A cry for help—OSSO’s children need sponsors
by Rex Head, OSSO’s Executive Director

There are crucial needs in each of the orphanages we support that are going unmet because we need more sponsors or donors, but sponsoring a child is about more than just the money. It can be the personal touch that changes a child from an orphanage statistic to a child that is really cared for. Love really can reach across the world and change people on both ends.
 
Sponsoring a child is a great way to make a personal connection with a child (or if you’re an alumni it’s a great way to maintain a connection) and really make a difference in the life of a child.

Over the weekend I got an e-mail from Jazmin, an adorable sparkly-eyed girl from an orphanage in Cuenca. She asked if I could get a message to Jessica, one of our volunteers from five years ago. She said she urgently needed to talk to her. I wrote back and told her I would find Jessica, but I asked why she needed to talk to her urgently and if there was something OSSO could do. She wrote back saying she urgently needed to talk to her because she loved her very much and had unfortunately lost contact with her years ago.
 
Most likely something happened to Jazmin last week that made her yearn to hear that there was someone who knew her and loved her.
 
So how does OSSO’s Sponsorship Program work? Sponsors pay $30/month or more to sponsor a specific child. Of that money, 95% goes directly to help the orphanage that child lives in. OSSO oversees how the money is spent and will report back to the sponsors at least twice a year on how the child is doing and how the money was spent. For more details on our Sponsorship Program click here.

So can you communicate with the child you sponsor? Yes, we encourage letters or, better yet, e-mails. We do insist, for the protection of the children and the sponsors, that all communication goes through OSSO. We will translate the letters for you.
 
Can you visit? Absolutely! But once again, we insist that any visits with the children be coordinated through OSSO. We can help you with your arrangements and you can stay at the OSSO house (unless it’s during a group change and we don’t have room during that time). For a short visit we will charge you our costs, nothing more. Total costs of visiting could be less than $1,000 (including airfare).

What if you want to do more? You can sponsor more than one child or you can help sponsor an entire orphanage for $1,000/year or more (click here). Some people, families or companies like to get involved on a greater level, even visiting every few years to get a feel for how their orphanage is doing. It can be a great way to build a sense of purpose in a family or business.