1. How important is prayer?
Prayer is a critical link between Father's Heart sponsors and the children they help. God does answer prayer. Because your sponsored child is in need and vulnerable, your prayers for his/her health, safety, education and spiritual development are critical. [top]

2. Who is Father's Heart Africa?
Father's Heart Africa is a non-profit Christian organization that exists to demonstrate the practical love of Christ and serve the Church in Africa. For a continent such as Africa, devastated by the terrible suffering and death caused by AIDS, it is not only important to provide the basic needs to sustain life, but also to build up a biblical, moral conscience, by which restoration comes. Because of this, we are dedicated to serving the people of Africa through the ministries of hunger relief, evangelism, education and pastoral training. [top]

3. Why does Father's Heart place so much emphasis on helping children?
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress" (James 1:27). This is the heartbeat of Father’s Heart International. In countries like Zambia, where countless thousands of children live impoverished lives, education--and the hope for a better future that it brings--is not offered for free. FHAfrica seeks to minister the hope and love of Christ through providing a quality education to children who otherwise would stay in the cycle of poverty prevalent in third world nations. By God’s grace, FHAfrica currently supports 39 schools serving more than 5,000 students. In addition to this, we also operate a feeding program for our students and the surrounding villages, many of which suffer from sever malnutrition and stunted growth. [top]

4. How much does it cost to sponsor a child?
The cost to sponsor a child is $28 per month. [top]

5. What is the role of a Father's Heart child sponsor?
The significance of your sponsorship must not be underestimated—you make the difference. When you invest in the life of a child in Africa, you not only provide an education, nutritious meals and the provision of basic needs, but a friendship that means a great deal to your child. As his/her only sponsor, your child knows you and prays for you by name. Your life is directly linked to the spiritual and personal growth of your sponsored child and through your letters and prayers, he/she will not only develop a sense of confidence, but also grow in his/her knowledge of the love of God. [top]

6. How much of my gift goes to the program that supports my child?
Father's Heart uses your money as wisely as possible. Operating costs and service expenses are essential to run a child sponsorship program. Keeping these expenses to a minimum is a priority. Four important objectives are accomplished with your sponsorship money to ensure that your sponsored child receives help and other children in the community also receive assistance. Your partnership helps Father's Heart:

• Operate the program that provides services for your sponsored child and his/her family and community.
• Accurately account for all donations to ensure that all monies are applied to the program and community where the sponsored child lives.
• Process and deliver letters, cards and reports between you and your child. It also helps us to keep you informed of your child's progress and the use of your support through careful documentation.
• Raise up more sponsors to help even more children and to replace the sponsors who need to drop out of the program. Our hope is to grow in our ability over time to help more and more children. [top]

7. What specific benefits will the child I sponsor receive?
As an FHAfrica child sponsor, your child will receive opportunities and services that most of the world's poorest children will simply never see, such as a quality, Bible-based education, nutritional food and proper clothing. But even more than just the outward, physical provisions, your child will be taught by godly men and women who truly care for and seek to show the love of God to these precious children of Africa. Living in a world where death and suffering are commonplace in daily life, this ray of hope and love is priceless. [top]

8. Will I always have the same child?
Occasionally it becomes necessary to assign a new child to you. Situations where this will be necessary include:

• The family moves out of the community being served.
• The child reaches the age of 18, which is the maximum age to receive assistance from the FHAfrica child sponsorship program. However, an exception to this policy may be made if the child is in the process of finishing his/her standard education. [top]

9. Will I be the only person sponsoring the child I'm helping?
Yes. The child you're helping has just one sponsor: you. That's why your prayers, letters and support mean so much to your sponsored child. Even if you choose to sponsor a child as a family or a group (for example, a youth group or Sunday School class), the child you help will still be relating to your family or group as his or her only sponsor. No other group or individual will also sponsor the child assigned to your care. [top]

10. If I must discontinue my sponsorship, what happens to the child I sponsor?
If you need to discontinue your support, we will immediately look for a new sponsor for your child. To the best of our ability, we will find a sponsor to continue the child's support without interruption. [top]

11. How long should my sponsorship last?
FHAfrica offers you the opportunity to sponsor your child until he/she reaches the age of 18 and/or has completed his/her standard education. [top]

12. How can I communicate with the child I sponsor?
Communication with your sponsored child is vital and your child eagerly looks forward to hearing from you and writing to you! You can write your child either through e-mail or letters. Please mail all child correspondence letters to:

Father's Heart field staff will translate your letter into the language of your child and then deliver it. You may write to the child you sponsor as often as you like. When you write, your sponsored child will benefit from knowing that someone in addition to his/her family really cares. Your words of encouragement make a lasting difference to your child, which he/she will never forget.

Please send all emails to through by means of our comment path  with your child’s name in the Subject line.
 
You may write your child four times per year via email. Our field staff will print out your message and deliver it to your child. However, please know that your child will not be able to respond to you by email. Also, we are not set-up to print off photo attachments, so please keep all email correspondence to text only.

Things to keep in mind when writing to your child: Avoid sharing about your financial situation or personal problems.Keep correspondence simple and encouraging.
Sharing simple facts about your family, the place you live and words of encouragement about school and the Lord are appropriate. We also encourage you to send your sponsored child a personal or family photograph [top]

13. Will my child write to me?
Your child will write to you at least once a year. For children who have yet to learn how to read and write, a teacher or FHAfrica staff member will provide assistance.[top]

14. May I send material gifts to my child?
At this time, we are unable to send material gifts to sponsored children. The reason for this is to guard the hearts of those children who do not receive gifts from sponsors and to avoid the required cost of duty that must be paid to the country the gift is sent to.[top]

15. May I visit my child?

For information about the possibility of visiting your sponsored child, please contact our staff by email through our secure comment path  [top]