All child sponsorship programs are not alike. CARITAS For Children has a unique approach to carrying out its mission and a prime example is the way we structure our child sponsorship programs. In all our locations, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Haiti, theDominican Republic and Poland we work exclusively with Catholic men and women religious as our ministry partners. Why does CARITAS take this approach?

Here are five reasons why we work with Catholic religious men and women.

1. They are well-established in their local area, allowing us to make use of existing local infrastructures to the benefit of the children in our sponsorship programs.
2. They live in the same communities as the people they serve. They understand the local culture, language and needs.
3. They have centuries of Church social teachings, and their radical commitment to the poor, help keep that vision in sharp focus.
4. They are respected and trusted. As a Catholic lay apostolate, teaming up with these religious orders as our ministry partners ensures harmony of purpose and vision.
5. They help build the Catholic faith. The children sponsored in our programs are educated in the religious orders’ Catholic schools.  This helps to ensure the success of their schools and to form their students in the Catholic faith. However, no child living in poverty is turned away if they are of another faith. Catholic children and non-Catholic children alike are educated side-by-side under the loving care of the sisters and priests.

Sr. Jadwiga, Director of the Centre of the Holy Mother of Mercy in Poland sitting with some of the children who participate in the centre's programs and a university student (left) during her internship in Poland.

Sr. Lucy, head teacher at St. Anthony Nursery School in Nkokonjeru, Uganda helps some of the pupils with their lessons. Many preschool children in CARITAS' child sponsorship programs attend St. Anthony.

The Catholic religous with whom CARITAS partners are respected members of their local communities. They have decades of experise in Catholic social teaching and doctrine. They are trustworthy and reliable and we are blessed to have these religious men and women involved with CARITAS For Children.