WHY DO CHILDREN IN BELO NEED YOUR HELP?

As in many rural Cameroonian areas, Belo suffers from a large number of orphaned children whose parents have died due to illnesses such as malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS or who have been abandoned by their parents. In addition, there are also many parents who cannot take care of their children due to disabilities or mental illness. Most of these orphans are now living with relatives such as their grandparents, aunts, cousins or uncles.  As the guardians are often elderly people, surviving by subsistence farming, or people who have to take care of their own family as well, they can’t afford the educational and health care needs of the orphans. 

It is RUDEC's goal to give these children a basic level of support, to fulfill their aspirations and to give them a better future.  But in order to achieve these aims, RUDEC depends on the generous help of supporters and you can be part of it!

In order to establish a sustainable way of support for all of the children, RUDEC is looking for personal sponsors who are able to support the orphans and destitute. Sponsoring a child will not only make a change in the life of the children of Belo, but also in yours. It is an exciting journey of cultural exchange and creating a personal relationship. If you like to learn more about our program and our children, please read the following points and don’t hesitate to contact us.    

THE ORPHAN SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

The Orphan and Destitute Children Project is one of RUDEC main projects. Through the Orphan Sponsorship Program RUDEC aims to provide support for the 53 orphans it has listed within the Belo area. This support comes in the form of monetary, material and education. RUDEC currently has regular sponsors for 5 children. The aim for the future is to obtain sponsors for all 53 orphans so that we can provide regular and consistent support to all orphans involved in the program. 

There are a variety of areas which RUDEC aims to support the orphans with, depending on the resources and funding available. The main priority is to pay for the school and exam fees. Providing that there is sufficient funding available, RUDEC will then aim to address additional needs the orphans may have including:

- Food

- Health (vaccinations, medicine, hospital fees)

- School books/materials/clothes

- Clothes

- Hygiene products (toothbrushes, soap)

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

We do not ask for a fixed amount for sponsorship as any amount you can afford would be a great help to any of our orphans. The first priority for a child is to cover their school fees, and any amount left after covering this cost would go towards the remaining additional needs. If a child has sufficient funding after their school fees have been covered, they would receive a supply of food for the amount of 1000 CFA each week. This would consist of mainly fruits and vegetables and serve to supplement their diet and provide essential vitamins and nutrients that they may not obtain through there normal diet. 

After these costs have been covered, 500 CFA would be put towards the child’s ‘health fund’ which would cover any medical costs the orphan has throughout the year, and health or medical supplies such as soap, toothpaste, medicines. 

WHAT DOES RUDEC PROVIDE?

If you are interested in sponsoring a specific child, RUDEC will provide you with more information on the orphan. Every 3 months, you will also get a report on the sponsored child. These reports include general information, updates on their schooling and their health, new pictures as well as an overview of the general expenditures. This way, the sponsor will be able to see what their money is being spent on and how the needs of the child are being met. 

RUDEC will also be the intermediate between the sponsor and the child. If the sponsor wants to get in touch with the sponsored child, he or she can send letters or any other material to RUDEC. RUDEC will also forward you any letter that the child wishes to write to the sponsor.

HOW TO START SPONSORING A CHILD

Step 1: If you decide to sponsor one of the orphans, please send an e-mail to  HYPERLINK "mailto:info@rudec.org"info@rudec.org. Please put in the title of the e-mail “Sponsor a Child” as well as the name of the child you want to sponsor. You should also specify in the e-mail how much you would like to contribute. RUDEC will provide you then with more information on the child and will answer all your questions.

Step 2: After exchanging the basic information and after agreeing with RUDEC on the sponsorship, you can set-up a direct debit transfer to the account of RUDEC under “Sponsor Now!” If you have any problems with the setting up of this transfer, please contact RUDEC.