| April Deployment to Haiti |
|
|
 As we continue to focus on the community of Sous Savanne, the interest on behalf of our supporters is growing, particularly as the Child Sponsorship Program is becoming a cornerstone of our work here. We have approximately 100 high priority families on whose behalf we are working and currently 70 of them are benefiting from the Child Sponsorship Program. This is a good opportunity to address some of the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) about the program and also give some more detail about the April Deployment:
What are the immediate goals of the Child Sponsorship Program?
As a starting point, we are working toward one sponsor for one of the children in each of the 100 priority families. As we move beyond that, we need to diversify and begin finding additional sponsors for children in the larger families. It is not uncommon to find families with eight or ten people, which undoubtedly require more than just one food portion through the program each month.
Where is Sous Savanne?
It is about two hours from Port-au-Prince or 30 minutes from Leogane. Click here to see a map of the region.
What does the sponsorship pledge of $29 cover?
Our budget is based on our work in Haiti over the past year, so it will undergo adjustments as the program grows and our relationships are procedures are refined. At this time, the funds are broken down as follows:
- Food: 42%
- Health and sanitation: 24%
- Field support: 14%
- Program management: 20%
What do the families receive each month through their sponsored child?
Each child receives rice, beans, maize (corn meal), cooking oil, soap, toilet paper and sugar, which benefits their whole family. Some sponsors have elected to give $40 instead of $29 each month and this enables us to double the food allowance to the beneficiary. The Child Sponsorship Program is also addressing healthcare, water and  sanitation. For example, our November deployment included a door-to-door cholera prevention campaign. We are currently partnering with a New York firm to bring water purification units to Sous Savanne on the April deployment. We are also scheduling Hope Force medical teams to address Community Health Education and basic health needs in Sous Savanne.
How can I communicate with my sponsored child?
We will facilitate this at various intervals throughout the year. At this time, the mail system is virtually non-existent between Haiti and the United States, so we rely on our teams going back and forth. Once a person signs up as a sponsor, they will be notified of windows of time when they can write to their children and send pictures. The children are also writing back to their sponsors so you can expect to hear from them several times a year. Our staff handles all of the translation.
How do we know the children get the money?
We have an in-country team with whom we have worked over the past year. We also worked with consultants  from a partner agency with Sponsorship Program experience who were a key player in helping us start our program. As a result we have been able to establish a very good system for ensuring that the food is distributed to the correct families each month. Hope Force has completed three full assessments of the village and we have created detailed maps, dossiers on each family, food vouchers, and contracts for each benefiting family to sign. Hope Force also has a stable supplier for food each month. The team with whom we have been working is very capable and we anticipate their continued effectiveness in the food distribution each month, even when our US staff is not there. We intend to communicate with sponsors on a quarterly basis. We also plan to facilitate correspondence between the kids and their sponsors twice a year.
What is the duration of the Child Sponsorship Program?
We have a commitment for one year therefore at the end of 2011 we will do a program evaluation and determine how we can most effectively keep aid and assistance going to Sous Savanne. We are asking each sponsor to make a one-year pledge to the program.
How can I find out more?
Please contact children@hopeforce.org for questions or comments about the new Child Sponsorship Program. It's not much - $29 a month. Once we hear from you, our staff will connect you with one of the children in the program and send you a biographical profile along with photographs. You will have the opportunity to correspond with your sponsored child on a limited basis over the first year of the program. At the end of the year, we will be assessing the feasibility of an ongoing program and notify you at that time of the future direction we will be taking. Click here to see the Child Sponsorship Program video.
Thank you for prayerfully considering this opportunity. It is a wonderful outreach for individuals, families, and church groups. If you would like to sponsor a child in Haiti today, please click here to make a pledge.
|
|
Printer-friendly format
|
|
