Q&A about sponsoring a child with Plan UK's supporter relations manager, Julian Jack

[RachelMumsnet]

Plan UK pioneered child sponsorship almost 75 years ago, and since then has been working with children and their communities around the world to make a lasting difference to children's lives. Today, over 100,000 people in the UK alone sponsor children with Plan.

Julian Jack has worked at Plan UK for over 15 years. As Plan's Supporter Relations Manager, Julian has, over the years, answered hundreds of supporter queries. From the specifics of how child sponsorship works (How are the children selected to participate? How is my money spent? Can I see the impact? What will I receive?), to charitable giving more broadly (Is charity really effective? Can international aid make a long term difference?).

Please post your questions about international aid, charitable giving and about sponsoring a child before the end of Friday 25 November and we'll post the archived Q&A with Julian's answers the first week in December.

This Q&A is sponsored by Plan UK

I've sponsord a child for the last 2 years and this charity is great. The photos of the family you sponsor, the regular updates on what is happening in the village and the family really gives it all a personal touch.

Is it possible for groups to sponsor/support a school, rather than a family?

I don't sponsor a child but give money via direct debit to one of the main overseas development charities. Sometimes I think it would be good to sponsor a child as it would help my children to understand the problems if we had a direct link, but I worry that sponsoring a child is exploiting a child for the purpose of raising money for the community. What pressure (if any) is put on children and families to take part, and does the money go directly to that child's community or is it pooled for all communities in that region?