How to sponsor a child? Child Sponsorship is a great way to give a child the hope of a better future. Every child deserves a life free of poverty, abuse and discrimination. Poverty robs children of their childhood and their future. Sponsoring children can make a real, long-term difference not only to the child, but to the whole community.   When you sign up for having a sponsor child, a member of our child sponsorship department will then contact you as soon as possible. You will be e-mailed a short list with details of children who need a sponsor. Select the child you would like to sponsor and return the e-mail back to the sponsorship office.      How much does it cost? You will pay £15 Sterling (approx. US$ 30) per month to your sponsor child. The easiest and fastest way is to pay directly online. The payment is handeled securely with PayPal and you can choose to pay by credit card or through a free PayPal account. Payments can also be made by standing order to our bank account in the UK, or by cheque, monthly, quarterly or yearly. Details about the payments will be sent to you together with the information about your chosen sponsor child. The monthly sponsor money which helps to pay for health, education, and clothing enables a child to live with a member of their family or extended family.     How long can I sponsor a child? There is a minimum sponsor period of one year, but we hope that you will be part of our sponsor program for a long time. Many of our sponsors have been with us since the beginning of the sponsor program and have sponsored several children.  Other sponsors have stayed with us for a shorter time but however long you sponsor a child please be assured that every sponsor is very important to us and particularly important to the children.   Children are normally sponsored until they reach the age of 18. However, circumstances can change. Families can leave the area without warning, or simply either theirs or your financial situation can change. Should you have any questions or concerns about your sponsorship then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.     When I sponsor a child what do I receive? You will receive a photograph and a short personal history of your child, plus the opportunity to correspond with your child via e-mail or letter. You will also receive a minimum of two newsletters each year, with an update of KSC-KCF’s work.     Can I write to my sponsored child? This is personal to yourself: if you are not a writer than there is no pressure for you to write, it is not a condition that sponsors write to their sponsored child but we strongly encourage them to do so.   If you decide to sponsor a child, we will give you an e-mail address to our sponsorship department, to which you can send mails to your sponsored child. Since there is no postal service to Iraq mail and letters has to be taken in and out by hand. KCF in London will then hold your letter until it can be safely delivered to KSC’s office in Sulaimaniya, Iraq. When your letter or e-mail arrives to the sponsorship department in Sulaimaniya it will be translated and forwarded to the appropriate social worker who will deliver it to your child. Depending on the accessibility of where your child is located it may take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for correspondence to travel between you and your sponsored child. There is also no internal postal service in Kurdistan so everything is delivered by hand.   Children love to receive letters, but they may find it very difficult to write them. Please allow our sponsored children the appropriate time to develop letter skills. This is especially true for younger children and children who start late in school or live in remote villages. You will receive about two letters a year from your sponsored child who will write the letters themselves if he/she is able.  Otherwise a family member, a friend, or neighbour will assist the child in writing. Although we do not have the means to deliver gifts to your sponsored child small items like postcards, greeting cards, photographs and pictures are very well received.      If you still want to become a sponsor, then why wait any longer!? Sign up now!