Writing to your sponsored child

Send a message, letter or gift to your child

A few words from you can mean so much. The friendship that can grow between sponsors and children is a powerful part of Child Sponsorship. The relationship you share means you’ll get a unique insight into the community you’re helping. And we know that children who receive regular updates from their sponsors are more resilient, confident, and happy – so your letters and encouragement can play a big part in improving their wellbeing.

Tips for writing to your sponsored child

By all means...

• Introduce your family

• Tell your sponsored child about your day to day life, activities you do with friends and family, your family pets etc. Children also love to hear about family events and special occasions, and you can ask them about school and their family too.

• Keep your letters short and simple, as all messages have to be translated by our local staff

• Include photos, postcards and pictures of Ireland, and even drawings from your own children with their letters.

• Do be sensitive to cultural, religious and political differences when sending both messages and photographs.

• Do be careful when mentioning money or personal possessions

But remember...

• Please don't include your postal address or telephone number, as within poor communities, your address could become a source of unsolicited requests for money

• Please NEVER include money directly to the child you sponsor, as there may be no shops nearby and they will be unable to exchange currency

And that's it. All that's left now is to start writing!

We hope this will help you get started writing to your sponsored child! Delivery of your message and a reply may take a few months, but do let us know if you haven't had a response in 3-4 months.

Don't forget you can also email your sponsored child now by composing your message (putting your child's reference number and name in the subject line) and sending it to ireland@worldvision.ie. Don't forget to include your Child's Reference in the subject line.

The email arrives in our Dublin office, where it is printed and sent by post to your sponsored child. You can still include up to 2 photographs (total not exceeding 2Mb) as an attachment!

Sponsor a child

Child-safe sharing online: How to protect your sponsored child

Sponsoring a child is a wonderful experience and one we encourage you to share with friends and loved ones. You might inspire someone else to change a child’s life! In most cases you are welcome to share updates, photos and videos of your sponsored child and their community via social media. But we do ask you to make sure that the information you share respects your sponsored child, protects their privacy and keeps them safe.

Check what you can share online

If your sponsored child does not live in a restricted country, you are free to share this information online:

• child and community photos and videos, as long as they don’t contain landmarks that reveal your sponsored child’s location

• excerpts of letters and cards from your sponsored child that don’t include their last name or address

• your sponsored child’s first name, age and country

• your sponsored child's language, hobbies, chores and grade level at school

• your sponsored child’s general health status (excluding sensitive details)

Sharing some types of personal information can threaten the privacy and safety of your sponsored child and their community. For this reason, we don’t include last names, community names or locations or any other information that might identify the location of sponsored children on our website. We ask you to do the same when you are sharing your sponsorship story online.

Please don’t share this information online:

• your sponsored child’s surname and sponsorship ID number

• first names, surnames and occupations of your sponsored child’s parents

• your sponsored child’s address or school name and address

• community village/name

• your sponsored child’s height and weight, specific medical conditions or disabilities

• your sponsored child’s religion

• images that are geotagged to your sponsored child's location

These things all reveal too much about your sponsored child’s identity and location and could place them at risk.

Frequently Asked Questions: letters, gifts and updates

What can I expect from my child's letters?

What you get from your sponsored child will depend on a number of things. If your child is young, it’s likely to be a relative or someone close to them who writes to you. If they’re older, please remember that – just like here in Ireland– some children enjoy writing, and others aren’t as keen. Some may prefer drawing, and so you might find your letters contain pictures and colourings instead. Also, many countries don’t have the same tradition of letter writing – or even of children being encouraged to express themselves – so this may be a new experience for your sponsored child.

Bear in mind too that your sponsored child won’t have had the same education as a child of the same age in Ireland. This means that although children can voice what they want to say, they often struggle with reading and writing. So our volunteers make a big effort to write down exactly what your child says so that you can hear directly from them, even if they’re still learning how to write.

How will writing to my child benefit them?

Our aim is for letter-writing to be an enjoyable and enriching experience for children. Often, our staff and volunteers will use fun storytelling cards and worksheets to help children learn to think, talk and write about how they feel. By writing to you and telling you their stories, your sponsored child will learn to express themselves, speak up and share their thoughts, possibly for the very first time.

Can I send extra money to my sponsored child?

For a variety of reasons, please don’t enclose your monthly sponsorship gift or any cash with your correspondence.

Through World Vision child sponsorship, you’re connected with one specific child, but your monthly sponsorship donations are pooled for maximum effectiveness. This means that instead of giving direct cash benefits to one child, you join forces with other sponsors to fund long-term community development programs that benefit your sponsored child, their community, and other children in need so they can overcome poverty and thrive. Some organisations focus on providing handouts or only helping individual sponsored children, but we’ve learned this can divide communities and slow progress. In other parts of the world, societies are much more communal and less individualistic than Western cultures, so a community-based model is more effective.

How often will I get updates from my sponsored child?

Throughout the year, you’ll get updates by post and email (if you don’t get emails from us and you’d like to, please get in touch either by email: ireland@worldvision.ie or call us on 01 498 0800 ). Some of these will be directly from your child, others will be about the changes that are taking place in their wider community. These updates will include stories, photos and videos to show how your support is transforming the lives of vulnerable children. And each year we’ll send you Christmas and birthday cards that you can personalise and send to your child.

Frequently Asked Questions: Christmas and birthday cards

Can I send my child a Christmas or birthday card online?

Yes! Sending a card online is quick and easy and is a great way to let your sponsored child know that you’re thinking of them at these special times of the year. When it’s time to send your cards, we’ll send you an email as well as your card in the post (if you don’t get emails from us and you’d like to, please contact us at ireland@worldvision.ie or call us on 01 498 0800). Then you’ll simply be able to click on the link and follow the steps to create your card – you’ll also be able to make a donation if you’d like to.