Birthday & Christmas greetings

We all love to receive cards on special occasions such as birthdays or at Christmas time and your sponsored child is no different!

Each year we will send you a birthday card in time for your sponsored child’s birthday and in early November a Christmas card.

We change the design of the cards every year and to make it even more special we personalise the card and give you plenty of opportunity to include your own message or even a photo if you like.

The small donation of €5 attached covers the production cost of the card and postage to the area development programme in Africa as well as small gifts or even a party for the children. During emergency situations communities may decide to use the money differently. For example, in Kenya during a period of drought and food shortage we supplied food rations to those families hit the hardest and in Sierra Leone your contribution was used to re-roof houses after severe storms.

There is also the option to bring hope for the year ahead to another family just like your sponsored child’s by choosing an extra gift. Your generosity will go a long way in improving the life of a family living extreme poverty. One much like the Tarishi Lukas family living in Sanzawa Tanzania.

The Tarishi Lukas family and their five children are heavily involved in the local programmes funded through child sponsorship. Mrs. Tarishi Lukas talked to us about how education in the area is having a great impact. She has seen this at first hand in her 18 year old daughter Celestina who is sponsored by the Dillons from Enniscorthy in Wexford…

“Years ago Celestina would have had no prospects, no future. She would have married very young and started a family. She’d never get a job and the poverty would just continue.

With the help of World Vision and the Dillon family we were able to send Celestina to school. She is now in secondary school. She loves English and maths and her ambition is to become a computer engineer! My husband and I are very proud of Celestina and all her hard work. She sets an example for her brothers and sisters and many children in the area. We know that she will have a better future because of her education. Thank you World Vision Ireland!”

You may wonder if it’s acceptable to send a Christmas card if your sponsored child doesn’t celebrate this occasion. Children in our programmes come from varied ethnic and religious backgrounds and for this reason the card design tends to be celebratory rather than religious in nature. The children are aware that this is an important time of year in Ireland and area always excited to receive cards and letters any time of year! We do ask that our sponsors are culturally mindful and sensitive to financial situations when sending cards, photos and gifts.

If you would prefer to send an online card instead of the hardcopy, please let us know by emailing ireland@wvi.org. Your sponsored child will receive your message as well as the small gift in the post and you will help us keep our postage and production cost down.