Contact us if in doubt about anything.
Overview of the questions:
The most important questions first:
1. What is Faroese Philippine Services or FPS?
2. Is Faroese Philippine Services a legal help organization?
3. Is Faroese Philippine Services a Christian help organization or "only" a social help organization?
4. Does the help reach the needy?
5. What does the child get for the sponsorship help?
6. How long do I need to help a child if I assign as its sponsor?
7. What do I get to know about the child and its family, when I assign as its sponsor?
8. How many sponsors help each child?
9. May I help more than one child?
10. Can I have contact with the child and the family?
11. Is theree any control to ensure if the child needs the help?
12. Is there any control to ensure that the help is used according to purpose?
13. Where on the Philippine does FPS help?
About the children and their families who get help
14. Which children get help?
15. Are the children Faroese Philippine Services helps in an orpanage?
About the schools
16. Are the schools public?
17. Are the schools catholic?
About the financial aid
18. Who gets the money? Is it the children, the parents or the school?
19. Do I have to give birthdaygifts and Christmas gifts when I am a sponsor?
20. How long time ahead do I need to send financial gifts for them to arrive on time?
21. Can I send money to them in a letter?
22. Can I give extra financial support to my sponsor child each month?
23. What is the maximum amount I can give my child each month?
24. Why do I need to mark all payments with the childs number?
25. Is it necessary for me to have a regular transferral of support?
26. How much of the sponsorship money goes to administration?
27. Can I give a gift to FPS for general use? How?
About the gifts
(Please read: "About the financial aid" and "About letters and packages")
28. Is it better to send money so they can buy a gift, than sending a gift by mail?
29. Do they get the gifts I send?
30. Do I have to give birthdaygifts and Christmas gifts as sponsor?
31. What do they need?
About letters and packages
32. What is the best way to send a gift to ensure its safe arrival?
33. Do I have to write letters to the child when I am a sponsor?
34. Can I send letters to the child and family even I do not know how to write in English?
35. What shal I give for birthdaygift and Christmas gift?
Miscelaneous other questions
36. Do they celebrate Christmas, and how?
37. Does FPS only help children?
38. Can I help a missionary or pastor?
39. Why does FPS not have an account in all Faroese financial institutions?
Answers to questions:
The most important questions first:
1st QUESTION:
What is Faroese Philippine Services of FPS?
ANSWER:
Faroese Philippine Services, founded the 30th of July 1990 is a relief and development service. We collect financial aid to victims of natural disasters and also to assist poor Filipino people othervise.
The daily work concists of providing spornsor to pay for the edcation and health care plan of the children from the poor Filipino homes.
Additionally we try to provide financing to build schools. Up to this day one preschool has been built in Comon, Nueva Vizcaya and another in Caterman, Ilocos Sur. An elementary school building is being built in Buag, Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya. One room is already in use for the first grade.
Because of FPS 4 other preschools are active in borrowed buildings.
FPS can also:
a) help Bible school students, missionaries and pastors with regular monthly payments.
b) help to finance school buildings and equipment.
c) help to finance livelihood projects in the Philippines.
d) support evangelistic outreaches and crucades.
If any of the mentioned possibilities (a, b, c or d) special interest, please contct FPS and we will be very happy to help you and some Filipinos with this.
To overview of questions
2nd QUESTION:
Is Faroese Philippine Services a legal help organization?
ANSWER:
Yes. Before FPS has public collections in the Faroe Islands it secures a permit from the Faroese Chief of Police in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. There are no public collections elsewhere.
To overview of questions
3rd. QUESTION:
Is Faroese Philippine Services a Christian help organization or "only" a social help organization?
ANSWER:
Faroese Philippine Services is a Christian help organization and not only a social help organization. We believe it has great importance that we also provide spiritual help to those we help materially. Therefore we cooperate together with personal and evangelic Christian people in the Philippines.
Those who receive the help do not need to become Christian or attend Christian churches. But since the help is provided through Christian churches in the town or village where people live, some get interested and curuous about what else the churches have to offer.
When relief aid is given after natural disasters a short meeting is conducted before the help is distributed.
To overview of questions
4th. QUESTION:
Does the help reach the needy?
ANSWER:
Yes. We have good and regular contact with the schools. With financial control of various kinds, pictures, reports, letters and independant eyewitnesses we can happily confirm, that the help really reaches the needy. That is the motivational factor of us who volunteer our work efforts for Faroese Philippine Services.
To overview of questions
5th. QUESTION:
What does the child get for the sponsorship payments
ANSWER:
The sponsorship payment of US dollar 22 includes education, school books, notepads, pencils, erazers, rulers, school bag, rainclothes for boys and umbrella for girls, school uniform, shoes, socks, health care plan and in some cases additional help for food and transportation.
To overview of questions
6th. QUESTION:
How long do I need to help a child, if I assign as a sponsor?
ANSWER:
Since it is expensive to advertise for sponsors and difficult to get pictures of the children in the Philippines, we hope that all who assign as sponsors for one or more children pay the sponsorship payment regularly for at least 12 months.
We think this is reasonable, since a child and recipient family is in the other end. If you are in doubt about giving regularly, you can give gifts til the FPS work instead - once or many times. All gifts are welcome - also if you think that it is "small" gifts!
To overview of questions
7th. QUESTION:
What will I learn about the child and family, when I assign as sponsor?
ANSWER:
In most cases you will get:
a) a family background story with the childs name, birthdate, and names and birthdays of sisters and brothers. You get a picture of the child, when we have received your first payment.
b) name and occupation of parents or possible its guardian. Information about their education and profession and wages. Information about where and how they live.
c) information about special circumstances such as: that the parents are divorced, that one of the parents is dead, ifone of the parents is disabled, if the father is a drunkard and uses his wages in gambling instead of providing for the family.
To overview of questions
8th. QUESTION:
How many sponsors help one child?
ANSWER:
Only one sponsor is for each child. Therefore it has great importance that the sponsors pay regularly.
To overview of questions
9th. QUESTION:
Can I help more than one child?
ANSWER:
Yes! As many as you like.
To overview of questions
10th. QUESTION:
Can I have contact with the child and family?
ANSWER:
Yes, You can write postcards or letters to them. You can send packages to them. For birthdays and Christmas you can send them gifts. If you like you can visit the family you help in the Philippines.
In most cases the child or the parents or the guardian send letters to the sponsors occasionally.
Some of the parents have no education at all, others very little and some have difficulty to find the right words to put on a paper in order to express their feelings. However, if you ask a family about something specific you will normally get an answer. It is also possible for the schoolleaders and teachers to write down, what the parents want to express if the parents ask them to do so.
To overview of questions
11th. QUESTION:
Is there any control with who needs help?
ANSWER:
Yes. Faroese Philippine Services does only get information about children of poor parents, who cannot afford to pay for their childs education or parents who pay irregular tuition fees to the preeschools because of poverty.
The school leadership and teachers have an open eye for the possibility that the parents of some child start to manage on their own financially, so they become independant and are able to pay for the education of their own child. This could be because one of the parents got a good and well paid job or have moved to another place in the Philippines.
If it is no longer necessary to help one child, Faroese Philippine Services will in most cases ask the sponsor to continue his or her support as sponsor for another child on our waiting list.
To overview of questions
12th. QUESTION:
Is there any control to ensure that the help is used according to purpose?
ANSWER:
The schools must send a receipt that they have received the sponsorship money and send a presentation of accounts of how the money is spent. In addition the schools are to send newsletter regularly to aroese Philippine Services and report what goes on in the schools.
If the money is used for building, there is to be a special report about it and a budget or presentation of account is also to be given about how FPS supports in building a school.
If there are gifts to the children the school leaders get the exact amount in US $ which is to be used for buying a gift for the child or family. Financial gifts for the child or family are never paid out in cash. In stead the school leader or a teacher must go with the parents, children or a guardian to the shios and buy what is needed. This is to ensure that one of the parents or the guardian do not gamble or drink for the money.
If a sponsor wishes that his or her financial gift is to be paid in cash, FPS must inform the school leader in the Philippines about this first.
This is succesful, and many sponsors have got pictures showing children and families with newly purchased items.
To overview of questions
13th. QUESTION:
Where in the Philippines is FPS active?
ANSWER:
The activities of the Faroese Philippine Services is on the norther half of the Luzon island of the Philippines.
The Philippine branch office of FPS is in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya where Bishop Conrado & Mrs. Lilia Domingo live. In that province are 3 school which we have have contact with. (In addition many children attend other elementary schools there.) The three schools are in Bambang, Comon og Sto. Domingo all bearing the name of Aurora Kinder School.
At the west coast is Caterman near the town Candon in the Ilocos Sur province. The school there is called Mt. Zion Kindergarten and Nursery School under the leadership of Rev. Rick & Mercy Anciado.
In the north of the Cagayan province is Gattaran. In the vicinity of which are three schools bearing the name of Gattaran Foundational Learning Center. School classes are conducted in borrowed buildings and all have started because of Faroese Philippine Services. They are situated in Calaoagan Dackel, Palagao Norte and í Capissayan Norte. They are under leadership of Rev. & Mrs. Alfredo & Dominga Domingo.
To overview of questions
About the children and the families who receive help
14. QUESTION:
Which children receive help?
ANSWER:
The children who get help from Faroese Philippine Services come from very poor homes. Some have lost one or both parents. Most of them have both parents. But one of both can be unable to work or unemployed. Other parents have work, but it is low paid and / or irregular, so that the income is not enough for the parents to be able to send all their children to school. Many families are large and a normal income is not enough. Some parents cannot afford to pay for transportation to and from school, and it might be dangerous to send the children through the forest and in the rainy season it is not possible for some children to walk to school. Many cannot afford to give their children pocket money so they can buy something to eat in school. Lunch bags are not well suitable because of ants and for healt reasons.
To overview of questions
15. QUESTION:
Are the children Faroese Philippine Services (FPS) helps in an orphanage?
ANSWER:
No. But many of them are being taken care of by others and not the parents. It can be a grandmother or grandfather, uncles or aunties or friends, who are guardians for the children, because the parents cannot provide for their own children, or because they have left their children with the family and have run away from a miserable excistance and from their responsibility.
To overview of questions
About the schools
16. QUESTION:
Is it public schools?
ANSWER:
No. The schools Faroese Philippine Services has cooperation with are not public schools, but the churches own them. But if the church does not have an elementary school, the children will continue in public elementary school when they have graduated from the private pre schools.
To overview of questions
17. QUESTION:
Is it catholic schools?
ANSWER:
No. The schools Faroese Philippine Services has cooperation with are not catholic schools. The public schools are not catholic either, but they are under influence from the catholic schools, as the Philippines is a catholic country and 90% of the people of the Philippines are catholics.
To overview of questions
About the financial aid
18. QUESTION:
Who gets the money? Is it the children or the parents or the school?
ANSWER:
It is the school, which gets 110 kr. of the sponsorship payment (read answer to question 26). This is to ensure that the sponsorship payment is used for what the sponsors pay for (read answer to question 5).
If the money were given to the parents, many of them would end up using the money for other things than education or school materials and healt insurance.
Many of the would without doubt spend the support on drinking and gambling.
To overview of questions
19. QUESTION:
Do I have to give financial birthday and Christmas gifts if I am a sponsor?
ANSWER:
No.
To overview of questions
20. QUESTION:
How long ahead do I need to give a financial gift in order that it will arrive at the right time?
ANSWER:
If one wants to be sure that a gift is to arrive before a certain day (birthday or Christmas) it is best to do as in the examples below:
If the special day is befor the 15th in a month you must pay at the latest 2 months ahead.
Example: birthday 15th June. Last day for payment: 20th of April.
Example: Christmas celebration: 18th December. Last day for payment: 20th of October.
Remember to write the childs number. (Read answer to question 24.)
To overview of questions
21. QUESTION:
Can I send them money in a letter?
ANSWER:
We strongly advice against this! Letters and packages are occasionally opened by staff of the Philippine Postal service. If the staff of the Philippine Postal service get the impression that money is in the letters from sponsors of FPS then it is sure that many letters will be stolen or destroyed even if no check or cash is in the letter.
However you secure your check it is not safe enough as they get stolen and false signatures and bribes make it possible for the checks to be paid to the wrong person.
If one wants to give financial gifts it is best to send them through Faroese Philippine Services.
It is also possible to ask for the private account of those you help and pay for a bank transferral like FPS does, but then FPS has no responsibility that the money will be spent according to the wish and purpose of the sponsor.
To overview of questions
22. QUESTION:
Can I give extra support to my sponsor child each month?
ANSWER:
YES! (Read answer to questions 23 and 24.)
To overview of questions
23. QUESTION:
What is the maximum I can give my sponsor child in support each month?
ANSWER:
We do not set any maximum, because we consider it relief- and development help.
But in order not to create extra office work for small amounts, we will appeal to those, who wish to give extra gifts on a regular basis to give at least 6 dollars extra each month. This means that the regular support is US dollar 28 each month.
If FPS does not get any information on what to use the money for, the gift is primarely used for the child. But if the family needs food, it will of course pay for that.
If gifts are for the children the schools are informed about the exact amount of the gift.
In stead of paying financial gifts in cash the school leader or a teacher will go together with the parents, children and/or guardian to the shops to buy what is needed. This works well, and many sponsors have got pictures showing children and families with the purchased items.
The money is never paid out in cash to ensure that either parent or guardian can spend the money on gambling or drinking.
If a sponsor wishes that the financial gift is to be paid in cash, FPS must be informed about it first. Othervise it will not be done.
To overview of questions
24. QUESTION:
Why must the childs number be stated on all payments?
ANSWER:
The childs number (Child Registration Number - CRN) is to be stated on all payments intended for the child to ease for the administration.
If one is against making the child "a number", one can also state the name of the child. But since we work with many hundred payments it is much faster to write 7 digits than 2 or 3 names to identify the right place to post your payment.
The administration workers are volunteering their time and efforts completely free.
To overview of questions
25. QUESTION:
Is it necessary to have a regular payment?
ANSWER:
It is to ensure that the children with sponsors get help every month, that we ask the sponsors to have a regular transfer from their bank to ours. The payment of US dollar 22 is for 12 months in one year. If it was for 9 or 10 months the amount should be increased.
If you sponsor a child then it is for the childs own best that you have a regular transfer. Unfortunately we see frequently that a sponsor has "forgotten" to pay for his child, because the sponsor has to do the payment manually in a bank each month for the child. When holidays are, there are always some who have not paid theire sponsorship payment. This is of course disappointing for us, but how much more unfortunate for the child and family, who will not receive their expected support. Because there is nobody else who pays instead!
To overview of questions
26. QUESTION:
How much of the sponsorship payment goes to administration?
ANSWER:
Of the sponsorship payment of US dollars 22 dollars 2 dollars (around 9%) goes to the administration of Faroese Philippine Services. The rest is sent to the Philippines. In the Philippines the payments are divided to Bambang, Caterman and Gattaran areas as we inform them. Then the payment for the children in each area is sent to our contatc schools. It is inexpensive to send the money locally in the Philippines.
After that is is the leaders and staff of those 3 main schools, who administer the money. We do not have any big office in the Philippines to administer the sponsorship support. Each school has their own responsibility and accountability towards us and the children and parents.
To overview of questions
27. QUESTION:
Can I give a gift to the work of FPS in general? How?
ANSWER:
You can give a gift to Faroese Philippine Services without any notice of purepose. You can also give to specific pureposes which you are interested in giving to. On our newspage you can see which projects need extra help, and we would be very thankful for help. You can also ask us how one project is going on if you like to give to a specific project. We don't want to use more than 2 out of 22 US dollars sponsorship payments, and therefore there is always something whichneeds a helping hand!
You can give gifts to Faroese Philippine Services by:
making bank to bank transfers to our account 6460 457.777.0 in Føroya Banka or
if you live in the Nordic countries you can also pay to giro 9909 007.777.1.
We are preparing to receive gifts by accepting credit cards, and hope it to be ready in March or April 1999.
To overview of questions
About the gits
(Please also read questions about financial gifts: About financial gifts)
28. QUESTION:
Is it better that I give money, so they can buy a gift, than that I send a gift in the mail?
ANSWER:
Yes, in most cases it is, if you think about what the child/family in the Philippines can buy for the money you intend to give.
For example: If you buy clothes for US dollars 15 and send it in the mail, the postage might cost additional 8-15 US dollars.These 8-15 dollars they could use to buy food or other clothes.
If you transfer the 30-38 dollars into our account and stated that it was a gift for your sponsorchild or a family, the child/family would get more clothes or other things they need, than by sending one package with clothes for 15 dollars in the mail.
BUT, having said this, we also want to make a note on that the personal connection between sponsor and child has great importance. The emotional value for a sponsor and child cannot be measured in dollars or cents, so therefore we always leave the decision to be taken by the sponsor. Do what your heart feels is best!
To overview of questions
29. QUESTION:
Do they get the gifts I send?
ANSWER:
In most cases yes! If you send letters and packages, they receive them in most cases. But unfortunately we have also been informed about packages and letters which have not arrived or that they have been opened and gifts were partially stolen and then forwarded to the right address. If you send financial gifts through FPS, they get what they need for your money.
Also reed the answer to question 23.
To overview of questions
30. QUESTION:
Do I have to give birthday and Christmas gifts as a sponsor?
ANSWER:
No.
To overview of questions
31. QUESTION:
What do they need?
ANSWER:
They do not own much, if they get help from Faroese Philippine Services. Everything is received with a thankful heart. A more exact answer is: food and clothes! It is cheaper to buy clothes in the Philippines than in the Faroe Islands (and probably other places too).
Also read answer to question 28.
To overview of questions
About letters and packages
32. QUESTION:
What is the best way to send a gift to ensure that it will arrive?
ANSWER:
The best is to send financial gifts paid onto aur account in Føroya Banka account 6460 457.777.0.
If you send a gift in letter or package, then it is best to send to the address of the school andwrite the name and number of your sponsor child outside on the envelope or package.
Do NOT send money or chequesS in letters or packages! Read answer to question 21.
To overview of questions
33. QUESTION:
Do I have to write letters as a sponsor?
ANSWER:
No.
To overview of questions
34. QUESTION:
Can I send letters to the family I help, even if I do not understand English?
ANSWER:
Yes. If you write in Faroese (or Danish) language, you can send your letter to our Danish office of Faroese Philippine Services, and it will be translated to English and sent to the contact school in the area where your sponsor child is.
To overview of questions
35. QUESTION:
What shal I give in birthday and Christmas gifts?
ANSWER:
Read sanswer to question 31.
They will be very happy if you send them a picture of yourself and/or your family. Filipinos enjoy to hear about your family, since family-ties has great importance in the Philippines. They also enjoy to receive pictures from the country and area where you live.
To overview of questions
Ymsir aðrir spurningar
36. QUESTION:
Do they celebrate Christmas, or how do they celebrate Christmas?
ANSWER:
They do celebrate Christmas in the Philippines. It is difficult to say, how they celebrate Christmas, because it depends on wheather or not they are evangelical Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Budists, Spiritists etc.. In addition some have no financial means to celebrate Christmas for.
If you want a more detailed answer, it is best to ask the family you support, how they celebrate Christmas.
To overview of questions
37. QUESTION:
Does FPS only help children?
ANSWER:
No.
Read answer to question 1.
The daily work of FPS is mainly to provide sponsors or supporters to pay for the education and health care insurance of the children from poor Philippine families. In this connection, if is also worth to think about that by paying for the childrens education, you also help the teachers to get a job and better wages. Since we started our work many teachers have been employed. Financial gifts to the children and the families also increase business and prosperity in the local community.
To overview of questions
38. QUESTION:
Can I help a missionary?
ANSWER:
YES! You can help a missionary and also more than one if you want to.
If you want to support a missionary fully or partly, you are welcome to contact Faroese Philippine Services on telephone 31 29 78 (local Faroese tel. no.), or 75 509 509 (local Danish tel.no.) or by e-mail, and we will porvide information about a missionary who needs help.
Some missionary families in the Philippines receive less in tithes from their church than the 22 US dollars the sponsors support a child for each month. Your help to a missionary or pastor is therefore heartly welcome!!!
To overview of questions
39. QUESTION:
Why does FPS not have an account in all Faroese banks and savings banks?
ANSWER:
The administration of Faroese Philippine Services receives no salary or compensation and consists also of less than a handful people. This is the reason we decided to have acounts in those financial institutions which are represented in most villages and towns in the Faroe Islands.
To overview of questions
If you have other questions about Faroese Philippine Services or our activities, you are welcome to send them by E-mail.
