Child Sponsorship

Education is a paramount tool because it empowers an individual with all the necessary knowledge, resources, and ability to help him or her face the world with confidence. It is a dream of every Pokot boy and girl to attend school, finish school, and get employed. Their dreams are shattered when their parents force them to drop out — and, like the man in the parable of the Good Samaritan who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead, the Pokot child is left to the mercy of good Samaritans to help them achieve their dreams.

WMK's desire is to give Pokot children an opportunity to achieve their dreams and be an asset in the community. Life is full of challenges, but with the opportunity of education, a child gets the key to unlocking his or her potential to face those challenges head on. WMK will strive to empower, educate, and nurture the Pokot child, who will in turn help the generation to come. When children go to school, they also return home and share what they have learned about Jesus Christ with their families.

Why girls' education matters: an educated girl earns up to 25% more income and reinvests 90% of it into her family, compared to 30% that men invest in their family. Research in developing countries has shown a consistent relationship between better infant and child health and higher levels of schooling among mothers. One year of primary school boosts a girl's eventual wages by 10-20%; one extra year of secondary school boosts wages by 15-20%. Approximately one quarter of girls in developing countries are not in school. One quarter to one half of girls in developing countries become mothers before age 15; 14 million girls aged 15-19 give birth in developing countries each year. Illiteracy is higher among underprivileged girls than boys, and girls are more vulnerable to peer pressure, so they need life-skills training to achieve their long-term goals.

Quote: "In sub-Saharan Africa, 40,000,000,000 hours of labor go to carrying water over long distances — that time could be spent at school, providing an income-building, healthy community."

Currently, WMK is working with different schools in West Pokot, e.g. Kakleshon, where it is implementing a school feeding programme to encourage more children to go to school. With the help of our partners, we plan to support as many children as possible through scholarships and through donation of books, etc. WMK also plans to start a school in the future to give more opportunities to underprivileged boys and girls. Due to a lack of available teaching staff, WMK plans to work with the government by bringing volunteer teachers to teach in public schools, to increase the student-teacher ratio and eventually help in the achievement of the MDGs. We welcome partners and volunteers to work with us.

We would love your partnership to impact the community in Pokot by giving education. Sponsors will be asked to fill out a sponsorship application and thereafter sign a commitment form. They will also be able to receive progress reports from the school concerning the child, and also letters and drawings from the sponsored child. Please contact the programmes manager for more details.

Sponsorship commitment terms and current costs are set directly by the ministry and aren’t listed here. See Sponsor a Child for the full picture, or contact us directly.