Frequently Asked Questions

Go to www.outoftheash.org or contact [email protected] with questions about different types of sponsorships or what would be the best fit for you. Because of the diverse range of needs within our many children, we aim to assess each child and family and meet their needs accordingly. Therefore our levels of sponsorship vary from $42.50-$85.00 per month.

Please see the waiting children page for more information about individual children available for support. Our boarding school sponsorships provide tuition, room, board, necessary clothing, supplies, and a feeding program. We have private school sponsorships that provide uniforms, clothing, books, supplies, and feeding program.

We have college, trade school, and transitional living sponsorships available for young adults. These sponsorships give students the tools they need to obtain skilled jobs that allow them to provide for themselves. They also provide clothing, supplies, and access to the feeding program.

• Private School, Boarding School, and TVET/College – $85 per month
• University – $65 per month
• Local School – $42.50 per month

For more information: [email protected]

Our Child Sponsorship Program offers you the opportunity to stay with a child for several years. Usually, this goes through graduation from university or the school year in which the child reaches the age of 18 – 22, whichever comes first.

We hope you will continue your support of your sponsored child until they complete the program. However, we recognize circumstances sometimes change. You may discontinue your child sponsorship at any time.

Please understand that a sponsored child’s circumstances change, too. For example, sometimes families move beyond our program’s reach, and some may not abide by the OA Policies. At that time, the child will no longer have the opportunity to participate.

We will inform you as quickly as possible if any such circumstance affects the child you sponsor. Then, we’ll offer you the opportunity to support another child in need of your help.

For more information: [email protected]

Yes. The majority of the time the child you’re helping has just one sponsor, you. That’s why your prayers, letters, gifts, and support mean so much to your sponsored child.

In some circumstances, we may seek additional sponsorship for individual children. At that time, we will reach out to see if you want to provide the other aid before finding another sponsor.

For more information: [email protected]

Once you become a sponsor, we encourage you to send your sponsored child a personal or family photograph and a short introduction letter. This is done through our sponsor portal. OA staff translate your message and deliver it to the child you support. Sponsored children typically keep sponsors’ photos and notes in their homes as treasured possessions.

When you write, your sponsored child will benefit from knowing someone in addition to their family cares. Your words of encouragement make a big difference to them. Correspondence between sponsors and the children they support is genuinely developmental. The more you write to the child you sponsor, the more they reap the benefits of your relationship.

For more information: [email protected]

Sponsorship Provides:

• Formal Education
• Nutritious Meals, Housing, and Clothing
• Preventative Healthcare
• Counseling
• Life Skills Training
• Discipleship
• Immeasurable improvement in the child’s self-worth provided by the assurance that someone in the world knows and cares about them.

For more information: [email protected]

We see correspondence with students as a significant part of your sponsorship. We want to encourage sponsors to spend time getting to know their student, supporting them in their lives, and encouraging their spiritual walk with the Lord. Attaching photos of you and your family (they keep these for years), sharing Bible verses, and encouraging words, are all encouraged. 

We recommend you write to your student and introduce yourself as their sponsor. Please share any appropriate information about yourself, your family, why you chose to sponsor, and that you are excited about starting a relationship with them. Anything we can do to affirm these children is beneficial.

It is essential, however, to remember that students often see Americans as people with unlimited resources and no problems. Therefore, anything we can do to instill values of work ethic, integrity, character, and responsibility within the kids is a great help.

We want to love them. Often one of the most helpful things we can do is instill values that help them eventually help themselves and live successful, independent lives as healthy, educated Ethiopian adults.

We advise against:

• Making promises you may not be able to keep.
• Indulging fantasies or desires about coming to America or being adopted by you.
• Any discussion that is not age-appropriate.

For more information: [email protected]

Yes! OA teams, sponsors, and individuals visiting Ethiopia must have a background check. All visits must be arranged and approved at least six weeks prior to arriving in Ethiopia. It is strictly prohibited to show up unannounced.

Sponsored children and their siblings must not be invited or taken away from their communities unless an OA staff member accompanies the child and authorized by a parent, if under age 18. Sponsored children are prohibited from staying the night at a guest house or hotel.

All visits with the sponsored children will be documented and kept in the sponsor child’s file. If a sponsor child is taken out of school or the community without authorization from an OA staff member, the child’s sponsorship will be terminated.

For more information: [email protected]

Payments may be made in annual, quarterly or monthly increments. To maintain the lowest possible overhead expense, we request quarterly and monthly payments be set up as auto payments.

Monthly payments are processed the 15th of every month. Quarterly payments are processed August 15th, November 15th, February 15th, and May 15th. Annual payments should be made before August 1st.

For more information: [email protected]

Yes. Out of the Ashes is an authorized 501(c)(3) organization. You will receive an end-of-year acknowledgment for tax purposes.

For more information: [email protected]

We deliver gifts in person through one of our mission teams each January and July. We ask that gifts be limited to no more than $25 value.  Email [email protected] if you are interested in sending something with a mission team. A member of our stateside OA staff will let you know when the next group is leaving.

OA supports the Ethiopian community by purchasing gifts, clothing, shoes, and supplies to the extent possible from local Ethiopian retailers. Our deliberate practice of buying locally produced and distributed goods strengthens the local economy by supporting jobs for adults in the community. Furthermore, the cost to transport goods from the U.S. is eliminated, allowing precious funds to be used more efficiently.

For more information: [email protected]

To responsibly ensure the safety of the children in our programs, sponsors should be aware that correspondence with children is not considered a private matter. Our staff monitors or translates all emails. Any questionable comments will be brought to the attention of executive staff to follow up with the sponsor in question.

We do not recommend that you communicate with your child online. If you do choose to interact online, please do so only to encourage them and not to discuss current needs or circumstances. It is too much of a temptation for the kids to misrepresent their conditions to receive more money or items from sponsors.

Because we cannot monitor private conversations on social media, we encourage children and sponsors to report any inappropriate conversations to our Executive Director, Stacy Segebarth, at [email protected].

For more information: [email protected]