• Your
sponsorship money supports Not Alone , the Coptic
Orphans program that provides basic necessities such as food, clothing,
safe and secure housing, and access to rights such as education, healthcare,
and government services to children who have lost their father through
death or abandonment. Sponsoring a child is investing in children’s
potential, not giving them a handout or merely meeting their material
needs.
• A
volunteer Representative (“Rep”), selected for service with Coptic
Orphans by his or her Coptic Orthodox bishop, identifies children
in his or her community to join the Not Alone program. The Rep is
specially-trained to work with each child individually, in the child’s
home, and serves anywhere from 15 to 40 children in the program at
any given time. The personal relationship between the child
and the Rep is at the heart of the Not Alone program. Coptic
Orphans Reps form an extensive grassroots network that allows us to serve children throughout Egypt, even in remote
villages.
• Every
child in the Not Alone program must be enrolled in school, if school-aged, and achieve age-appropriate literacy as a pre-requisite
for entering the program. If the child is no longer enrolled in school,
they are no longer eligible to participate in the program.
• Every
child participating in the Not Alone program receives regular financial
support from Coptic Orphans through his or her Rep, who identifies
the unique needs of the child and by extension,
his or her widowed mother. In addition to direct assistance, the Rep provides mentorship, tutoring, and advocacy as needed,
arranging for special services according to the interests, talents,
and needs of the child. The Rep also coordinates the child’s participation
in Coptic Orphans activities such as book fairs, recreational
outings, and workshops on subjects such as hygiene or job
preparedness.
• Only
a small percentage of children in the Not Alone program have a sponsorship
relationship, though all are eligible. All Not Alone children
are supported financially through the general pool of funds from sponsors and other donations. The Rep makes decisions on how to best
spend the money allocated to the children assigned to him or her to
maximize the opportunity for all the children in the program to reach
their potentials, and responds to critical needs. The Reps are fully
accountable for the money they spend, and are in close contact with
Coptic Orphans management at all times.
• The
difference between a sponsored child and a non-sponsored child in
the Not Alone program is the relationship between the child
and his or her sponsor . Having a sponsor allows the child
to access the intangible benefits of a caring, personal relationship
through letters and occasional visits, as well as personal gifts on
special occasions.
• Every
child in the Not Alone program is Christian. Since we work with the
children in their homes, we would risk accusations of evangelism— illegal in Egypt —and be subject to severe penalties
if we accepted non-Christian children into the program.
• Sponsoring
a child involves a commitment to that child. You will have
his or her picture, and exchange letters and prayers with him or her.
While you may choose to end sponsorship at any time, if you feel you
may not be able to continue a personal relationship with a sponsored
child, you might want to consider supporting children in the Not Alone
program with regular contributions instead.
