The Power of Local Partnership
Local people always know their own communities best.
Our success is built on strong partnerships with local organizations. These partners bring invaluable insights and connections, enabling us to tailor our programs to the specific needs of each community.
We begin work in a community by selecting a local grassroots organization that supports children in its vicinity. We then provide funding, guidance and resources for that local partner and enroll children who need extra support in our programs. All enrolled children are eligible for sponsorship, in which they are matched one-to-one with a caring person from somewhere in the world who makes a monthly donation to support their community and can also write letters of encouragement, send financial gifts for special occasions and become a lifelong friend and source of support. Contributions from these generous sponsors support the programs that all enrolled children, whether sponsored or not, have access to.
In addition to sponsorship, we also implement various grant-funded projects in the communities where we work.
Why local partners?
Together, ChildFund, its local partners and the children and families we work with are cocreating societies that recognize children’s worth, protect their rights and nurture their potential. Because local people know their own communities best. Families know their own dynamics best. And children know what it’s like to be them better than anyone.
Through local partner organizations, we have a more direct relationship with children and communities that are experiencing poverty and other challenges, as well as the governments that serve them.
Strong, well-established local partners understand their communities and work with them to identify priority issues to address through programs that they tailor to local needs.
Given their roots in the community, local partners can promote stronger local decision making and have a greater effect on the local power base. They are also best positioned to check up on the children on a regular basis: Every six months, local partners make sure each enrolled child is still living in the community and participating in our programs, and check on their health and education status.
Local partners can more ably sustain efforts to support kids’ well-being over successive generations, long after ChildFund’s financial commitments to them end.
Working through local partners allows us to share resources for maximum impact in kids’ lives.
“I was one of the participants at a launch event of ChildFund’s country strategic plan. This shows how involved, valued and respected we are , when it comes to developing my Chiefdom. That is the same level of engagement we get from their local partner, Ndomakeh Federation in Kailahun district. This inclusive approach has made a real difference in our community. Because we are involved from the start, we feel a strong sense of ownership—and that means we take responsibility for maintaining and protecting the projects. We’ve seen the results firsthand: improved water access, better learning environments for our children, and stronger livelihoods for our families. These are not just ChildFund’s projects—they are our projects, built with our hands and rooted in our needs”
~ CHIEF GOMBUKLA KALLON, JAWEI CHIEFDOM