Sponsorship FAQ

How much is sponsorship?

Sponsorship is $28 a month.  This helps us provide a vitamin tablet each school day, a healthy nutritional lunch each day after school, medical and dental exams and needed school supplies.

How does my sponsorship help the children?

In Guatemala, hundreds of thousands of children will go to bed tonight hungry. Guatemala is 4th in world for child malnutrition with over 40 percent of the children being malnourished.  Often they will have only one meal a day consisting of a few corn tortillas and a half cup of coffee. In order to break out of the cycle of poverty, they need a helping hand.  Through meeting basics needs such as food, medical care, and school supplies, these children are able to get an education which dramatically increases their chances of escaping poverty.

Who benefits from the sponsorship?

Sponsorship actually benefits an entire community. While you truly are sponsoring a child the resources of the sponsorship program go to provide services to an entire community. Currently, we are feeding about 100 children each day.  The entire community helps in this process.  In essence, all our sponsors are working together to bring change to individual children, to their families, and a community.

Will I get to know the child that I sponsor?

We certainly hope so!  You have many opportunities to write to them and send pictures. They will also write to you and we will provide pictures on a regular basis. One of the most rewarding experiences for a sponsor is being able to watch their child grow and to see the positive effect they have had on the child’s life. And if you ever take a trip to Guatemala, you can meet your child.

How do I communicate with my child?

Communications between child and sponsor is a very important part of this relationship, one that we take very seriously. Through the child sponsorship website you are able to login to your account and write a letter to your child. Your letter is forwarded to the program administrators for translation and then delivered to the child. We ask that your letter follow these guidelines:

• Do not include any personal contact information including telephone number, address, email address, twitter, facebook, or any other way that the child could contact you directly. This is for both your protection and the protection of the children.
• Do not include any promises such as a promise of a gift, a visit, or other forms of support. Despite our best intentions, sometimes we are not able to live up to these promises which can have devastating effects on the child.
• Do share information about your life but be careful not to share in such a way that may cause jealousy or envy.
• Encourage your sponsor child in their education.

How do I pay?

The easiest way for us to manage your sponsorship is automatically bill your credit card each month for your sponsorship.  You will receive an email after you sign up giving you instructions on how to do this.  It is really a very simple process.  If you would prefer to do this another way, we will work with you to make that happen.

Are my donations tax deductible?

Yes!  Mission Guatemala is a 501c3 U.S. charity and all your donations are tax deductible.