We’re calling together the child sponsors aged between 18-25 years old in Tauranga to a night of celebration, inspiration and huge thanks! You see we know exactly what sponsoring a child means for that child and their community and it’s nothing short of epic. But you don’t have to take our word for it…

Charles Kabena is a former sponsored child from Malawi. He knows first-hand the journey of being a sponsored child and he’ll be joining us on the night to share some of his story with you.

Also joining us on the night will be NZ singer/songwriter Jamie McDell who will play us some sweet tunes and share her own vision for a better world.

On the night we’re also really excited to be sharing our wider vision for the place of young adults in this movement to end extreme poverty and restore social justice. This one ain’t just about charity, it’s about justice, fairness and equality. It’s about a generation of young Kiwis taking on the greatest challenges of our time. It’s about nothing short than impacting our world in a big way.

We can’t wait to share more with you!

Charles Kabena

Charles was born into extreme poverty, and like most poor children in Malawi, his family could not afford to send him to secondary school, especially after his father tragically died from tuberculosis. But thanks to Child Sponsorship he received an education. Charles passed his exams with flying colours, gained the confidence to go on to university, and worked as a journalist in both web and radio. He now works as a Communications Officer at World Vision Malawi. His passion is to encourage young people to stay in school, and with others, helps pay the school fees of needy children at his former primary school so they can become professionals like him.

Jamie McDell

Jamie McDell is a singer and songwriter from Auckland, New Zealand. She was discovered at the age of 16 by EMI Music New Zealand after sending them a demo tape of her acoustic music. Hailing from the northern surf town of Mangawhai, New Zealand, Jamie McDell has always surrounded herself with the simpler things in life, like music, and the ocean. From surfing to diving to living on a sailboat in the Mediterranean for a number of years as a child, the shark-obsessed, dolphin-possessed water baby never strays too far from the beach, or her guitar.