Nitty Gritty Fine Print

It seems like everything comes with fine print. Generally, the fine print includes something like, “By signing this, you are agreeing to hand over your firstborn child to Rumplestiltskin.” Think of this blog post as the Manna 4 Lempira fine print--except you don’t need a magnifying glass to read it and it doesn’t contain anything scary!

What are the Promised Benefits to Sponsored Children?

• Each sponsored child will receive 2 meals per week. If that doesn’t sound like much, remember that these children are not starving - they are malnourished. They are eating on a regular basis, but they are not getting a large variety of foods. Therefore, they are lacking essential vitamins and minerals from their diets. This can manifest in a failure to thrive, slow growth, and difficulty concentrating. Sometimes it causes significant skin and eye problem. Other times, this malnutrition results in death.This food is not intended to keep children from starving. It is intended as a way to help them catch up on vitamins. The program is making a difference! They are seeing healthier children, growing at a normal rate! Parents are reporting that their children are able to do well in school.
  
• Feeding is always overseen by a pastor, either in a local church, or in conjunction with a local, public school. The feeding is always accompanied by Bible lessons. This serves to build a relationship between the children and a pastor/local church.
  
  
• The children are screened for medical problems that we may be able to address. If a child needs glasses, or has other specific medical needs, the Sowerses try to find the resources to help.
  
• Children are de-wormed regularly.
  
• Sponsored children receive a backpack filled with school supplies and a pair of shoes, each year. School is free in Honduras, but the children are required to provide their own supplies. Many children were not able to attend because their parents couldn’t afford the things they needed.     
  
• Sponsors correspond with their children, and the children write back--building a relationship from across the miles. 

How is the Money Used?

With minimal overhead, the monthly cost of $15 per sponsorship goes a long way. Money not used to fulfill sponsorship benefits - purchasing food, school supplies, Sunday school materials, and providing training to teachers, etc. - goes into the larger ministry, to feed children who are not sponsored. The amount varies depending on the cost of the fuel to transport the food, and the costs related to the other benefits. Costs have gone up gradually, but not so significantly that unsponsored children are not being helped.

When a sponsorship program is set up, a commitment is made to help each child who is registered into that program, even if each child does not get a sponsor. (The only thing unsponsored children do not receive is letters.) With this commitment, the ministry breaks even when about 50% of the children in a particular program are sponsored. Beyond that, any money goes directly back to the ministry. It NEVER goes to pay big, corporate salaries!

To Learn More

Here's a brand new video, containing the information you need to get started with Manna4 Lempira! We're excited to have you join us!

- posted by Christi