.. by Gracy Fernandes, provides an excellent and
comprehensive overview of Child Sponsorship. For decades, child sponsorship
programs have been operative in a number of key agencies impacting the lives of
millions of children worldwide. There are intense debates within the child
welfare community about the most optimal set of policies, practices and programs
which benefit children, particularly within the context of the UN Convention of
the Rights of the Child (CRC). Child Sponsorship has been one approach at the
center of these debates.
In this publication, the topic of Child Sponsorship
is expertly analyzed from a philosophical, historical and a human rights
perspective. One of the key features in the publication is an
overview of key lessons learned based on current case studies. The
insights and facts contained in this publication challenge us as child
advocates to consistently viewing our work within the core principles of the
CRC: non-discrimination, the best interest of the child, and the right to
life, survival, education and development.
The publication by Gracy
Fernandes is one critical tool, based on exemplary scholarship, which all child
advocates can use while developing Child Sponsorship programs in examining
their relationship to securing a stronger environment for the care and
protection of children. This book highlight s the role of civil society in
“giving” and in mobilization of human and material resources required for the
effective fulfillment of children’s rights. It particularly draws attention to
the singular service of education specially in developing nations where many
children cannot afford or access education more so in the case of the girl
child. The lack of education and life skills creates a situation where a child
is vulnerable and at the mercy of unscrupulous elements in society which show
the way to child labour and trafficking. Further, this publication documents a similar
shift in focus by many child sponsorship agencies towards community and social development
that meshes very well with the new focus of development.
