FAQs

'Becoming a Friend of Kasam' means donating to financially support the school fees, books and other educational expenses of an underprivileged child in Kasam for one year ($300). Once you donate, you will get details about the child you are sponsoring, periodic updates about them throughout the school year including their school performance and pictures.

We follow the 100% model meaning that all funds raised from this website - your money - is used directly and solely for the education of the children. Any operational costs are borne by private donors and funds for them are raised separately.

Before fundraising every year, the 'Board of Directors’ obtain a list of children from King's Matriculation School (KMS) who are unable to pay their fees or need assistance. The students are then selected based on various factors including financial need, current level of education, etc. For 2018/19, 50 of the neediest students were selected with most having a single or no parent to support them financially.

Donations are collective in nature and are used to sponsor a pre-decided list of children. Hence, you cannot choose a particular child for sponsoring. However, you will be paired with an individual child and will get periodic updates on his/her individual progress. If you continue to donate in subsequent years, you will remain paired the same child.

The tuition amounts for students vary by their current grade of education, e. g., tuition of an 8th grader is different from that of a 10th grader. Based on the mix of students selected each year, an annual amount is decided before fundraising every year. The amount when we started was $240/year and this has increased to $300/year in 2018, mainly due to inflation costs and need for the school to retain teachers and be locally competitive.

The annual amount covers the tuition, books and examination expenses of the children.

Yes, Friends of Kasam is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. You will receive the reciept and other pertinent details to claim your tax exemption once you make the donation.

Friends of Kasam operates differently than other non-profits in that we don't share photos of the children before sponsorship. We believe this helps maintain our core principle against obectification of the children. However, once you've sponsored a child, you'll receive full information about them including photos, background information and periodic updates through the school year.

We’re glad to hear that! Yes, you surely can perform additional activities like online weekly classes via Skype, writing letters to the children and raising money for specific student activities or school infrastructure. If you want to do any of these or have something else in mind, please feel free to contact us.

KMS and its associated orphanage MBKGP will be glad to host you for whatever time you wish to spend with the kids. Basic accommodation, loving hosts and joyous children will make your stay a pleasant one. Please contact us if you’re thinking about travelling to KMS.