FAQ - Honduras

Frequently Asked Questions -
Q. What does the “Urgent” label mean on the "Child/Senior in Need" page? A. Generally this means the child/senior is living in a dire situation, where the need for assistance may be even greater than that of some of the other children/seniors in the program. This "Urgent" label is designated by our pastors in Honduras.
Q. When are the sponsorship fees due? A. The sponsorship fees are due on the first of the month and you may pay every month up to a year. You will receive a statement showing your sponsorship pledge for the remainder of the calendar year, when you start in January.
Q. My sponsored child/senior is not on the website. Have they left the program? A. No. Once a child/senior has been sponsored, we will mark them as "Sponsored" on the website. After a few more weeks the photo is removed to make it easier for the remaining children/seniors to be seen and chosen for sponsorship.
Q. How often does His Hands for Honduras update the children/seniors in the program? A. His Hands for Honduras sends a team approximately every 12 months and approximately two months after the trip, sponsors should have their updated information, which includes photos and new information.
Q. Is it possible for me to join one of the His Hands for Honduras teams, so I can visit my sponsored child/senior? 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@hishandsforhonduras.org.
Q. Can I send money to my sponsored child/senior? A. You may send a financial gift to your child/senior through His Hands for Honduras. Please let us know how you would like the money to be spent, so we can let the pastors in Honduras know. The gift will be bought for the child/senior.
Q. What happens if my child/senior leaves the program for some reason? A. When a child/senior is no longer in the program, we will assign another child/senior to you. We will do our best to match you with a child/senior of the same gender and age as the child/senior that you had.
Q. How can my sponsored child/senior afford to access the internet? A. Cyber cafes exist and the cost is minimal. For security reasons, it is against our policy for sponsors to have contact with any child/senior in the sponsorship program on social media.
Q. When does the school year start and when does it end in Honduras? A. The school year in Honduras starts in early February and ends in November. There are also vacations for Easter (March or April) and several other holidays throughout the year.
Q. My sponsored child been in the same grade for more than one year? Why? A. It is common for a child to take more than one year to complete a grade. Reasons may include missed school days due to illness or the family needing the child's help. If they do not pass, they must repeat the grade.
Q. The number of siblings on my sponsored child's information sheet changes every year. Why? A. Many of the children do not know which children in the home are their biological siblings and which children might be cousins or unrelated children.
Q. Why are some children/seniors not smiling in their photos? A. We make every effort to get children/seniors to smile for photos, but sometimes it is not possible. Some children are unwilling to smile, if they do not know the photographer.
Q. Why does someone else write for my child/senior? A. Someone will write for a children/senior when writing skills are not developed yet. It is common for seniors to have never had the opportunity to go to school and many cannot even write their names.
Q. I sent the program coordinator or a board member a friend request on Facebook, but it wasn't accepted. Why not? A. The decision to either accept, ignore or deny friend requests on Facebook is left to the discretion of each of the program coordinators or board members. Each of the program coordinators can be contacted through email.
Q. Currently I am not in a position to be able to sponsor a child/senior. Are there other ways I can help the children/seniors in the Honduras 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" $32 each month we could use to help support a child/senior. You can also make one-time donations instead of the regular monthly support necessary to sponsor a child/senior. 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 seniors, the pastors, the volunteers, and the program administrators of His Hands Support Ministries. 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!