Helena Chung, better known as Happy Momma Chung, is a Child Ambassador who works with World Vision promoting child sponsorships.
These sponsorships help children in need, and their communities, to gain access to clean water, education and adequate nutrition, as well as improving healthcare in the area. She primarily does this through her website, www.happymommachung.com.
What made you decide to start Happy Momma Chung in the first place?
As a volunteer Child Ambassador at World Vision, I can use my own personal talents and ideas along with the World Vision team to promote child sponsorships. Every Child Ambassador has their own special talents. I chose to use social media, my personal website, and booths at events for promotions because I’ve been using these tools for my family business for years.
I decided to use my nickname so that family and friends will know that this is now my passion. It’s what I plan to do for the rest of my life, and I find that it’s more personal to use the nickname I have had for years.
Why did you choose to set up and run your own website for attracting child sponsorships rather than leaving it to the main World Vision website?
Having my own website is more personal. Although the main focus is for child sponsorship, I wanted to share a bit about myself, why this is important to me, and what I am doing to help these children as a Child Ambassador. The ‘Sponsor A Child’ tab is a direct link to World Vision Website. My website is just another channel to sponsor a child, but it is linked to the main World Vision website.
I do want to share that going through my website to ‘Sponsor A Childʼ does help me track how many children I personally helped find a sponsor. So at the end of the fiscal year (October to September), when Child Ambassadors celebrate our accomplishments, I will get recognition for how many children I have helped find sponsors.
We do not get paid but we do get rewards and recognition. Child Ambassadors are truly child ambassadors at heart. We have compassion for children in poverty and it is in our hearts to obey our God who calls us out to help the poor. It is solely volunteer work, Godʼs work.
How closely do you work with World Vision?
I work very closely with World Vision. Thereʼs a Child Ambassador leadership team who provides support and we communicate almost daily through a Facebook Group. Once a year we meet to celebrate our accomplishments and fellowship, and we worship together. We cry, laugh, and learn. Itʼs a family reunion!
Helena, you ask for $39 a month to help sponsor the children on your website. What does this money provide?
Yes, it’s a monthly commitment of $39 to sponsor a child but this money does not go directly to the child. It goes to a pool which helps the child’s community to get greater access to clean water, nutrition training, immunisations, disease prevention training, education, child protection, and so much more. I’ve witnessed how far this $39 can go for a child and their community. It is life changing for everyone!
You channel the money sent to you through World Vision – is there a difference to donating through your website and going directly through World Vision?
So, I wanted to make it clear that no money is sent to me. My ‘Donate to World Visionʼ tab on my website is a direct link to World Vision website. So any donation goes directly to them. Making a donation through my website first is no different from going directly to World Vision website.
There are currently 10 children on your website for people to help support. How do you decide which children in need to support through your website?
World Vision gives child picture folders with children’s information such as name, country, age, and their situation to Child Ambassadors to promote them and find sponsors.
They are usually children who have been in the system for a while or in need of urgent support. The Child Ambassador then takes the child folders and starts working to help these children find sponsors. Again, we can choose the way we promote them.
Whether it is through church events, booth events, social media, and parties – whatever works for the Child Ambassadors. There is a time limit on these child picture folders. Their usually about 1-3 months. After the time limit, if the child is still not with a sponsor then they will go back to the system and then the child is less likely to get sponsored right away.