FAQs
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Sponsorship FAQs
Mirror of Hope is a registered Community Based Organisation with the Government of Kenya under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Services, registration No LGT/CBO/5/4/2010/(468).
Funds received for sponsorship are designated as a liability on our balance sheet and only released as income in the profit and loss once funds have been spent. Each year we conduct a detailed review of funds spent and provides acquittal statements to sponsors upon request. We fundraise separately to cover staff and overhead costs and we reduce our costs by having our older students volunteer when they are not at school/university.
Your sponsorship covers tuition, boarding, food, stationery and transport to and from school. It also helps us cover our holiday program costs and 100% goes to sponsoring our students’ education.
We have two major education sponsorship categories which includes high school sponsorship and university/college/higher learning institution sponsorship. However for the latter, the students repay back the loans in instalments once they get jobs in order to help more students.
Anyone with a genuine interest can be a sponsor. We accept individuals, families, groups, religions, clubs, organisations and schools.
The first step towards joining our family of sponsors is to send an email to sponsorship@mirrorofhopecbo.org requesting a student profile. Once you confirm your sponsorship, you will receive an invoice with payment details.
You can sponsor any of the students who have been successfully selected for sponsorship by the Mirror of Hope. Please ask us if you would like to sponsor a specific student (i.e. a girl, boy or someone with a particular life ambition).
We select our beneficiaries based on their:
- Academic performance (they must at a minimum be passing)
- Residence (They should be living in Kibera slum)
- Financial difficulties
- Contribution to the community and desire to achieve.
We also only support one student per family to maximize our impact within the community.
Full sponsorship is US$750/year (AUD$1,000) and are payable, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or annually. It is also possible to partial sponsor a student and you can discuss this option with the Sponsorship Team by emailing sponsorship@mirrorofhopecbo.org.
Sponsorship for university education is usually much higher and depends on the various courses that the students take. Also, our university students must have volunteered with the organization or any partner organization to be eligible for sponsorship. This is supposed to continue during their holidays until their graduation. Once they are employed, they are expected to contribute to the education of similar kids through financial support.
No. Mirror of Hope accepts sponsorship, funding or donations from anywhere in the world. Visit our page at mirrorofhopecbo.org to donate from anywhere in the world.
Yes. Every school holiday, your student will shoot a short video or write to their sponsors. The Sponsorship Team will send these videos/letters and an academic report card to you three times each year (usually in Jan, May & Sep).
Yes. Students love hearing from their sponsors. The best way to communicate is through the Sponsorship Team by emailing your letter/video to sponsorship@mirrorofhopecbo.org Direct correspondence with students is not allowed for child protection
purposes.
Our minimum academic requirement is a sponsorship? C– grade to maintain sponsorship. If your student is not meeting this grade, we will discuss the matter with them and their parents and provide them with additional support. If they continue to underachieve, we will discuss their removal from the program with their parents and their sponsor.
The school year runs from January – December each year. Therefore, it is best to start your sponsorship before January. It is however possible to sponsor throughout the year, simply contact us to find out more.
You will receive at least three letters or videos from your student each year. You will also be added to the Mirror of Hope mail list so you can keep up to date with our organisation. You are welcome to visit your student and meet them and their family.
We welcome general donations or donations to one of our other programs. To donate, email tomy@mirrorofhopecbo.org We thank you for your generosity and for making a huge impact in the fight against poverty by supporting the education and future of our students.