How do I contact Amigos? You can contact Amigos Worldwide via the phone, email, post, Facebook or in person at our UK office. Expand Please get in touch with us in person, by post, phone, email or via our Facebook page. Amigos Worldwide3 Boutport StreetMermaid WalkBarnstapleNorth DevonEX31 1RH Tel: 01271 377664 [email protected]Message: www.facebook.com/AmigosKiraFarm Our UK office is open from Monday-Friday 8am-4pm.
How does Gift Aid benefit Amigos? The benefits of Gift Aid to Amigos Worldwide Expand Gift Aid is a great government scheme that allows charities to reclaim tax on donations made by UK taxpayers, which means your donations will be worth 25% more to Amigos at no extra cost to you. If you Gift Aid your donations we can claim back from the government 25p for every £1 you donate, boosting the value of the donation by a quarter.
What happens if there is more than one child in the family? Helping a whole family move from dependancy to dignity. Expand The great benefit of sponsoring a child through Amigos is that you’re helping to move the whole family out of poverty, towards sustainability. We generally sponsor only one child from each family, but your generosity is benefiting the whole family with training in conservation farming techniques, alongside a whole host of other skills.
How do I send a cheque to Amigos? You can send a financial Christmas gift to your sponsored child by cheque. Expand If you would like to send a cheque to Amigos, please make it payable to Amigos Worldwide, write your child’s name on the back and send it to: Amigos Worldwide3 Boutport StreetMermaid WalkBarnstapleDevonEX31 1RH
What happens if I need to end my sponsorship? We understand that sponsors' situations change and that you may need to end your child sponsorship commitment. Expand We understand that sponsors' situations change, and there may be a number of reasons why you have to end your sponsorship. Please get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help. Please contact us personally, as well as cancelling your Standing Order with your bank. We will, however, need to find another sponsor for your child/family as soon as we can, so please let us know if you decide to end your support.
I’ve received a message about my sponsored child from someone on Facebook. What should I do? Amigos Worldwide does everything possible to protect sponsors and children. We investigate any concerns you may have around social media. Expand If you have been contacted by your sponsored child, please let us know as soon as possible as our child sponsorship team in Uganda can investigate. We have a duty of care to protect our sponsors and sponsored children, which is why we manage all correspondence on your behalf. Please don't respond to the message - simply continue communicating with your sponsored child through the normal letter writing process. We want to do all we can to protect our sponsors and our children, which is why we manage all correspondence on your behalf and will investigate any concerns you have about social media.
Do children ever leave the sponsorship programme early? Sponsored children can sometimes leave the programme early. Expand This can happen, but it’s rare. Sometimes a caregiver dies, leaving another family member to look after the child. This means the child may move to a different district that Amigos doesn’t operate in, but we will still do our best to support the child as much as possible. Our hope is that a child/family is sponsored for the duration of the programme (around three years), but rest assured we will contact you as soon as we receive news of a change in circumstances.
Can I visit my sponsored child? What an amazing opportunity to visit your sponsored child in Uganda. Why not take the opportunity and take a trip of a lifetime. Expand Yes, it is certainly possible. Many sponsors have visited their sponsored child/family and returned home delighted and inspired. What you need to know about visiting your sponsored child/family: · You will need to have been sponsoring a child/family with Amigos for at least one year. · You need to arrange your visit in advance so we can plan for a member of staff to take you to the home of your sponsored child/family. · While visiting your sponsored child you will need to pay for any expenses incurred, for example: transport, meals and accommodation. · If you’re interested in visiting your sponsored child/family, please contact the UK office via phone or email.
Can I send my sponsored child a birthday gift? Sending your Ugandan sponsored child a financial gift or card for their birthday and Christmas. Expand We suggest that birthday gifts are incorporated into Christmas gifts, as we are unable to administer a gift more than once a year. We also suggest that birthday cards are sent three months in advance to ensure they arrive on time, and when our Child Sponsorship coordinators are visiting the area.
Can I send gifts to the child/family I sponsor? Sending a gift by post to Uganda can be very expensive and might even exceed the value of the gift. Financial gifts works both in value and effect. Expand You are welcome to send letters/cards to the child you are sponsoring, but we suggest that you don’t send gifts/parcels. It can be very expensive to send a parcel to Uganda (postage might exceed the value of the gift) and there might be custom charges that a family couldn’t afford. Sending a financial gift works both in value and effect. The child/family can choose an appropriate gift that would aid their development. If you would like to send a small gift, you could always slip some stickers or a bookmark into a card.
How do I make a financial gift to my sponsored child/family? Making a gift to your sponsored child is really easy. you can do this by making a direct bank transfer, by post or via our website. Expand Please send a cheque to the UK office or make a direct bank transfer to: Lloyds BankSort Code 30-90-49 Account No 01070832 Please reference your cheque with the child’s name on the back, or if you chose to make a direct bank transfer, please reference it with the child’s name, and email the UK office informing them of your payment. Once your gift has been received we will acknowledge receipt and keep it safe until we transfer funds to Uganda late December. Our child sponsorship coordinators travel to where your sponsored child/family live and help them choose something that will benefit the whole family. We will inform you of what your sponsored child/family has used your gift for by March/April of the following year, sometimes with an accompanying photo.
Can I request a specific gift to be purchased for my sponsored child/family? As you can image, it's hard for us to truly understand what a child or family needs in Uganda. Requesting a specific gift for your sponsored child isn't always practical. Expand We leave the choice of a gift to your sponsored child/family and our Ugandan team. The team understand the family situation and are able to help guide them in making wise choices with your generous donation. We love the saying 'it takes a spider to repair its own web'.
Can I make a financial gift to my sponsored child/family? Financial gifts to sponsored children in Uganda via Amigos Worldwide. Expand Yes, a financial gift can be made any time throughout the year, but will be distributed in Uganda at Christmas time. Gifts of this nature are very much appreciated however large or small. They can be used in creative ways to boost a little business, solve a pressing need or improve family conditions. Here is a list of some of the things that have been chosen by Ugandan families when receiving a financial gift: Livestock Building materials Bikes Beds Mattresses Solar lights Pit Latrines Clothing Investment in a high interest savings account
Why haven’t the questions in my letter been answered? There can be a number of reasons why your sponsored child may not respond to questions in your letter. Expand There can be a number of reasons why your sponsored child may not respond to questions in your letter: It may take a while for your sponsored child to gain confidence in writing. It may be because your letters have overlapped. It’s possible your sponsored child didn’t bring your letter to the district letter writing event. Ugandan culture sometimes doesn’t allow a child to ask questions, leading to a reticence in a child to share their feelings. You might like to draw attention to questions by underlining or highlighting them.
When will my sponsored child receive the letter/card I send? There is no national postal system in Uganda, but we do our best to make sure your sponsored child receives your letters. Expand This will depend on when you send a letter/card and when our child sponsorship coordinators are in the child’s area. Joseph and Katie will visit each sponsorship district in January/February, April/May and August/September and will distribute letters. There is no national postal system in Uganda.
Can you give me ideas of what to write about to my sponsored child? Everything you need to know about writing to your Ugandan sponsored child. Expand You could introduce yourself and your family. Take time to share about your work, pets, hobbies, where you live, if you have children and what school is like for them. You may not think your life is very interesting, but children will be fascinated to hear about where you live and your everyday life. You could include some photos of your family or garden. Please encourage your sponsored child by admiring any pictures they draw and compliment them for the letters they write to you. Please remember that English is your sponsored child’s second language, so their letters might appear more simple than you would expect of a child their age. Letters take a while to be hand delivered in Uganda, so please understand if your sponsored child doesn’t respond to your questions right away.
How do I send my sponsored child a letter or Christmas/birthday card? If you would like to send a your sponsored child a letter or Christmas or birthday card, you can do this via our Ugandan P.O.Box. Expand The quickest way to send your sponsored child a letter or Christmas/birthday card is via our Ugandan P.O.Box: Amigos UgandaP.O.Box 33047KampalaUganda Your letter/card will be given to your sponsored child when our Ugandan coordinators next visit their district. January/February, April/May or August/September. You are most welcome to send letters/cards to our UK office, but these will be delivered when someone is travelling to Uganda throughout the year.
Can I write to my sponsored child? One of the joys of being a child sponsor is writing to your sponsored child. Ugandan children love receiving a letter or note from you. Expand Yes, our children love receiving letters from their sponsors. It means so much to a child and their caregiver to know there is someone on the other side of the world willing to support and encourage them. Your letters will be cherished by your child and the whole family. You can write to your child as often as you like – we suggest twice a year as a guideline. Please bear in mind that letters take a little while to get to Uganda, and then they need to be hand delivered as there is no door to door postal service.
When will I receive a letter from my sponsored child? We sponsor children in remote Ugandan villages. We do our best to get a letter from your sponsored child to you at least three times a year. Expand We aim to help your child write to you three times a year, although this isn’t always possible. Our Ugandan team visits each sponsored child/family’s district three times a year, mainly in school holidays. These are the times when your sponsored child will write a letter to you. Sometimes unbeknown to us a child might be sick, staying with another relative, or involved in a family activity away from their village. This only happens with a small number of sponsored children, and we do our best to rectify this as soon as possible.
How does Amigos choose a child for sponsorship? Amigos Worldwide works through local Ugandan churches to help identify children who are orphaned, vulnerable or unable to attend school regularly. Expand We work through local churches and community leaders who are often best placed to identify vulnerable children who are orphaned or unable to attend school regularly. One of our main aims is to support and train the caregiver to help them move from dependency to dignity. Here are some of our selection criteria… A child should be orphaned (maternally/paternally or both), or have physically disabled or elderly parents. They should be aged between 6-8 years. Any child will be considered irrespective of race, colour, religion, gender, national origin (ancestry), disability or sexual orientation. Children/families are selected from areas where Amigos farming groups operate, and in conjunction with the local church. They should have been resident in the district for at least a year. Children selected should live in walking distance from the local school and church that is implementing the programme. Caregivers must have access to land and be members of a local Amigos farming group. The family must be prepared to develop an income generating activity, however small. The caregiver needs to be committed to the education of the children in their care.
How much does child sponsorship cost? Amigos child sponsorship programme is priced realistically for sponsors and sponsored. We aim to see participants move from dependency to dignity. Expand Sponsorship costs a minimum of £18 a month – that’s around 60p a day. Of this, 91% of funds are spent directly in Uganda. The remaining 9% is spent on UK costs such as postage, printing, IT and office supplies. Your Gift Aid is used to help with running costs. We are fortunate to have UK staff that go above and beyond running the child sponsorship programme, so we can maximise the amount which goes directly to Uganda. We raise funds separately for clean water projects.
How long will my child sponsorship last? Sponsoring a child through Amigos Worldwide usually lasts for three years. Expand We aim to support a sponsored child/family for 3 years. After three years, once the family is healthier, better-off and starting to flourish, we transition to a new community. Depending on how your sponsored child/family have developed and what they have accomplished over the three years you have been supporting them, will determine whether we recommend sticking to the three-year programme, or ask you if you are willing to support them for an extra year.
Can I choose whether I sponsor a boy or a girl? You can choose to sponsor either a boy or a girl with Amigos Worldwide's unique child sponsorship programme. Expand Unless you make a specific request, we will send you the details of the child/family on our books who is in greatest need of your support. If you would prefer to sponsor a child of a specific gender, or age, please phone us on 01271 377664 or email [email protected] and we'll do our best to help.
How does sponsoring a child work? Amigos Worldwide loves connecting a needy and vulnerable Ugandan child to a loving, caring family anywhere in the world. Expand As a child sponsor you have a unique connection with a child and their family. To ensure that your donation is used as effectively as possible child sponsorship funds are split between helping your sponsored child go to school, and providing the caregiver with skills to improve their income. We train the caregiver in a number of areas including conservation farming, business, and health and hygiene. We aim to provide their community with clean water.