than half were above the poverty line and well on their way to becoming self-sufficient.

Before Income Generation Support

After Income Generation Support