Sponsors often contact us to find out when their children will complete the child sponsorship program. They usually ask: “At what age does compassion sponsorship end?” or “How long do you sponsor a Compassion child?” The question usually comes to us around a child’s 18th birthday. After all, an 18-year-old in the United States is viewed as an adult and is legally released from a parent’s care on that magical birthday. So it’s understandable for sponsors to assume sponsorship ends when their sponsored child turns 18.
What Is Child Sponsorship?
Child sponsorship organizations like Compassion International engage in a holistic approach to aid children in escaping poverty. The question of “When does compassion sponsorship end?” is common among sponsors, particularly as children approach adulthood. Unlike a rigid age-based system, Compassion’s program focuses on achieving specific developmental goals rather than concluding solely based on age. These goals include spiritual growth, economic self-sufficiency, social responsibility, and physical well-being.
Child sponsorship lasts until these objectives are met, typically around the ages of 18 to 22, varying by country. Each child sets personal goals in collaboration with center staff, aiming to develop skills, complete education, and grow in character. The program’s flexible nature allows children to continue their journey with Compassion International until they are ready to step into the world as confident, self-reliant individuals. This model ensures that each child receives tailored support, enabling them to realize their full potential and break free from the cycle of poverty.
So, When Does Compassion Sponsorship End?
Although age is a determining factor in a child’s completion, we do not finalize a completion just for that reason. Our child sponsorship completion guidelines include consideration of our goals for each child and the goals each has personally set.
Compassion Program Goals
Our goals for the children in our program include:
- Continually grow in their knowledge of and relationship with God
- Support themselves and share with others in need as part of their economic training
- Be responsible members of their family, church, community and nation as part of their social training
- Maintain their own physical well-being
To help the children reach these goals, we use “indicators” or guidelines to determine each child’s spiritual, physical, socio-emotional and cognitive development. Some examples are: the child grows in their understanding of scripture, experiences better health, completes a primary education (at a minimum), shows good relational skills, and learns and uses an income-generating skill.
These indicators help the child development center staff identify how to best support children in their development so they can be released from poverty. It also gives all centers unified evaluation criteria so that every child receives the same opportunities.
In some instances, age can prevent a child from completing a goal.
For example, a young Rwandan woman, age 21, decides she would like to learn how to be a seamstress. The center she attends has a vocational course that teaches this skill, but she must complete the course before her 23rd birthday or risk not finishing it. This is because the maximum program participation age for Rwanda is 22 years old.
Empower a Child’s Journey to Adulthood
Child sponsorship with Compassion International is an opportunity to profoundly impact a young life. While the age range of 18 to 22 typically marks the end of sponsorship, our focus is on each child’s holistic development and personal goals. This unique approach ensures that every child is equipped with the necessary skills, education, and values to thrive as responsible, self-sufficient adults. Your support can make a lasting difference in a child’s journey from poverty to empowerment.
Personal Goals for Students
When children in our program turn 12, they create a “My Plan for Tomorrow” folder with the help of the center staff. The child sets yearly goals in this folder. At the end of each year, the children evaluate their achievements with the staff.
Each child’s goals are different, according to what that child wants to accomplish. But remember, these are just goals. There are no repercussions if the child does not reach them. The main purpose of the goal-setting is to help the children dream. And the folder helps give them a plan to achieve their dreams.
The center staff determines a child’s completion date by reviewing the goals set for the child, the goals the child has set for themselves, and the maximum age that the child can stay in the program. The maximum age depends on the country and is typically between the ages of 18 and 22.
A child may continue to participate in our sponsorship program if he or she still needs time to reach a personal or programmatic goal as long as the maximum participation age for the program hasn’t been reached yet.
Although we would love for every child to complete our program, regrettably, some children aren’t able to. The most common cause of this is that their family relocates to an area where we do not have a child development center. (For more information on why children leave our program, please read Why Do Children Leave Our Program?
If you are interested in knowing when the child you sponsor is expected to complete our program, and he or she is older than 13, log in to your account to view information regarding his or her completion.