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. Both Fuente de Esperanza schools are private and 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 teacher/class.
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. The default will be that your sponsorship will follow the teacher, however if you would like to continue to sponsor a particular class, then you will just need to let us know and we will change that for you.
A. His Hands for Guatemala sends a team to Guatemala once a year. Generally, the team goes in April, but it is subject to change as the team plans their trip. Teams are sent only when school is in session so the teachers/classes 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 teacher but please be aware that we cannot promise this. If you are interested in applying for one of our teams, please contact us at info@hishandsforguatemala.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 Guatemala. So we ask for your patience while waiting for a response to your messages.
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.
A. You may send a financial gift to your teacher through His Hands for Guatemala. If it is for a specific need, be sure to include a note specifying who and what the amount is for. If you send a non-specified amount for your teacher or for the class, then our partners will most likely buy supplies for the teacher's class or for the school in general. 
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. You can also make one-time donations instead of the regular monthly support necessary to sponsor a teacher/class. 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!
