This paper describes and analyses the results of research into the learning experiences of young people in Germany who sponsor a child living in the Global South as part of their school activities. First, the research context and methodological approach is presented. A qualitative-reconstructive design was applied using the documentary method of analysis to identify implicit knowledge structures. Second, the central findings, particularly three reconstructed types of learning experiences – concretization, generalization, dissociation – are presented and illustrated by extracts from the empirical data. Third, the discussion of the results reveals the limits of global learning from child sponsoring.