You can expect to get your student sponsor pairing in mid-March. The South African school year starts in January and runs through December, which is different from the August–May school schedule we’re accustomed to in the United States. The teachers spend the first month of school getting their students settled into the new year, much like our schools do during the first 6 weeks of classes. ​They also often face the task of tracking down students that haven't been able to show up to school for various reasons associated with difficult challenges facing them at home.  We receive the official class list in late February, and our stateside team spends a couple of weeks pairing students with sponsors and assembling student profiles. Once that information is complete, we send you a photo and profile of your sponsor student. 

Absolutely! This program is truly a partnership between our community and the school communities, and all good partnerships are founded on strong relationships. Once you receive your student’s profile in the spring, we’ll provide more information on how you can connect with them. 

Our partner schools are active on social media, posting photos and updates throughout the school year. We share as often as we’re able to, but you can always go directly to the source to keep up with what’s going on at Angels’ Care Centre, Brentwood Pre-Primary School, or Thembelihle School! 

We are so grateful to everyone who chooses to sponsor teachers, as this program wouldn’t exist without the teachers' commitment to their communities. The generous funds from our teacher sponsorships go into a general fund that supplements teacher supplies and salaries, rather than benefitting one specific teacher per sponsorship. This allows all students across our 3 partner schools to have access to high quality education and equipment needed to succeed in the classroom. ​If you would like to write a general note of encouragement to the teachers, we welcome it and can send it to them!

We try our best to match sponsors with the same students from year to year, however we cannot guarantee that will happen for a variety of reasons. A student no longer attending the school, no longer needing sponsorship, ​moving because of parents' need to find employment, or aging out of the school are the most common reasons we pair a returning sponsor with a new student.