(For a downloadable pdf document of this information click here)

Dear supporter

Thank you for showing interest in the Little Blind People (Guru Nanak Blind Missionary Society) Sponsor a Child Program.  This program has been revised in response to an increased interest from our wonderful donors.

How does the sponsor a child program work?

Sponsorship of one of our children is a wonderful opportunity for you to make a lasting difference to a child’s life.

We stress to all our sponsors that the Sponsor a Child Program is as much about giving loving support and encouragement as it is about donating money, and our sponsors are encouraged to take an active role in their sponsored child’s life and to form a relationship with the child.  The amount of contact a sponsor has with their sponsored child is entirely up to the sponsor, but please keep in mind that it is regular contact and support – even if only on the telephone – which works to build that ever so special relationship. We appreciate that many of our sponsors live outside India, making regular personal contact difficult, but sponsors are encouraged to visit the Ashram during the period of their sponsorship.

A common misconception with the Sponsor a Child Program is that all your money goes to benefit the particular child you sponsor. However, this would lead to clear inequalities amongst the children, which would not be desirable. Therefore, we have designed the Sponsor a Child Program to work for the benefit of all the children, whilst allowing the sponsor special benefits in relation to their sponsored child.

When you sponsor a child, you become responsible for the cost to the Ashram of providing for one child. Little Blind People uses 80% of your sponsorship towards funding all the children’s education and music training, Braille training, health care and social welfare, food, clothing, and accommodation, and 20% goes towards general charity administration and fundraising costs.

Many of our children have already been sponsored but we have many new children to whom sponsorship can make a lasting difference. We are in the process of taking new photographs of all our children and these will be uploaded to the website soon, along with bio data. 

What benefits does the sponsor get?

Once a child has been allocated to a sponsor, the sponsor is encouraged to form a relationship with the child and in this way, the child’s welfare becomes an integrated part of the sponsors life.

Our sponsors enjoy visiting rights with their sponsored child – all we ask is that you give us a few days notice in order make the necessary arrangements. On visits to the Ashram, sponsors are allowed to take the sponsored child out for the day, accompanied by a member of staff.

Sponsors can speak with their sponsored child on the telephone whenever they like – an option which is very popular with our overseas sponsors.  Sponsors can also call during office hours and enquire with our manager, Mukhtiar Singh, as to their sponsored child’s educational progress and general wellbeing. 

Sponsors typically send gifts, for example items of clothing, games, toys, but this does not have to be confined to birthdays, or religious holidays, for children love gifts at any time of the year! 

What do you need to do to become a sponsor?

If you wish to join our Sponsor a Child Program the first thing you will need to do is to complete the sponsor a child form with your personal and bank details. Little Blind People will then use this form to set up your membership in the Sponsor a Child Program, and to set up a monthly direct debit associated with your membership. The current cost to the Ashram of each child is £28 per month. Therefore, the minimum sponsorship under the Sponsor a Child Program is £28 per month, but you can give as much as you like above this sum.

Next, I will contact you to welcome you personally to our Sponsor a Child Program, and give you up to date information on our children. We can then discuss which child might most benefit from your support. Little Blind People appreciates that our sponsors come from all walks of life and that their particular support might be better suited to one child rather than another.

If you wish to join the sponsor a child program please click here to download the sponsor a child form, print it and complete it and then return it the address at the bottom of the form. I will then contact you and welcome you to the Sponsor a Child Program.

WWarmest regards

Sundeep Sitara

Trustee – Little Blind People (Guru Nanak Blind Missionary Society)