alt Hacker News> sponsorship
The first thing that always crosses my mind when I see these feats of endurance - walking for weeks/months/years is always how the hang did they pay their way - food, accommodation (even if it's just a tent) clothing, medical supplies, none of it's free
I think the commenter was referring to visa sponsorship. Visa sponsorship is a bit more involved than just money. Someone is putting their name on government paperwork saying that if something goes wrong with this visitor, all bills can be forwarded to me. It isn't like a goFundMe or Kickstarter where a whole bunch of people are chipping in on a person or project; it is one person putting their livelihood on the line to vouch for that visitor's trustworthiness. And if the country requires sponsorship for their visa program, and no one is willing (or if you don't know a single person in that country), you cannot enter.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=visa+sponsorship+meaning&ia...