Family Empowerment & Sponsorship Program
Hope For Korah's Family Sponsorship Program
The Hope for Korah (HFK) Family Empowerment Program offers hope and a more stable future to the most vulnerable families living in Korah, Ethiopia. For many families facing the challenges of illiteracy, illness, death, separation, and persecution, this is the only opportunity that they will be given to overcome the complex barriers of living in poverty.
Family Empowerment Program
Using a holistic approach, this 3-year program addresses the physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and economic impacts of extreme poverty.
By focusing on the family unit as a whole, HFK recognizes how interconnected families are; illness or barriers in one family member’s life can have an adverse effect on another member’s ability to work, attend school, engage fully in the community, or to provide financially for the family’s needs. Therefore, HFK has made health and economic empowerment significant priorities. Additionally, education plays an instrumental role in breaking the cycle of poverty. For that reason, HFK offers opportunities for greater skill development and higher learning for both parents and children.
Phases 1 & 2: Stabilization Phase and Personal Growth & Development Phase
The first two phases of the program offer the support and skills necessary to bring families to a place of stability with their health and basic needs. They then learn foundational life skills through individualized mentorship and group support, growing in areas such as emotion regulation, self-awareness, literacy, numeracy, and communication. In addition, families attend health, hygiene, trauma awareness and parenting trainings. Psychosocial supports such as counselling are available throughout all phases of the program.
Phases 3 & 4: Economic Empowerment Training Phase and Income Generating Phase
These two phases focus on economic empowerment, and include joining a Savings & Credit Self Help Group, business or vocational training, employment readiness training, and mentorship. Families receive small grants during the latter phase and will begin generating income by launching a small business or becoming employed.
Phases 5 & 6: Transition Out of Sponsorship Phase and Maintenance Phase
At the onset of the final year in the program, heads-of-households enter the Transition Phase, in which they will gradually begin taking responsibility for more of their expenses. The goal is that by the end of this final year, they will graduate from HFK's Family Empowerment Program and be self-sufficient. After graduation, families maintain a supportive connection with HFK through Self-Help Group participation, community events, celebrations, health services, and ongoing trainings.
All children in HFK's Family Empowerment Program receive education from daycare through high school. Young adults and Grade 12 graduates are also given opportunities to obtain Post-Secondary Sponsorships.
In addition, HFK’s Education & Youth Empowerment Centre provides a safe, supportive environment with activities and programs to nurture positive relationships, self-esteem, leadership and connection. Strong relationships are built with youth through mentorship and purposeful activities including sports, life skills trainings, clubs, and academic support.
Our goal is for all HFK families to transition through Six Phases of Empowerment; moving out of sponsorship and into self-sufficiency.
Family Sponsorship
Sponsorship has an immediate impact and changes the trajectory of a family's life.
It enables each family member to fully participate in all aspects of the holistic 3-year Empowerment Program plus HFK's ongoing Education and Youth Programs. HFK matches every family with one or more sponsors. (See FAQ)
See below to choose from available families or to find answers to frequently asked questions about sponsorship.
Frequently Asked Questions
HFK matches each Korah family with one or more sponsors. These sponsorships can be shared by 2 or more friends or group. The need for each sponsored family is $260 per month.
Sponsorships can be $260 per mo. | $130 per mo.| or $65 per mo.
Sponsors can expect to receive the following:
- Regular updates from HFK's Sponsorship Manager on the progress of your family in the program.
- Annual updates on the children in your family and their participation in HFK's Education and Youth Empowerment Program.
- An opportunity to communicate via letter 2x per year.
- Annual photos of your family.
Yes! Sponsors have the opportunity to send photos and a letter or card to their sponsored family twice per year. This typically happens around January and June. As a sponsor, you will receive a reminder ahead of time to give you time to prepare your correspondence.
We have had sponsors travel to Ethiopia to meet their sponsored family on several occasions. For more information on visiting your family, or volunteering in Korah with a team, please contact Julia Janzen.
One family sponsorship is $260 per month, which can be shared by more than one sponsor.
All of the various supports families receive during their time in the program far exceeds the
monthly sponsorship cost and is subsidized by the HFK General.
HFK Family Sponsorship
Funds Allocation: Disbursement of $260 Monthly Sponsorship
Family Support & Funding
The supports each family receives are further detailed below:
Basic Needs
Sponsorship supports a family's basic needs, including rent, groceries, teff (Ethiopian grain/staple food), hygiene products, and firewood.
Medical
Sponsorship purchases health insurance for the family and contributes a portion of the overall medical costs for a family, as well as providing health and hygiene trainings, and preventative health education. Medical provisions include doctor visits, prescriptions and medical treatment, hospital visits. All medical costs are subsidized by additional donations given to the HFK's Health Services and the General Fund.
Education & Youth
Sponsorship contributes a portion of what is needed to cover the educational and programming costs for all the children in a family. These include school fees, uniforms, supplies, daycare, berta breakfast program, after school tutoring, snacks, soccer, clubs and other youth programs and activities. These costs are subsidized by donations given to related programs and the HFK General Fund.
HFK Community Programming Sponsorship contributes a small portion of what is needed to cover a family’s participation in family and community programs such as lifeskills trainings, group and individual counselling, celebrations, community meetings, special programs, adult literacy education, purchasing & transportation costs, community gifts, Ethiopian staff support. All these costs are heavily subsidized by the HFK General Fund.
Income Generation & Business Development
Sponsorship contributes a portion of what is required to economically empower a family. These include involvement in income generation activities, vocational education, business & skills training, business start-ups, small grants, self-help groups, materials, supplies, compound rent & equipment. These costs are subsidized by donations to related programs and the HFK General Fund.
HFK Administration
3% of sponsorship fees goes towards HFK administration & operating costs in Canada/U.S.
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