Sara, I don't sponsor a child, but I have a friend who does.
She applied & asked to sponsor a child from an African country. But it turned out she never had a choice & was automatically given a child in South America - Uruguay, I think.
She was a little disappointed at first, thinking a child from Africa would be more deserving, but the agency said
people can forget, or perhaps don't know, that there are children in other less obvious countries that are just as much in need.
She is very happy with her little girl.