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Frequently Asked Questions -

Q. When does the school year begin and end in Indonesia?

A.  The school year in Indonesia starts in July and ends in early June. But there are also many other days off and vacations throughout the year.

 

Q.  Why does it cost so much to sponsor a child in Indonesia? 

A.  The children of The Lion King are living in a children’s home. So not only do they need financial support to help cover the cost of their education but they also need financial support to help cover their living expenses. The home’s budget determines the total cost per child.  Because of that, it was decided to have two sponsors per child.

 

Q.  Can I be the only sponsor for my sponsored child or do I have to share the sponsorship with someone else?

A.  Yes, you can be the only sponsor for a child! If you are willing to pay the full amount of $70 per month, you may be the only sponsor a child has. We have sponsors who cover both of a child's sponsorships and others who choose to cover only one. Either way is fine.

 

Q.  If I decide to sponsor a child, when are the sponsorship fees due and will I receive a notice telling me when they are due?

A.  The sponsorship fees are due on the first of the month. When you start your sponsorship you will receive a statement showing your sponsorship pledge for the remainder of the calendar year and then in January an annual notice will be sent out for the next year. You may choose to make your sponsorship donations monthly, quarterly, twice a year or once a year.

Q.  I sponsored a child recently and their photo has disappeared from the website. Does this mean my sponsored child has left the program?

A.  No. Once a child has been sponsored, we will mark the child as "sponsored" on the website and leave their photo on the site for a few more weeks. After that, their photo is removed to make it easier for the remaining children on the website to be seen and, hopefully, chosen for sponsorship.

 

Q.  How often does the team from His Hands for Indonesia visit Bali to update the children in the program?

A.  His Hands for Indonesia sends a team to Bali approximately every 18 months.

 

 

Q.  Is it possible for me to join one of the His Hands for Indonesia teams so I can visit my sponsored child?

A.  Yes. There is an application process for those who are interested in joining one of our teams. If you are interested in applying for one of our teams, please contact us at info@hishandsforindonesia.org.

 

Q.  I sent an e-mail to the info@ address (or used the Contact Us form) a little while ago but I haven't received a response yet. Why not?

A.  Please bear in mind that all our program coordinators are volunteers - donating their time and energy in order to help the children. Many of them have full-time jobs and families to care for so they may not be able to respond to messages immediately. Because of the willingness of these wonderful, caring individuals who are serving in this capacity in our ministry without being financially compensated, we are able to send 100% of your sponsorship donations directly to the program in Indonesia. So we ask for your patience while waiting for a response to your messages.

Q. I happened to find my sponsored child on a social media site.  How can my sponsored child afford to access the internet? 

A. There are computers in the children's home that the children use to do school work and various other activities.  Also, cyber cafes exist and the cost to use a computer is minimal. Cell phones are also prevalent and very inexpensive both to purchase and to use.  All phones are prepaid phones. Minutes are added by purchasing a phone card and usually the cost is minimal.  But please bear in mind - for security reasons, it is against our policy for sponsors to have contact with their sponsored child (or any child in the sponsorship program) on social media.

Q.  I found [the program coordinator or a board member] on Facebook and sent them a friend request but it wasn't accepted. Why not?

A.  The decision to accept, ignore or deny friend requests on Facebook is left to the discretion of each of the program coordinators or board members. Some of them prefer to maintain their Facebook account for only family and friends they know well and we respect this decision on their part. Each of the program coordinators are members of the group page for sponsors of the program for which they are responsible and they can be contacted with messages there or through e-mail.

Q.  Can I send money to my sponsored child?

A.  You may send a financial gift to your child through His Hands for Indonesia but please be aware that your gift will be used to bless all the children in the home, not just the child you sponsor. Frequently the house parents will purchase some special treat for all the children or may take them out somewhere special, depending on the size of the gift. The reason behind this policy is to avoid any sort of animosity among the children when one receives a gift and the others do not.  This way they can all enjoy the blessing together and thank the sponsor who blessed them all.

Q.  What happens if my child leaves the home for some reason?

A.  As soon as we find out that a child is no longer in the home and it appears that they will not return, we will assign another child to you and sent you their information sheet and photo. We will do our best to match you with a child of the same gender and age to the child that you had. Occasionally a child may return to the program, but once we have replaced a child with another, we are not able to switch back.

 

Q.  I have written to my sponsored child many times but I have never received a letter from them in return. Why not?

A.  One way that His Hands differs from some of the big-name sponsorship organizations is the fact that we do not have any personnel from the ministry on the ground in Indonesia to help facilitate things like letter writing. In the face of all the responsibilities of bringing up so many children in one home, we have chosen not to add to the burden of our partners in Indonesia by making it mandatory for the children to write back. We STRONGLY encourage them to do so, but we have not made it mandatory.

Q.  Currently I am not in a position to be able to sponsor a child.  But are there other ways I can help the children in the Indonesia program?

A.  First, if you would really like to sponsor but just don't know how you could afford to do so, consider whether some small changes might help make it possible for you to sponsor.  Most of us could make some very small changes in our spending habits and "find" $35 each month we could use to help support a child.  You can also make one-time donations instead of the regular monthly support necessary to sponsor a child.  If you would like to do this, please visit our Donate page.  Also, if you shop on Amazon, you can go to smile.amazon.com, designate His Hands Support Ministries as your charity of choice, and a small portion of your purchase will go to us.  But if it is really not possible for you to do any of this, then we do have some alternate suggestions.  Most importantly, please pray for the children, Frankie and Marinka, the houseparents, and the program administrators of His Hands.  Pray that God will continue to meet all their needs and provide a way for more support to come in.  Second, please consider sharing this need with your friends and family.  In our experience, word of mouth is the best way for new sponsors to be found.  Please consider sharing our website on your social media pages or even while waiting in the checkout line at the store.  We appreciate any help you can give!