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In 1980s, this program has received support from international organizations such as the "Save the Children Fund", the "Rettet das Kind", and the "Terre des Hommes". In recent years, support from international organizations have been deviated to other countries with lesser national funds than Turkey, while more and more well-to-do Turkish families are now realizing the existence of a vast number of families living under the poverty line and have started contributing to this program.
At present, individuals/families/institutions contributing to sponsoring programs such as the "Caring Hand" are only a handful in Turkey. However, we are noting a significant upward trend in these contributions, an observation which provides us with satisfaction and with strength to continue working in this program.
HOW DOES THE "CARING HAND" SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM WORK?:
· The candidates (children in need of support) are selected after visiting the home and interviewing the family
· The sponsor family is provided with information on candidates suiting
their preferances (age, gender, etc)
· The family agrees to sponsor a child of their selection
· Part of the support to the child (family) can be in the form of staple foods, clothes, books, etc , according to need (as determined by the Association)
· The Associati0on acts as the intermediary in the financial support provided by the sponsor family. The identity of the sponsor family is not disclosed to the child or his/her family
· The progress of the child and utilization of the support are monitored by home visits
· The sponsor families are sent periodic reports on the progress of the child
· Health care is provided to all children in the program by courtesy of the Department of Pediatrics of the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine.
· Completion of the formal education of the child is encouraged. At each contact, Association personnel make an issue of education and try to motivate both the parents and the child. Whenever necessary and possible, financial aid is increased to meet school expenses. When necessary, contact is established with the school to help solve problems.
· Our accumulated experience over the years indicates that this program has been effective in the empowerment of children of families with limited means.
The size of the program - how many children?
Over 18 000 children have benefited from this program since its initiation
30 years ago. In the 1980s, the years when international agencies were acting
as intermediary in supplying sponsor families from other countries, the number
of children was as high as 1000 children at one time. Today, with our limited
number of sponsors, we can extend our support to only 250 to 300 children each year.
We will indeed be overjoyed to acquire new sponsors and be able continue
this program on a larger scale. The program entails the provision of a minimum
amount of 50 Turkish liras (approximately 35 US dollars) per month
to each child.
Continuity of the support and reaching the child/family at regular intervals is of utmost importance for the success of the program. One child may have more than one sponsor family. The payments can be made at intervals of one month, 3 months, 6 months, or one year.
One of our primary aims is to make the children feel that they are not by
themselves in their struggle in life and that they will have support until
the completion of their schooling.
To become a sponsor family/institution/person, please complete the application form :
Application form: 
Click on the square with mouse and print.
You can also contact us by telephone (0212 230 5913) and request an application form
The application form includes details such as your preferances, if any, regarding the age, and gender of the child, payment conditions, etc
Once again: Continuity of care/support is a key element for the success
of this sponsorship program.