Child Sponsorship

It costs only $400 per year
- less that a cup of coffee a day -
to make a major difference
in the life of a child who has so little!

Through IAT's Child sponsorship Program you can provide assistance to a child whose economic circumstances deny him or her adequate diet, health care, and educational opportunities. . . . read on . . . .

The primary way children can escape the poverty into which they were born, is through education. Many marginalized children are, however, either unable to attend or remain in school due to lack of financial means. Reasons for children dropping out of school can be as basic as parents not being able to provide them with notepad or pencil. Since its inception in 1980, has focused upon assisting the poorest of the poor in the Philippines, many of whom are orphan children.

IAT's Child Sponsorship program is unique in a number of ways:

The selection of children for support is conducted by IAT's staff and not contracted out to another agency;
Applicants are screened and house visits conducted by staff to ensure that the family situation warrants assistance;
Sponsorship is considered a joint effort involving: the student, the sponsor, the parents and IAT;
Apart from providing indigent children with the opportunity to go to school, IAT provides opportunities for each child under its program to participate in workshops and seminars to increase their confidence, competence, practical skills and leadership abilities;
Students are encouraged to take pride in, and maintain the positive aspects of their indigenous culture;
In addition to the academic education, the special training provided by IAT gives students that X-factor that sets them apart from others and in most cases ensures them success in whatever they undertake to do;
If students are capable of going on to higher education, IAT's seeks additional support to enable them to obtain an college or university degree, rather than drop support when they finish high school;
Students are closely monitored and the staff makes sure that a sponsor's support is being used in the most cost effective way.

Most sponsorship programs terminate a child's support when he or she completes high school. While this helps a child or its family for the few years while support is provided, it does not address sustainability and the bigger picture. A high school education no longer ensures a better life. We have seen how frustrating and disempowering it is for a bright child, keen to go on to college or university, to be denied that opportunity because he or she is no longer a cute little kid with eyes and face pleading for help. If a young man or woman is going to be an instrument of positive socio-economic change, it is important that they go beyond the secondary school level.

IAT has always focused upon a sustainable approach to development and to its sponsorship program. IAT now has young program graduates from 50 or so villages in several areas in the Philippines. IAT's sponsorship program has, so far, produced a number of skilled technicians and the following professionals: teachers, nurses, midwives, medical technicians, accountants, college professors, agriculturalists, foresters, accountants, lawyers, and one doctor. Many are now in their respective communities working to improve the conditions of their people.

As a result of IAT's sponsorship program, hundreds of indigent children have been able to graduate from schools and universities during the past 25 years. Apart from our main target area of Kalinga province, IAT has provided educational opportunities for children from: Ifugao, Mountain Province, Zambales, Abra, Mindoro, Manila, Fuga Island and outlying lowland areas.

Your sponsorship dollars go to provide for your child's:

tuition and school fees;

books and school supplies;

room and board;

transportation;

leadership training workshops and seminars.

Your support can positively impact young lives in the Philippines
or Costa Rica and, in return, can enrich your life as well.

TESTIMONIAL

My name is Irene Kopel and my wish is that everyone interested in sponsorship can experience what I have as an IAT sponsor-the soul satisfying transformations that sponsorship can bring about in a child when it is done through an outstanding charity. I am so enthusiastic about IAT that I have sponsored more than ten IAT students so far. As a result, today I am the EXTREMELY PROUD sponsor of a newly graduated accountant, a high school history teacher, a Rotarian president, a writer/future anthropologist and a lawyer who is specializing in women's rights, tribal law and environmental issues. Thanks to IAT, I truly feel as blessed as my sponsored children! I am available to talk with any interested person about why IAT is different and the myriad reasons for its success .If you would like to talk to me, please send me an email at irene@kopel.com

TO SPONSOR A CHILD CLICK ON ANY IMAGE BELOW

IAT HAS A WAITING LIST OF MORE THAN 125 CHILDREN SEEKING ASSISTANCE.

BELOW ARE SIX OF THESE CHILDREN.

Will you sponsor one of them?

Click to Sponsor Me!	Marilou Tayab: Birthdate: March 2, 1992 Marilou, 12 and in grade 5. She is the first of 3 children, and also has a half sister since her mother was previously married. Her father Joseph attended school until grade 3; her mother never went to school. The family lives in a one-room hut, without electricity or toilet facilities. Water is fetched from a nearby spring. Their diet consists primarily of sweet potatoes, boiled rice, ferns and edible weeds. Marilou is an average student who hopes to be a teacher someday
click to Sponsor Me!	Jennybeth Tiwang: Birthdate: July 5, 1992 Jennybeth, 12 and in first year high school, is the third of 5 children in the Tiwang family. They live in a small hut of wood and bamboo with a galvanized iron roof. The father has a grade six education and farms a small rice paddy. The mother, uneducated, cares for the children and assists her husband in the paddy. Because her parents struggle to feed their children, Jennybeth lives with her uncle's family and doing chores in exchange for her room and board.
Click to Sponsor Me!	Precious Dinnayan: Birthdate: October 26, 1996 Precious, 8 and in grade 2 is the first of the family's four children. The family stays with the family of a relative, as they have no house of their own. They till a small garden on government land on a steep mountain hillside, and her father sometimes can earn 150 pesos (approx $5.70 Cdn) per day when seasonal work is available. Precious is fond of drawing and reading when she can have access to books. She hopes to become a teacher some day.
Click to Sponsor Me!	Abegail Lumatac: Birthdate: August 8, 1995 Abegail, 10 and in grade 3 is the only child of a single mother who was abandoned by her husband when she was pregnant with Abegail. She lives with her mother in a small nipa (grass roofed) hut, without electricity or running water. Her mother, Nelly, struggles to support her daughter by working as a casual day laborer in the fields of others. She earns the equivalent of $2.20 Cdn per day whenever work is available. Abegail is an outgoing, inquisitive, intelligent girl who achieves high grades. She is hoping that someone will be willing to provide her educational costs.

When you become a sponsor you will:

receive a photo and personal history of the child you are assisting;
have the opportunity to correspond with the recipient of your kindness;
receive regular communication from your child;
experience the joy of knowing you're making a difference in the life of needy child.

You can also help by. . .

Donating - Donations received from individuals, service clubs, church groups and foundations can be directed to specific programs, in accordance with the wishes of the donor.

Making a contribution - towards our Building Fund

Purchasing a copy - of IAT's documentary "THE SPIRIT OF TORCAO." Proceeds go to support IAT's programs.

Click on the for an email form.

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