Sponsor a Student

by Linda Cliff

House Upon the Rock Student Sponsorship

The Dominican Republic requires that all children attend school until grade eight.  Public schools are available; however, the government only provides a building and teacher; no materials, books, or even chalk.   There are some private schools in the area that provide a higher level of education and more opportunities for continuing on to university and obtaining a profession.  With a profession, a student can not only become self supporting, but, also support their aging parents and help their siblings.  A good education is one of the best ways to change the future of an entire family and help them to rise above poverty. 
   If you would like to help a child gain an education, you might consider sponsorship.  The cost varies from $20/month to over $100/month depending on the child, the school they wish to attend and the grade level.  Since your gift is for one particular child, you get to chose.

Before you make the important decision to sponsor a child, here is some important information that may help you.

1. Does the Ministry for House Upon the Rock issue tax receipts? 
• Yes.  All payments are made through MSC Canada who then issues a receipt.
2. Can you have your bank account debited each month or quarterly?
• Yes, MSC Canada can set this up.  You can also pay online, with cheque or set up the automatic debits

      3.    Once a child has been chose how long does it take till the process is completed?

      Usually, a sponsorship can be set up within two weeks.  The usual delay is waiting of the school to accept a new student.  Sponsorship starts in August but the registration fee would be due almost right away.

      4.  How do you let the Ministry know which child you have chosen?  

       Email works best but a phone call to Sharyn Branson would also work.

       5.  What are the next steps once you have your child?

Once it is confirmed that the family still wants sponsorship, and then the family has to register the student at the private school.  This requires submitting proper documentation ie transcript from previous school, immunization records, birth certificate, etc. Depending on the age of the student, the private school might require a placement exam to be written before accepting the student.  Once the student is accepted and registered then the sponsor is contacted and will be asked to send the registration fee as soon as possible.  The child or parents (depending on the age of the child) writes the sponsors a minimum of three times a year.  Once at the beginning of the school year, once around January/February and the third time is at the end of the school term and a copy of the final report card is included.  Parents  are also required to attend 3 yearly parent meetings with the Ministry.

If you are interested in this worthwhile initiative please contact the Ministry for House Upon the Rock (houseupontherock.net) or the office at SPPC 250 656- 2241 or speak to Linda.