I have heard that there are also private schools in Nepal- can I pay for a child to go to private school? +

While FACE Nepal recognises that private schools are usually better funded, it is unfortunately out of our scope to place pupils there. In order to keep costs low, we maintain as small a local team as is possible and safe. It would impossible for us to track their progress and ensure their safety if they were in varied private and government schools.

When I sponsor a child, where does my money go i.e. to the family or to FACE Nepal? +

In order to control the appropriate funding distribution, all sponsored money goes into a FACE Nepal account and the sponsor recipient is advised of their funding entitlements. The school will also be informed so that fee requests are sent directly to FACE Nepal for payment. Likewise, accounts will be opened with local providers for the child to purchase their books, uniforms etc. The bills are sent directly to FACE Nepal for payment.

What overheads do I pay for? +

FACE Nepal charges 2,000 rupees (approx $20) per sponsor per year for contribution to our staff costs (1.5 FTE). Our two paid staff pay monthly visits to the sponsor children to check on progress, organise the delivery of materials, and help to manage our finances and reports. We also levy a small charge to cover bank fees for international funds transfer (approx $2 per child per year)

Talk me through the medical elements covered by the sponsorship. +

We provide each sponsor recipient two doctor visits per year. We also provide a fund for basic medication; as well as an ambulance trip to a local hospital if needed. This fee does not include costs of more significant medicine or treatment, or travel to a Kathmandu hospital.

Can I contact or visit my sponsored child? +

If you are interested in contacting or visiting your sponsored child, please do let us know. While FACE Nepal cannot cover any of the costs, we are happy to advise on travel and arrange any meetings.

Any correspondence can also come through us, where it will be passed on to one of our community representatives. These voluntary appointments are of respected people within the local village who have a basic level of English speaking and writing skills. These appointments are responsible for receiving, screening (for child safety purposes) and translating your correspondence. They will also receive, screen and translate (if necessary) the correspondence from your sponsored child, or their guardian, back to you.

How are sponsor recipients selected? +

As part of the role of the Advisory Group, a Community Development Plan is established each year and approved by the International Board of Directors. This plan selects the prioritized regions to receive support. Within the selected regions each child is matched against a set of eligibility criteria based primarily on their financial situation. It is then the goal of FACE Nepal to provide each eligible member in this community with sponsorship.

Can I send my child gifts? +

Yes, and we can help coordinate this if you contact us. We always suggest that gifts you send are not excessively expensive. This is to prevent any issues with siblings who are not sponsored, or other children in the community. We also ask that such gifts do not require maintenance costs i.e. batteries can be expensive for a sponsor family. If you have any questions about your gifts you are welcome to contact FACE Nepal and we can also check to ensure your gift reached the intended recipient upon our visits to the village.

I am concerned about the misallocation of sponsorship funds, how can I verify the credibility of this sponsorship program? +

In the design of this program we have endeavoured to make it transparent and verifiable by breaking down exactly how your donations are used. The school fees and other costs can be personally researched and verified, and correspondence with the local community representative can also be used to check your fund dispersion. We have deliberately made this position a voluntary appointment (the appointment is made by the community and not FACE Nepal) to ensure their interest is in the development of their village. FACE Nepal then act as an auditing body to check that the child is receiving all that they need and the FACE Nepal International Board of Directors and Advisory Group audit the operational activities of FACE Nepal.

FACE Nepal is also a registered charity in Nepal, the United Kingdom & New Zealand and is thus subjected to the checks performed by these government commissions.

Outside of my regular sponsorship, can I give additional financial donations to my sponsored child or their family and if so, how will I know that all my money has reached them? +

If you wish to give additional money to your preferred community, family, or child we recommend that you send the money via FACE Nepal and specify where you would like the money to go. Again, we would encourage against any excessive contributions, in order to minimise any issues within the community. If you wish money to be given directly to a family, a representative of FACE Nepal will deliver the cash to them upon the receipt of your cheque or money transfer. It is not safe to send money directly and most rural families do not have their own direct bank accounts. We are happy however for you to verify directly with the intended recipient their receipt of the full donated amount to ensure the integrity of the internal transfer.

What happens if my sponsored child completes their schooling or no longer requires my direct support for some reason? +

In the event the situation of your sponsored child changes FACE Nepal will contact you and ask you if you would like to continue your sponsorship with another child or complete your support.

There is no mention of living costs covered in my sponsorship, are my fees contributing to the family at all? +

Your sponsorship only covers the items listed in the table, but we can assure you that this contribution provides a major source of assistance to families. In Nepal the actual living costs of families are very low and it is the schooling, clothing, medical assistance and other like areas where they primarily need help. With the support of volunteers, donations and project work, FACE Nepal endeavours to assist families in improving their actual living standards but due to control and funding allocation challenges we did not deem it appropriate to try and incorporate this into the child sponsorship program.

How should I make my payments? +

FACE Nepal prefers payments to be made in an annual payment to their nominated account in order to reduce money transfer costs and ensure that the funds are regularly available to meet the bill payments of the sponsored child. If for some reason this format is not acceptable to you please contact us to discuss other options.

Can I email my sponsored child or their family? +

For the safety of the sponsored child we do not permit correspondence in this form directly between the sponsor and the sponsor recipient. In addition, most village children do not have access to a computer or internet facilities.

Can I select my child from a photograph? +

FACE Nepal discourages this form of selection as we do not want to discriminate or sell the children in this manner. If you have a firm desire for a specific gender, age group or certain region of residence, we will incorporate your request in any selection. You will be given a photograph of your sponsored child when you accept a quotation and this photograph will be updated each year

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