Not sure what to write? Try following these suggestions when writing your letter:
- Keep it short and simple. One-page letters are usually the best length. This makes it easy for your child to understand and helps keep our translation costs down.
- Include a picture of yourself and your loved ones. Children love receiving photos of their sponsors and often display these in their homes. Even something as simple as a picture postcard is a wonderful way for your child to see what other parts of the world look like.
- Share your daily life. Write about where you live, the landscape and climate, your hobbies, other family members or your pets. Please try not to discuss material items – poor children can become discouraged when learning of material items they
do not have.
- Avoid mentioning gifts. As you know, sponsorship does not provide gifts of cash to children or families. Instead your contributions provide many valuable benefits, services and tangible items. Mentioning specific monetary gifts is not advisable as this can cause confusion or even jealousy in
the community.
- Please don’t include your contact information. To protect you from receiving unsolicited letters for assistance from others in your child’s community, please do not write your home or email address, or phone number, in your letter. We hope you understand that we will not forward anything with an address
or phone number.
- Be encouraging. Your encouragement is one of the most important things you can give your child. Sponsored children often tell us they feel inspired by reading their sponsor’s words.
- Consider your child’s culture. You may wish to read your letter through their eyes, making sure your child’s cultural differences are respected.
- Stay in touch...but not too much. Children write to their sponsors twice each year. We recommend that sponsors write twice a year too. This keeps the exchange between sponsor and child going without overwhelming your child or the translators. It also helps us control the costs of translation and delivery.
Because Children International is committed to protecting both
the child and the sponsor, we may omit certain content in letters or return
inappropriate correspondence.
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