Every child deserves the best start in life, the best chance for a successful future and to live a happy, healthy and meaningful life. But there are too many children across the world that aren’t getting the chance to reach their full potential. By sponsoring a child today, you get to change that.
By Sponsoring a child through Ecologia Youth Trust, we can offer you opportunity to develop a warm and personal connection and lasting friendship with a child from one of our projects.
Your support not only helps a child feel that they are cared for, but provides them with a safe and caring place to live, an education and the chance to fulfil their potential, but through regular letters and updates from your child, you’ll gain a unique insight into their lives.
There are a couple of ways that you can choose to support a child in one of our projects. You can either sponsor a particular child in Russia, Kenya or Uganda, or you can sponsor a place for a child to go to school and receive a good education at Sky Is The Limit in Uganda or Tarnos School in Kenya.
The children we support like to think of their sponsors as Godparents because this offers a child, who may have lost their parents or family, a valuable and important feeling that there is someone special in the world who cares about them.
Sponsor a child today and make a difference which will last a lifetime.
Since 2014, we have funded over 510,600 school meals to children at Sky Is The Limit School which improves their ability to concentrate and provides them with the vital nutrition they need for healthy development. Provided sources of clean and free water to children by building two wells – one at Noah’s Ark and one at the school. Continued to provide educational materials such as textbooks, desks, chairs and lesson materials for the school.
Our Child Sponsorship programme supports bright youngsters to through Primary school and continue on to Secondary School and Higher Education. Since 2014, we have supported 116 children to complete Primary education and move onto to Secondary and Higher education.
We have sourced funding for fruit trees and livestock for the 8-acre farm, as well as sewing machines and materials for the tailor shop.
We describe sponsors as ‘Godparents’ because the children say that it makes them feel like family. It encourages a child’s sense of wellbeing and shows them someone cares. Because sponsorship is a form of regular giving, it means we can reliably look after the children, and develop our capacity to care for more children. You can sponsor more than one child and some children have more than one sponsor. We try to ensure that each child in each of our projects has at least one Godparent.
Our Godparents make a monthly or annual contribution towards the child’s special needs. We recommend a Standing Order of £20 per month, although you may contribute as much as you wish. What is important is the relationship you develop that goes beyond purely financial support.
Once you’ve selected the child you wish to sponsor and signed up with a Standing Order, you will receive a welcome pack including a picture of your ‘Godchild’ with some information about the child’s interests, hobbies etc. Twice a year we will send you an update, with a card, a letter or a drawing from your Godchild.
Ecologia retains a small administration fee for handling sponsorship donations that helps to cover the cost of running the programme. All remaining contributions from Godparents go to the Children’s Fund in each organisation so that no one child has more than another and all the children benefit. The fund can be used for school supplies, clothes, health care, presents for Christmas and birthdays, education and recreation. Pledging to sponsor a child goes a long way to securing their long-term future.
We do not hold education funds for individual children.We have an Education Fund for each organisation that is available to support all the children after they turn 18. Some Godparents arrange with us to set aside a certain portion of their monthly contribution in this fund. We encourage you to contribute to the Education Fund on the understanding that your Godchild will have the same opportunity for higher education as any other child in their community.
We encourage you to communicate with your Godchild two or three times a year either by letter or email especially at birthdays. They so love receiving letters from you and are encouraged and inspired by your interest in them. We discourage sending gifts because this can set up competition that we wish to avoid. Please bear in mind that these children come from difficult, and sometimes very poor, backgrounds. Please write your letters in clear simple English. Feel free to enclose photos, postcards and greetings cards. We suggest you refer to yourself as a “friend” or “Godparent” which feels warmer than a “sponsor”.
The child you are sponsoring would like to know about your life – your family, pets, hobbies, favourite sports or other activities as well as your occupation and where you live. Write about your everyday life, so they can get to know you and gain insight into your culture, making this an educational experience for both of you. You can also ask them simple questions that they can easily respond to – but avoid asking about their personal background. Encouragement is one of the most important things you can give.
Yes! Visits to your sponsored child are very much welcomed. We can assist you with your visa and travel preparations. Please contact Ecologia at least 3 months before your trip for advice. We do not facilitate visits of children to their sponsors until they are over 18, when they can make up their own minds.
We follow the standards as set out in the Child Sponsorship Charter for charities. The way in which we manage our work ensures that we keep a personal approach, whilst upholding the best interests of each child at the heart of what we do. Names of children have been changed to protect their identity. All communication with the children is monitored by their guardians in line with our child protection policies.
“Building a world where every young person thrives.”
Ecologia Youth Trust supports children and young people to shape their futures sustainably. Keep up to date with our activities and projects by following us on social media!
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*Names have been changed according to our child protection policy.
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Susie has 30+ experience as a creative copywriter, editor, and proofreader, starting out as a 20-year-old copywriter in the Mad Men world of early 1990s advertising in South Africa. Ever since, she’s had a love affair with creative conceptualisation, thinking outside of the box, writing to a deadline, and being thrown in the deep end!
She took an MSc in Publishing at Edinburgh Napier University as a mature student, in 2015, and continues to keep herself busy working as a copy-editor, proofreader and copywriter in book publishing, corporate communications, and publishing project management.
Apart from her love of working with independent authors, Susie has a fondness for working in the third sector and likes to use her corporate communications and marketing experience to support projects close to her heart. She has lived and worked in the Findhorn area for 25 years, and has been involved in a number of third sector projects and organisations, and family businesses.
Working at Ecologia Youth Trust helps Susie to live in integrity with her values of supporting the next generation to be the best that they can be, and she sees it as a way to give back to Mama Africa, the beloved continent on which she was born.
Ellen joined the Ecologia team in June 2018 as Marketing and Communications Manager. Ellen has lived in Scotland for 6 years and has worked for non-profit and charitable organisations across varied fields. She currently shares her passion for helping young people through Ecologia Youth Trust and she works as a dancer and dance teacher in her spare time.
Robyn is the Associate Director of International Projects, having previously worked within the team as a Project Development and Marketing Officer from April 2019 until May 2021. As Associate Director, Robyn is co-leading the International side of Ecologia with Founder and Director, Liza Hollingshead, bringing a new energy into Ecologia as they look towards the future of the charity.
Liza is the founder of Ecologia and Director of International Projects. She was born and educated in South Africa and worked there as a high school teacher. She moved to live in the Findhorn Community in 1974. She started Ecologia in 1995 after being introduced to Dmitry Morozov, the founder of Kitezh Children’s Community in Russia, and was inspired to support the community in its mission to rescue orphaned children from institutions and give them homes, families and education in a supportive environment.
This led to projects supporting disadvantaged youth and children in South East Asia and in East Africa. TRead more about Liza’s story here.
