COVID-19 Status Update for Child Sponsors

World Vision Cares

Child Sponsorship: Protecting Children's Health

The scale and spread of COVID-19 globally is a concern for us. In many countries where World Vision sponsored children live, the risks are even greater – health systems can be weak and proper healthcare may not be as accessible to them. We are monitoring the situation in every country we work in.

Child Sponsorship has made it possible for World Vision to respond to this crisis from the beginning. We are supporting efforts by local health authorities, schools and local partners to prevent the spread of the virus, creating awareness and educating locals, helping to set up public handwashing stations, and distributing soap, sanitiser, and masks where appropriate. These preventative measures have always been an important part of our child sponsorship programme because in places of extreme poverty improving health, water, sanitation and hygiene saves lives; now, more than ever.

To keep you informed on the situation in your sponsored child’s community, we will be providing reports here regularly. Sponsors may continue to correspond with your sponsored child (it is still recommended to do so via e-letters), however, kindly do note that it may require more time, beyond the usual 3 months, to reach your sponsored child or to receive a reply from them due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and delays within the postal services.

[Last Updated on 16 February 2022]

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Bangladesh (Wazipur)

Children have been returning to school once a week, following hygiene and safety measures, as cases are still on the rise in the country, while on the community level cases have currently ceased.

World Vision is providing support and assistance by:

  • Conducting regular home visits
  • Starting life skills-based education
  • Conducting positive parenting sessions
  • Supporting children with educational materials
  • Distributing hygiene kits to 300 families
  • Providing families with an alternative source of income by supporting them with livestock (ducks)
  • Distributing PPE to health service providers
  • Jointly working with the government and partner organizations to aid in the community’s recovery
  • Providing improved sanitary latrines for 115 households  
  • Educating community members about the vaccination and facilitating their vaccination registration

As part of the country’s continued efforts against COVID-19, children above 12 are now also eligible for vaccinations.

Cambodia (Kirivong)

Children have returned to school since 3 January 2022 as the COVID-19 situation across the country has been reported to be improving. World Vision has also been supporting their return to school by contributing COVID-19 preventive items and learning materials to schools and reading clubs.

The team will also continue to work with and partner community volunteers and local authorities to identify the needs of COVID-19 affected families.

As part of the country’s continued efforts against COVID-19, locals have been vaccinated according to their age groups, with children aged 5 to 17 receiving their necessary vaccinations.

China (Yangxian)

Children will start returning to school once the winter break ends. They are coping as per normal, with both the children and World Vision staff complying with the local government’s COVID-19 preventive measures.

Ethiopia (Yaya Gulele)

Children have returned to school since November 2020 and while there are no reported COVID-19 cases in the community, children continue to adhere to the necessary preventive measures with close supervision from their teachers. 

The team is supporting the community by providing frequent training and conducting regular home visits to raise awareness among children and families and use this opportunity to reduce the vulnerability of children in the community.

Indonesia (Ende)

Children have returned to school and are being supported by World Vision to continue adapting to the new way of learning.

While, as of 15 Feb 2022, the Ende community has no records of COVID-19 cases the team continues to support the children and families by:

  • Providing nutritious food through equipping parents with the tools and skills for home gardening
  • Ensuring child protection
  • Providing and improving clean water and sanitation facilities
  • Continued dissemination of COVID-19 preventive protocols
Jerusalem, West Bank (South Hebron)

Children have returned to school from mid-August 2021. However, classes will only be conducted for half a day. Children will spend the second half of the day at home doing his homework, helping with chores or playing with their friends.

World Vision continues to support children by conducting child protection interventions and positive discipline sessions for mothers, ensuring that children have a safe and protective environment to grow in. 

As part of the country’s continued efforts against COVID-19, children from the seventh to twelfth grades are also eligible for vaccinations.

Mongolia (Selenge)

Children will be returning to classroom learning, as per normal, from 28 February 2022. However, from 14 February 2022, schools will be limiting in-person classes and ensuring that classroom attendance are kept to the minimum

World Vision continues to support the children and families by:

  • Delivering food aid to 14 COVID-19 affected families
  • Working with teachers to ensure children are coping with their education
  • Focusing more on children identified as “at-risk”
  • Continuing with home visits and child monitoring
  • Lifting up the children and community in prayer during the church prayer hours

As part of the country’s continued efforts against COVID-19, vaccines and booster shots are also available for the locals with over 60% of the population in the Selenge community being vaccinated while children above 12 years old are also eligible to be vaccinated.

Myanmar (Taikkyi)

Schools have reopened, and children have started returning to school, though some children remain home due to fears towards COVID-19 and the unpredictability of the ongoing political unrest.

World Vision continues to support the children and community in this time by:

  • Implementing a home school programme for children in the kindergarten classes
  • Implementing a reading club programme for primary school-aged children
  • Conducting interventions, in adherence to local COVID-19 preventive measures, to equip locals in terms of life skills
  • Supporting the most affected families with food items to ensure short-term food security
  • Providing most affected families with in-kind support to aid in their recovery
Nepal (Sindhuli East)

Schools in the country remain closed and children have stayed home doing household chores and playing. As children in rural areas do not have access to online classes, World Vision has been supporting the dissemination of information for online learning through radio programming and distance learning.

However, schools reopened for four days to vaccinate the children. In light of this, World Vision established libraries in schools for children to spend the available free time reading.

The team also continues to support the children in the community with hygiene kits as well as livelihood generation support for families.

Philippines (Antique)

While the new school year began in September 2021, classes are still being conducted via the distance learning approach due to the increasing number of cases in the province.

Quarantine measures are also still in place, preventing children aged 15 and below as well as the elderly aged 60 and above from going out. Children continue to cope with the evolving measures by sticking to a routine, as much as possible, helping parents with chores, studying from home and playing with other children in the neighbourhood.

World Vision continues to support the children and communities by:

  • Conducting child protection education through self-learning modules
  • Distributing financial literacy worksheets to families
  • Distributing Christmas food packages (during the festive season)
  • Supporting the establishment of a community learning hub that provides children with access to reading and numeracy skills
  • Supporting COVID-19 affected families with food items and disinfectant kits
  • Continuing the FORWARD* project and livelihood interventions
  • Educating community members and children about COVID-19 awareness measures

As part of the country’s continued efforts against COVID-19, children aged 12 to 17 are eligible for vaccinations while vaccination drives for children aged 5 to 11 will also be rolled out in February 2022.

*FORWARD – Food for Education with Agricultural Development and Sustainability. 

Sri Lanka (Lindula)

As a majority of schools have reopened, students have returned to school in adherence with the safety measures, as cases in the country remain significant.

World Vision is supporting the children and community by:

  • Providing support to children in terms of their mental health
  • Arranging fun and meaningful activities for children to partake in
  • Conducting child monitoring in schools
  • Supporting child protection
  • Supporting health interventions – specific to school hygiene levels
  • Providing the most vulnerable families with livelihood support
  • Providing identified families with nutritional support
Vietnam (Son Tra)

Children are still learning from home as schools remain closed, though schools have been targeted to reopen in March 2022.

World Vision continues to support the children and community by:

  • Conducting activities, in line with safety measures, to engage children in efforts to reduce stress stemming from the pandemic 
  • Planning for COVID-19 preventive measures education for the children before schools reopen
  • Providing children with masks and hand sanitisers
  • Providing food support for children and their families that were required to isolate
  • Planning for affected families to undergo livelihood interventions to support and improve their income

As part of the country’s continued efforts against COVID-19, children aged 12 to 18 years old have been vaccinated while plans to vaccinate those aged 12 and below are underway.

Zambia (Musosolokwe)

Children have returned to school since 24 January 2022 and have been reported to be coping well, as cases in the country have been decreasing.

World Vision continues to support the children and community by raising awareness on COVID-19 preventive measures, encouraging children to return to school and participate in reading camps as well as working in partnership with the official agricultural department to support improved livelihoods for families.

As part of the country’s continued efforts against COVID-19, children above 12 are eligible for vaccinations.