Question 1

Can I send my child a parcel?

davidr · Accepted Answer

Sending a parcel to your child can be difficult. It incurs a cost that Heart for Kids is not able to bear unless someone from our office or a volunteer is able to carry while traveling. This of course is dependent on weight restrictions and when someone is next traveling.

Everything we send to our country offices is declared to customs as a document. If custom officials find anything in a box of letters that isn’t a document, we will be assessed and may face hefty fine and the box will be held for weeks, possibly months.

If you’re sending some cards or photos please make sure they reflect the everyday lifestyle of your home area. Sending photos of luxury stores and palatial homes would not be encouraging for the children we support. Please only send a few. Two or three are great for a child, 10 or 15 are overwhelming.

On top of that, there is a high incidence of theft when sending packages to the developing world, and shipping items overseas can be quite costly.

Instead, we encourage you to send a monetary gift. Our local staff will purchase what they need most. This also benefits the local economy of your sponsored child by supporting local businesses.

While it may seem easier to speak with your child directly through social media (Facebook etc), and we know that writing letters the “old-fashioned” way may not be what you prefer, we appreciate your willingness to respect our communication policies which are written in the best interests of all concerned.

Whats next

Question 2

Can I send photographs to my child?

davidr · Accepted Answer

We would love you to! We recommend you send a picture of yourself in the first letter and various pictures after that. You can send landscape photos, artistic pictures, pictures of your pets, the town you live in, your family and friends, etc.

Please remember to include your sponsor name and your sponsored child’s name and number on each photo or small gift you send.

Please avoid sending pictures that may accentuate the economic differences between you and your child (e.g., homes, cars, etc.). Be aware of what is in the photo’s background, as well.

If you happen to send a photo that our staff considers inappropriate, we will advise you by email but we cannot return the photograph to you.

Whats next

Question 3

Do I need to take presents?

davidr · Accepted Answer

There is no requirement to take presents of resources. However team members often pack some things like: balloons, puppets, coloured pencils, little home country flags (say 50mm size), little puzzles and things you could do one to one with children. Some bring sweets however these may only be given after checking with your team leader.

Question 4

How can I connect with my sponsored child

davidr · Accepted Answer

Heart For Kids encourages sponsors to participate in the life of their child.

How can this happen:

Pray regularly for your child and their family
Sponsors are encouraged to write occasional letters to their child with update from your life and pictures. These letters allow your child to share in your life and relationships are built. Letters will be forwarded to your child as and when our team are visiting them. Sponsors are provided with guidelines for letter writing. Please note that we have limited resources to manage letters between sponsors and children. Every letter to a child must be processed by our translation team, then sent to our in-country team and finally given to your child. It's not a simple task but we value the impact of letters greatly. We ask that you write to your sponsored child a maximum of once in four months.
Provide gifts for your child’s birthday or Christmas. We’re not able to send actual gifts to your child so a gift of money is the best method. This will then be used locally to bless your child in the most appropriate way.
Commit to a long term relationship with your child.
You can write a letter to your child by clicking here
All communications between sponsors and their children or in-country offices go through our international office and translation team to protect the security of each child we serve.

Question 5

How do I update my payment details

davidr · Accepted Answer

Please click here for information about updating your credit card details

Question 6

How does sponsorship work?

davidr · Accepted Answer

When you choose to be a child sponsor, you create a special bond with a child who is in great need. You will make a huge difference to a child’s future by providing them with an opportunity to meet their basic needs and to receive an education, which is so vital in breaking the poverty cycle.

We encourage you to write to your sponsored child, send photos and small gifts to create a bond with them and to let them know that you care about them. You’ll find that sponsorship is incredibly rewarding for you too. Through letters and reports, you can see the progress of your sponsored child and their community over the years, and know that you have made a difference to a child’s life and future.

We forward letters by e-mail to our inland workers, so we ask that you not use any religious terms as some e-mails are being censored by the government. Our workers will translate your letter and take both copies to the child on the next visit. Children are encouraged to write back to their sponsors. Our workers will translate their letter into English and send it to us by e-mail.

Your sponsorship can be paid setup online via our secure sponsorship page.

Question 7

How much can I give as a gift

davidr · Accepted Answer

We have found it best to place some restrictions on what sponsors can give. We support many families who are living on the poverty level, many under $2 per day. If we do not place some guidelines and restrictions on the type and size of gifts we may inadvertently encourage a level of dependancy. We could also encourage feelings of jealousy between children in the village.

Our staff encourage the children to understand that gifts are to be encouragements from sponsors, signs of their genuine love and best wishes for their child and not to be taken as something to expect. We encourage children to study diligently and strive to achieve all that they can to become the person they were created to be.

As a guideline we suggest you can give up to $200 a year to your sponsored child. This could perhaps be a $100 birthday gift and a $100 general gift.

Children who are studying at university have greater costs cost the yearly gift to them might be up to $500

If you wanted to give to the family in general this could be up to an additional $1,000.

These are guidelines for sponsors who feel they would like to make additional gifts.

Sponsors should not include messages about financial gifts in their letters to their child. This creates expectations which can be harmful.

Question 8

How much of my gift gets through

davidr · Accepted Answer

Our aim is to send at least 83% of donations through to the projects and this has been achieved. It does naturally cost money to run an organisation or ministry but we have a high value in keeping these administrative costs to a minimum.

Question 9

If I donate to Heart For Kids Christmas fund, what will my sponsored child receive?

davidr · Accepted Answer

Our Christmas Appeal helps to ensure that every H4K child receives a Christmas gift, including those who are supported by us but not yet sponsored. We believe every child should receive a gift, not only those who have sponsors, so gifts are pooled and distributed equally for an age specific gift.

Gifts may include clothing, blankets and bed-linen, toiletries and perhaps, a range of toys. Wherever possible, our church partners in the developing world purchase the gifts within their local communities, encouraging local businesses and boosting the local economy.

Although $40 is the recommended amount to ensure that each child receives a suitable gift, you are welcome to donate more. By giving more, you increase the value of every child’s gift once financial donations are pooled, and assist those sponsors who are unable to contribute. Our desire is to make this a special time of the year for the children in our family, even if their country does not really celebrate as a nation.

Thank you for helping to make it so special! To give to our children Christmas gift fund please go to our Gift Page and select the Christmas Gift Fund as the area you with to give to.