A type of sponsorship in which the sponsor’s relationship is with a Projects Office and the programs implemented by the Field Office. There is no individual sponsored child associated with a program sponsorship. Sponsorship can be done individually or as a group effort. There are a wide range of programs which include Health, Emergency Funds, school transportation, Education, sustainable construction/housing and Micro Credit. Help in each of these area’s effects both the child, its family, and also the community as a whole.

Health programs such as the ´Guardians of Health´ are in constant need of funding. Not only does this program educate children about safe sex, healthy and nutritious eating, how to diminish contamination etc. but it also holds workshops where both youths and adults can learn together, as well as teach each other. The program offers a wide range of medical benefits, including pharmaceuticals drugs, natural remedies (like the moringa tree) and funds for Emergencies such as terminal diseases, loss of limps, site or hearing problems, or Malaria. FAI also has input from such companies as Glaxo Smith Kline or other NGO´s like Action aid Spain; however, it is still crucial for us to have sponsorship support.

When it comes to education, FAI plays a big role in communities and in children´s lives. Not only do we try and run workshops which teach youths about healthy ways of life (with wide range of topics, from safe sex, to effective nutrition strategies) but also directly in the school system.

FAI attempts to provide youths and schools with equipment and materials which will better benefit students. More books, materials, computers, desks, and school supplies all fall into this category. Sponsors are able to make contributions which help in the purchase of these items. The fund can also include helping a family buy a pair of shoes, or a uniform, text books, or pens and pencils, so that their son/daughter can take part in the school system. Sponsoring an educational program has a very long term effect. Not only does it help get more youths into school, and off the streets, but it gives them the opportunity to grow and learn in an environment which is both safe and character building. Though many of the kids are not able to afford University, etc, they are more likely to find a beneficial job or career. This in turn goes back into the community, allowing growth in both size, and economy. Thus a continuous circle is started, with a great flow of currency, a higher rate of literacy, and a lower crime rate due to the fact less youths are on the streets, with nothing to do.

Our emergency fund ties in with the health and education programs. This fund allows a buffer for large scale occurences such as a natural disaster, intense drought, or man induced disaster. Furthermore, it is there to provide a support for extreme cases of poverty, such as not having any food, or maybe even providing a pair of shoes or sandals, for example.

One of the specific programs which needs sponsoring, deals with school transportation. The bicycle project offers a chance for youths who live far away, to go to school. Many youths live outside of certain communities, and are unable to walk the great distances to get to school. This means they are either put to work, sometimes in conditions too awful for a child, or else they are left to loiter on the streets, providing no service to themselves or family. This initiative in the long run will lower the crime rate, help rise the literacy rate, as well as allow a more sustainable method of transport, either from home to school, or home to work etc.

FAI strongly believes in sustainability, and of our initiatives includes sustainable construction. We use a prototype which goes back centuries. It was originally used by the…. Adobe construction is a mix of straw, water and mud/dirt. Bricks are then made and layered one on top of another, inorder to form a wall. The final product is a building which is fire resistant, water resistant, keeps warm in the winters, cool in the summers, has a beautiful architectural design, and is easily painted to render a warm and colorful presence. Though adobe is a very affordable way of construction, it takes a lot of time and man power to put up a structure.

he micro credit is one of the most successful endeavors for the entirety of a community. The idea is to help finance a small business. This in turn starts an economical growth in a community as more money is moved around. When more people are buying, more people are selling, when more people are selling, more money is being made. As the communities, much of the time, are very small and closed, the money just goes right back into it. Thus this is one of the most efficient ways to strengthen the peoples economic situation. Not only is more money flowing though the community, but it allows a second chance for families in hard situations such as a single mother, with many children. Loans are generally taken more into consideration for women, than for men. The reasons for these can be obvious, but FAI believes that not only do men have a great chance of getting work here in Mexico, but also the mother/woman is more likely to repay the loan, and put the money towards her family. Furthermore, it is a way of helping and supporting women in need, with out giving them a cash hand out, it gives them initiative and self control of their own lives. Sponsors are able to help our funds, so in turn we can provide the small loan necessary to begin a micro business.