Child Sponsorship

A regular commitment of $30 a month, or $360 a year for a child in a community school, or a minimum commitment of $45 a month, $540 a year, for a Choir member, lasting for the duration of the child's education.

In countries where applicable, donations are tax deductible as allowable by law. Tax receipts are sent at the end of each year.

You can sign up for automatic monthly payments through your Credit Card or bank account, or send cheques monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or yearly.

Contact our office or send your payment direct to our bank account.

Your regular payment is important to care for the children and members in our care.

The need for follow-up on sponsors who miss payments increases administration costs.

If you miss a payment, you will receive a notice from our office, and we will be happy to help you catch up on the delayed payments.

See Terms further down in this Page.

Country Lights Ministry is compliant with non-profit standards, sending approximately 80% of child sponsorship donations directly to field operations for programme services.

The remaining 20% contributes to programme costs such as producing information packs, courier costs, printing child update photos and coordinating sponsorship efforts.

You can expect a letter from your child about two to four times a year.

A teacher or assistant will help a younger child who has not yet learned to write, or you could receive a lovely drawing in lieu of a written letter.

In some of the countries the letters are translated, but most of the children learn English at school.

We encourage you to write to your sponsored child.

More information about how to write to your child will be sent to you once you become a sponsor.

Your letters are treasured by the children.

It is very special to them that someone they have never met loves them enough to provide a future for them.

The children love to hear about your family and friends, your daily activities, the foods you eat, the types of animals in your area and the seasons in your part of the world.

All letters are directed through our office.

We do our best to ensure the privacy and safety of both our children and sponsors.

At this time Country Lights Uganda only accommodates letters between sponsored children and their current sponsors.

Due to the high costs of shipping, complex customs and border regulations in many African countries, and fairness to all our children, Country Lights Ministry does not allow gifts.

However, at Christmas you will be given the opportunity to donate towards a special gift for your child that will be purchased in their country; this has the added benefit of being an investment into their country's economy.

This is always a practical gift that will also benefit the whole family.

Examples include: towels and toiletries, school supplies, a mattress, etc.

While it is important to understand that your commitment allows Country Lights Ministry to fulfil its commitment to the children, if you are experiencing financial challenges please contact our office.

Please refrain from sending your sponsored child money or birthday gifts.

Absolutely.

This is always a life changing event for both children and their sponsors.

If you are planning a trip to the area your child lives in, simply contact our office and we will make necessary arrangements for you to meet your child.

Our Privacy Policy

We are committed to protecting your right to privacy, especially regarding personal information.

Our Commitment

• We respect and honour all our stakeholders, and their right to be treated courteously, fairly and have their privacy protected.

• Personal information is given in good faith by sponsors and donors and will only be used to maintain or enhance their relationship with Country Lights Ministry and sponsored programme members. We only provide sponsors' names and country to the sponsored members.

• Similarly, we will protect the rights of sponsored members - providing only such information deemed necessary and appropriate for maintaining the relationship between programme members and their Sponsors.

• We allow sponsors to remove their name from mailing lists.

Information Collection, Use and Management

• Only with your consent, and only when necessary, will we collect and supply your personal information.

• You can make anonymous donations.

• You can complete marketing surveys for improving customer service, anonymously.

• Personal details are required to connect a sponsor with a child, to allow us to process and post a receipt, magazine or letter, send new or updated child information, establish periodic payments and maintain the relationship between sponsors and Country Lights Ministry.

Protecting Your Information

• We implemented procedural, physical and electronic means to safeguard our sponsors' personal information.

• We have also verified the security and privacy provisions of other organisations to whom we provide information about sponsors. These include our bank, merchant services and mailing service (if applicable).

• We do not and will not rent, exchange or sell mailing lists of our sponsors to other organisations or businesses.

• We use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Encryption when collecting or transferring credit card information via the internet, ensuring a secure environment for the transfer of your confidential data from your browser to our financial institution using the latest encryption technology.

Correcting Your Information

• We are committed to allowing sponsors to see and correct their information that is shown to be incorrect or outdated.

• Our staff will clearly identify themselves when making contact with sponsors, and all letters and marketing materials will contain the Country Lights Uganda logo and contact details.

• We are available to answer specific questions regarding our organisation or provide more information about our privacy policy.

Rates and Payments

• The regular sponsorship rate for the US is $40 per month or $480 annually, not including the credit and debit card processing and transaction fees.

• We accept all major credit cards, including MasterCard, Visa and American Express, and payments by cheque or money order.

• We will record all your monetary contributions on your Annual Giving Statement, which we will send to you at the end of the financial year.

Late Payments

• Your regular payment is important to care for the children and members in our care. The need for follow-up on sponsors who miss payments increases administration costs.

• If you miss a payment, you will receive a notice from our office, and we will be happy to help you catch up on the delayed payments.

• If your late payments are not made up within two months, we reserve the right to cancel your sponsorship and try to find another sponsor for your sponsored child.

Refund Policy and Termination of Your Sponsorship

• Sponsorship payments are non refundable for all processed and completed online transactions.

• If you choose to cancel future payments, please contact our office and we shall help you. Notice to cancel future sponsorship payments must be made seven days before the payment due date.

• If payments are processed beyond the agreed stop date, we will be able to make the refund by reversing the transaction through our bank or the payment service provider.

• In the case of wrong deductions or error transactions, any extra charges involved in making the refund will be incurred by us.