CHELSIO JOSE G. FERNANDO

Frequently Asked Questions

• How much are sponsorships?

  Sponsorships are $20, $40, $60, or $80 per month.

• How do I pay?

  You will pay through a credit card subscription through PayPal.

• Can I communicate with the child or children I sponsor?

  Yes. We are able to send letters whenever someone from Life Covenant Church is traveling to Mozambique. We are not able to deliver presents or money.

• Will the child or children I sponsor be able to communicate with me?

  Yes. When people from Life Covenant Church travel to Mozambique they are able to bring back letters from the children.

• Where does the money go?

  Your sponsorships cover the daily operational costs of our Melanie Centers and provide food, clothing, medical care, and educational costs for the children. Additional donations help pay for our current and future ministry projects such as pastor training conferences, audio bibles, rebuilding homes, and digging wells in local communities.

• Are my contributions to Life for Mozambique, including my sponsorship support, tax deductible?

  Yes. All contributions to Life for Mozambique are Tax-deductible in the United States. As a requirement of the 1993 Revenue Reconciliation Act, we verify that no goods or services of value are given to you for your contribution.

• Does Life for Mozambique pool funds?

  Yes. Funds are sent directly to our leaders on the ground in Mozambique quarterly. The funds cover the operational costs of the Melanie Centers and all the children receive the same care, regardless of having a sponsor or not.

• Are other people sponsoring the same child?

  Full sponsorships are $80. However, sponsorships can be broken up. For example, two sponsors can pay $40 toward one child or four people could pay $20 for the same child’s sponsorship.

• How long do sponsorships last?

  It is our hope that your sponsorship would last at least for a year, but sponsorship can be changed or canceled at any time.

• Is it possible for the child I sponsor to get adopted?

  Yes. Our goal is to place all of our children in well-vetted, loving homes. If your child is placed in a home, you will have to opportunity to sponsor a new child, end your sponsorship, or have your sponsorship money continue uninterrupted until a new child can be sponsored by you.

• What is the difference between a sponsorship and a donation?

  Sponsorships are a way to be connected to an individual child in Mozambique and help cover the costs of maintaining our Melanie Centers where the children live. Donations can be earmarked to be put toward a specific ministry project or can be put in our general fund to help cover a host of ongoing projects or future projects that God calls us to as our ministry grows.

• How does Life For Moz empower Mozambicans to become independent and not need constant overseas support?

  Life for Moz believes in using a holistic approach to developing a fullness of life for all Mozambicans. The areas that we support include emergency relief and long-term development. We bring the skills of multiple professionals and their different areas of expertise to each community in which we work, enabling us to care for the community’s physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

  Through our experience we understand that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to solving the challenges in Mozambique. A community’s ongoing problems cannot be solved just by providing clean water, more medicines, or education. We know that success can only be achieved by looking at the big picture. With that, we start by partnering with the Mozambicans in the community to achieve long-term solutions that will work for them. Rather than specializing in just one area, Life For Moz works to bring about change in every aspect of community life. Our holistic approach – which includes building wells, connecting with local families, providing health assistance, microeconomic activities, planting churches, training pastors, orphanage centers and much more – makes the difference between short-term fixes and long-term self-sufficiency. Life For Moz comes to each community in Mozambique recognizing the gifts God has given to each individual and community member. Working side by side with each community, and asking for God’s leadership and wisdom through prayer, we combine our gifts and expertise – with the objective that the local people continue to be the “owners” of how Life For Moz will transform lives because, in the long-term, we have not really helped the community in Mozambique unless we have also strengthened all levels within Mozambique (children, community, and churches) to provide for their continuing care and development, with the grace of God.