[Selections from BBC Article by Emily Buchanan, Is child sponsorship ethical? (May 9, 2013)]

Peace Ruharuza grew up in rural Uganda, as one of 14 children. As a small child she worked as a domestic helper. At the age of nine, she was chosen to join a Compassion programme and was sponsored by a Canadian family. She now lives in the UK and helps run a charity (Fountain of Peace) for poor children back in Uganda.

She has no doubts that sponsorship gave her the boost she needed: “It gave me a new lease in life, helped me become what I am and to change a generation.”

Peace argues that you have to invest in a child if you want to change a community. She says she was also able to help her siblings and the children of friends…

Compassion has often been criticised for proselytising, with its sponsored children being selected by local churches and given an evangelical Christian education. But Dr Wydick, who has worked as a consultant for World Vision and Compassion, found the spiritual aspect of sponsorship might be intrinsic to transforming children’s lives.

In a follow up study of children currently being sponsored by Compassion, he found they scored better than their peers on happiness and hopefulness. He argues that building children’s self-esteem and aspirations could be as important as providing financial help and schooling.

He said: “‘Bringing hope to children is a trite phrase but it actually may be a profound and little researched aspect of development.”