A. The school year in Guatemala starts in January and ends in October. Students have the week before Easter off as the country celebrates Holy Week. School may also be closed as needed during the rainy season in June and July if there is flooding.
A. Fuente de Esperanza is a private school run by the Galilea Church but they are subject to the laws of Guatemala which determine the salaries of the teachers and staff. Our partners have carefully considered the costs involved with running the school including the costs of student materials and curriculum, salaries, as well as food and the preparation of it. Their budget determines the total cost per student. Because of that, it was decided to have two sponsors per child.
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.
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.
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.
A. It is very common for a child to take more than one year to complete a grade. There are many reasons for this including missed school days due to illness or the family needing the child's help at home. The child must also pass a standardized government test before they can pass to the next grade level. If they do not pass, they must repeat the grade.
A. The school started out in a rented building with just grades K – 1. It has been their goal to add one grade per year. In 2017, grades 1-6 are being taught. Some of the young children attend a “prepa” class or a kindergarten before enrolling in first grade. Others enter right into first grade. Currently, older students who have graduated the 6th grade, are able to attend school in another town. 75% of children who complete the sixth grade from the Fuente de Esperanza school move on to the Junior High level. Sponsorship funds help more students be able to afford to continue their education.
A. His Hands for Guatemala sends a team to Guatemala once a year. Generally, the team goes in late July or early August. Teams are sent only when school is in session so the children will be available to be processed for the program.
A. Yes. There is an application process for those who are interested in joining one of our work teams. Every effort will be made for sponsors on our teams to meet their sponsored child but please be aware that we cannot promise this. (Children are sometimes absent when we visit the school or sometimes we discover that they have left the program.) If you are interested in applying for one of our teams, please contact us at info@hishandsforguatemala.org.
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 Guatemala. So we ask for your patience while waiting for a response to your messages.
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.
A. You may send a financial gift to your child through His Hands for Guatemala. If it is for a specific need, such as shoes, be sure to include a note specifying who and what the amount is for. If you send a non-specified amount for your child, then our partners will most likely buy food for your child’s family unless they know of another pressing need the family has.
A. As soon as we find out that a child is no longer attending school 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.
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 Guatemala to help facilitate things like letter writing. It is possible that parents of the children are illiterate and would be unable to write on behalf of their children or help their children to write a letter themselves. And day-to-day life for many of the families of children in our program is extremely difficult. Many don't know where their next meal is coming from or how they will pay for medicines for their children. In the face of these difficult circumstances, we have chosen not to add to their burden (or to add to the burden of the pastors or teachers) by making it mandatory for the children to write back. We STRONGLY encourage them to do so, but we have not made it mandatory. Please understand that your letters are delivered if they are received. The postal service in Guatemala is not overly reliable. If a package is sent and arrives in Guatemala, one of our partners must travel into Guatemala City to pick it up and possibly pay a fee. Being that Guatemala is a country that deals with much poverty and corruption, there is no guarantee that a package will even arrive to be picked up by our partners.
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, the teachers, the school administrators, the pastors, 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!
