SUPPORT AT A DISTANCE
a concrete gesture of loveYou will guarantee these with your help
Feeding
With specific feeding programs we provide recovery in cases of malnutrition and the administration of at least one meal a day, as well as the delivery of food parcels to families.
This activity is in line with Goal 2 of the UN 2030 Agenda to end hunger, achieve food security, and improve nutrition. A necessary condition for the development of new generations
Education
In the educational tracks, in addition to the regular classes, we offer support and vocational training, educational materials and school uniforms. School and university fees.
Adult literacy courses are also provided in order to strengthen the stability of families. For us, education is the starting point for becoming free and empowered in society
Medical care
We protect the health of both children and their families through prevention, checkups, medical examinations, distribution of medicines, courses on health and hygiene education.
The right to health is fundamental to survival in contexts where we intervene and we want to make it accessible to all
You can choose to support a specific child, meeting his/her basic needs, or an entire project to significantly and sustainably impact the entire area
By supporting a child you will receive:
His/her photo
News about the child and the project in which he/she lives
Our magazine “Spazio Famiglia”
By supporting a project you will receive:
Regular updates from the project and the community you support
Our magazine “Spazio Famiglia”
Choose a concrete gesture of love: support a child and his community
With your help you guarantee fundamental rights: meals, school and medical care
Become the protagonist now of a new story of solidarity!
For questions and clarifications on Support at a Distance use the following form:
For more information
on taking advantage of tax benefits, please contact your country coordinator. See the Contacts page of this web site
The value of distance support for AFN
Support at a Distance is AFN's most important activity today and in it we combine the values of our mission: family, fraternity and attention to the rights of the most fragile and vulnerable. We believe in the potential that this form of human solidarity can generate for entire communities and we are in the front line to accompany them towards a future of development, autonomy and freedom.
Distance Support programmes are aimed at orphans, refugees, street children or from poor families, who lack the ability to provide for their basic needs. Support at a Distance intervenes by ensuring healthy and dignified growth with interventions in nutrition, sanitation and education.
AFN helped draft and signed the “Charter of Principles” and “Support at a Distance Guidelines” promoted by Onlus Agency. Support at a Distance is identified as an integral part of international cooperation and is now removed from the traditional interpretation that connoted it as a form of welfarism.
Evolution of Support at a Distance in AFN
The focus on Support at a Distance in AFN is inspired by the tradition inaugurated by the Focolare Movement since the 1970s with the intervention of generous families in defense of the right to childhood, threatened then by endemic poverty and conflict in most parts of the world.
With the formulation of Support at a Distance goals and principles, AFN has been pursuing its own path since the 2000s, which is now characterized by its adherence to the concept of “support” and no longer “adoption” at a distance.
Support at a Distance for AFN has evolved from direct aid of an emergency to projects of community development cooperation: today, all SAD programs aim to promote local community development in a way that is sustainable over time. In this new context, supporters can choose whether to contribute through the Support at a Distance for a specific child or a project.
Thanks to the help of many supporters we run more than 70 projects in 42 countries around the world through a network of local partners who ensure continuity and monitoring of initiatives. We have reached 40,000 children and their families.
Our Support at a Distance projects
We are present in over 40 countries with more than 70 programs in education, nutrition and health.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How is my contribution used?
When you donate to AFN, your contribution turns into concrete help for those who need it most:
- 88% of funds support projects by supporting education, health and development in communities. Of this, 79% is used for goods and services for children and families and 9% is used for project management and development in Italy.
- 12% is devoted to administrative management, communication and fundraising to promote reciprocity and a culture of giving.
Through this commitment, we can ensure concrete aid, continuity and long-term sustainability for each initiative.
Why have I not received updates for more than a year?
There are several causes that can delay or prevent the sending of correspondence to the supporter and they vary by project and country. In these cases you can write to your country coordinator. See Contacts’ page of this website. Together we will find a solution!
How can I renew my distance support?
Each year you can renew your support fee through a new disbursement Please contact the coordinator in your country to find out how to make payment.
See Contacts’ page of this website
AFN – Azione per famiglie Nuove onlus
Via Isonzo 64 – 00046 Grottaferrata (RM)
-Conto corrente postale: 48075873
-Bonifico
c/o Banca Etica – filiale 1 di Roma – Agenzia n. 04
Codice IBAN: IT 92 J 05018 03200 000016978561
BIC/SWIFT: ETICIT22XXX
c/o Bancoposta, Codice IBAN IT47X0760103200000048075873
Swift / Bic BPPIITRRXXX
Can I write to the child I support at a distance?
The project contact person handles communication between you and the child you support from distance. It is not possible to have direct contact in order to protect the privacy of both parties. You can write via email or mail directly to the contact person, using the contacts listed on the child’s file that you will receive upon assignment. In all our projects you can communicate in Italian except for India where you can only write in English. All letters will be translated into the local language by the project contact persons. If you do not receive sufficient or adequate news, Please contact the coordinatorof your country: See the Contacts’ page of this website to check the reasons together and to take possible action.
What is the required contribution for Supporting a child at a Distance?
The initiation and continuation of Supporting Child or project at a Distance requires an ongoing commitment. The minimum annual amount is 336 euros, which can be paid in a lump sum, or in semi-annual installments of 168 euros, quarterly installments of 84 euros, or monthly installments of 28 euros. Supporters outside Italy can check with the coordinator in their country about the contribution required to start and continue Supporting at a Distance.
Alternatively, it is possible to contribute with individual donations at a flexible interval and amount to support food, educational training and sanitation programs aimed at the entire group of children and their families covered by AFN’s project. In this case, no Support at a Distance will be activated, but for the current year you will receive an update from the project and the community you are going to support.
Can I send a gift package?
AFN does not send gift packages on behalf of supporters because they frequently do not arrive at their destination or require a high cost for customs clearance. If you would like to make a gift, you can send the cash consideration using the same methods as for support payments, indicating in the reason for the gift the specific intention that will be reported to the project contact person.
Can I visit a project?
You can visit the child and the community in which he or she is placed by prior arrangement with the contact person working on site to evaluate together the convenience and possible timing of the trip. Minors cannot come to Italy as there are legal problems both to leave the country of origin and to enter Italy. In addition, one must consider the discomfort of returning to a very harsh reality after a stay in Italy full of attention in a different social context.
What are the tax benefits?
How long does Support at a Distance last?
Our goal is to ensure support until the child or community is fully independent. The child may leave the program either due to the achievement of complete autonomy or for personal and/or project-related reasons. AFN arranges for the documentation of a new child (procedure of SUBSTITUTION) which the supporter may accept, including implied consent, or refuse, with a communication by phone, post mail or e-mail by writing to the coordinator in his/her country.
Can I specify the country of the child or project I want to support?
You can indicate the geographical area of preference directly in the activation form found on this page, or in the reason for payment. By respecting the geographical area you indicate, we will try to assign the child or project to the country where, from time to time, there is most need. If you have special requests, you can contact the coordinator in your country.
In addition, in some countries it is only possible to initiate support for a project because the characteristics of the context, for example, local regulations on the privacy of children or the type of facility in which activities take place, do not allow us to collect information on an individual child specifically and continuously.