Child Sponsorship – Help Kids In Desperate Need In Western Kenya

Yes, you can select a child to sponsor from our website by clicking on the home page. There you will find a number of our children in need of sponsorship and details of their family background in order to help you make your decision. Understandably it can be quite overwhelming having to choose one child over another, therefore if you prefer we can select a child for you. Just tell us a little about yourself and we can match you with a child from those in greatest need.

Yes and your donation will make a huge difference! We’ll allocate it where it’s most needed. Click here to donate now.

Letters:

We happily encourage our sponsors to write to their sponsored child. Due to the often unreliable postal service in Kenya, we’ll often scan and email your letters to ensure they are received in good time.

The easiest way to send letters is through The Nasio UK Office address at:

The Nasio Trust
15 The Chambers
Vineyard
Abingdon
OX14 3FE

or by email to info@nullthenasiotrust.org.

Physical Gifts:

It’s very difficult for us to get physical gifts to the children in Kenya. Luckily we have a system which allows you to purchase alternative gifts online which we’ll then acquire locally and give to your sponsored child.

Buy directly from your child’s profile page using the button provided.

Birthdays and Christmas are a great opportunity to show your sponsored child that you care for them by sending a gift!

Monetary Gifts:

Monetary gifts can be sent as a cheque or donated directly through our website (please clearly state the funds are for a gift and give your supported child’s name if appropriate) and a member of our team in Kenya can choose an appropriate gift on your behalf. Once the money has been received in Kenya our local staff will meet with your sponsored child and their family to choose the perfect gift. All gifts are sourced locally, so you’ll be helping to boost the local economy too. Your gifted money may be used to buy clothes, household equipment or even livestock!

Our children really do value contact from their sponsors. The letters and gifts you send will be treasured.

Your visit to see your sponsored child will be a trip of a lifetime, it is also a fantastic opportunity to experience first-hand how The Nasio Trust’s work makes a real difference to your sponsored child and their community. It can be a huge boost to community morale and will leave you and your sponsored child with special memories and an even closer bond.

A visit to your sponsored child will include:

• Meeting the child you are sponsoring and their family
• Seeing their village and community with Nasio Trust staff and visiting the projects made possible by sponsors like you
• Experiencing the culture of another country
• Seeing how we are changing lives and communities through your support

Feeling inspired? Visit our Sponsor Stories page to take a look at fellow Sponsors’ talk of their experiences, thoughts and emotions on spending time with their sponsored child and seeing The Nasio Trust’s work first-hand.

Planning your visit:

Find out more on this page.

The sponsorship money you send is added to that from other people who sponsor children at our Early Childhood Development Centres. Your money goes a long way in Kenya and your support enables The Nasio Trust to provide direct benefits to the children including health care, education and meals, and also goes towards our general running costs such as paying our teachers’ salaries. We have a minimum staff level in the UK, currently two full time and two part-time staff. We avoid large overheads and keep our running costs to an absolute minimum so that money raised goes to where it is needed to care for orphaned and vulnerable children in Kenya.

Once you become a Child Sponsor you will receive a Welcome Pack that includes a photo of your sponsored child, their family history, plus specific details on how your sponsored child will benefit from your sponsorship.

Each year you will receive an updated photograph of your sponsored child.

You will also receive an Annual Report Card on your child’s well-being and education, along with a hand-written thank you letter or drawing directly from your child.

You will also receive newsletters and updates in the post about the charity as a whole, as well as regular email alerts to events, projects and campaigns that you can be involved in.

Please note that we will only send in depth updates on your sponsored child as and when we receive an update from our Kenyan team.

We really do appreciate any feedback our Child Sponsors can give us with regards to their sponsorship. Therefore if you have any questions or queries then please do not hesitate to contact our Child Sponsorship Officer, at info@nullthenasiotrust.org

Unlike in the UK, many children in Kenya don’t always leave school at the school age of 16. This can vary depending on the individual child’s circumstances like the loss of a parent or parents and a child might find themselves the carer/guardian to other younger siblings. As a result of these new responsibilities this can affect their ability to learn in a classroom environment. Therefore classes can have children from a range of ages in them. It’s not uncommon either for children to have to retake a year if they have not done particularly well in their end of year school tests.

Therefore we will always keep you informed of your child’s progress so that you can decide how long you wish to support them for.

Many of our supporter like to support their sponsored child all the way through their education and right up to the point where it’s time for them to find employment.

Our aim at The Nasio Trust and the education of the children in our care is:

• To mould an all-round citizen
• To nurture different talents and abilities in each of our pupils
• To embrace religious values in each leaner
• To mould a self-reliant citizen

There are a number of reasons why a child might leave our care and therefore no longer be eligible for your support.

• Sometimes all the child’s relatives in the area die or become too old. Distant relatives sometimes take the children to a new location away from our projects in this instance.
• Breakdown of family relationships can force a primary carer to relocate from the area taking the child with them.
• Parents can remarry taking the children with them to a new location away from our projects.
• Sometimes the family will not accept foster parents who are not related to the child forcing the child to be relocated.
• Sadly – sometimes children in our care die.

We at Nasio believe a child is better placed with a family than an institution; and therefore we support relocations so long as we know the child will be safe and can continue with their education.

In the event that your nominated child is no longer available to be sponsored we will tell you immediately. We will also automatically re-allocate the amazing support you are giving to another child whose circumstances most closely match your previous choice.

If for any reason you would like to choose a different child to the one we suggest, or if you would rather end your sponsorship and opt out, you are of course welcome to do so. Contact us any time to discuss your options.

Unlike the UK all children is Kenya have to pay for their education. The cost of education is as follows:

• Pre-Primary £300 per year (£25 per month)
• Primary £300 per year (£25 per month)
• Secondary £600 per year (£50 per month)
• Tertiary £600 per year (£50 per month)

As a Child Sponsor you can pay as little as £5.00 per month for a child in pre-primary and primary education.

The education system currently used in Kenya is the 2-8-4-4 system, which means:

• 2 – Two years at an ECD (Early Childhood Education Centre) (Aged 4+)
• 8 – Eight years to be spent in Primary Education (Aged 6+)
• 4 – Four years to be spent in Secondary Education (Aged 14+)
• 4 – Then four years on University Education (Aged 18+)

The Nasio Trust run 2 ECDs with a holistic approach and a special focus on the needs of the children in the areas where we work. We offer a fantastic head start on a child’s education.

At 6 or 7 years of age the children then begin their primary education (with a fantastic head start).

Please note that the school year in Kenya runs from January until December.

Child Protection is at the heart of all we do. We have a responsibility to the children and the communities we work with to keep them safe, so in line with our child protection policies we ask all visitors to complete a background police check before visiting one of our programme areas. Our Nasio team in the UK will happily guide you through our visit procedures.

The Nasio Trust cares deeply about protecting the safety, privacy and dignity of the children we work with.

Help Us Protect Children – If you see a photo on any Nasio Trust website that depicts children without dignity, respect or regard for privacy, please contact us immediately at info@nullthenasiotrust.org