From sponsored child to veterinary doctor

Growing up in an area plagued by war is unimaginable to most people. When that war is one in which children are being abducted to become child soldiers, it is even more terrifying.

Meet Tony, a sponsored child who grew up in Uganda during a time of conflict. This is his story about how support from ChildFund’s child sponsorship program kept him safe from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

Childhood in a country ravaged by civil war

This was the childhood experienced by Tony, a former sponsored child from Uganda, who recalls having to flee the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), led by the infamous Joseph Kony.

“Our district was a battleground for the civil war,” says Tony, who was just a young boy at the time. “If we slept at home in our villages, we could be kidnapped by the LRA. We children often had to commute to the city in the evening to sleep on the streets and return to our school to study during the day.”

Tony says his parents and other families could not farm their land because rebels often uprooted and stole their crops. They were also constantly fearful of stray bullets which flew around the village as if they were insects or birds.

Without crops, Tony’s family lacked nutritious food and the income normally generated from selling surplus crops.

Tony thanks all child sponsors for their support

“I would like to thank all sponsors who give children better opportunities in life and tell you that through your sponsorship you are making children’s dreams a reality.”

ChildFund would like to join Tony in thanking our incredible sponsors whose kindness and generosity literally changes the lives of children living in poverty.

Become a child sponsor today

Do you want to help transform the lives of children in need? Sponsor a child today and help them achieve their dreams, It’s the start of a unique and meaningful journey, where you’ll witness first-hand the difference sponsorship can make in the life of a child. 

Because we pool the funds of our sponsors, your contribution will go towards providing a child, their family and their entire community with access to a brighter, healthier and happier future.

For more information on how our sponsorship program works, read more here.