One of the greatest joys of sponsoring a child is the opportunity to build a real, lasting connection. Sponsors receive yearly updates on their precious sponsored children, including a new photo and details about school and family life. The most heartwarming, personal touch to these updates are the handwritten letters and pictures from your sponsored child. As a sponsor, you receive a letter twice a year, and are able to send as many letters as you’d like.
Good topics to write about are family, children, friends, hometown, the weather, pets, and hobbies. If you have children in your family, sending their hand-drawn pictures is a big hit. Sponsored children write about similar topics, and often share their hopes, dreams, and hobbies with their sponsors! At Christmas, sponsored children take special care into crafting their letters. They even include a beautiful handmade card to wish their sponsors a warm and joyous Christmas.
Children often write Christmas letters and cards together as a group at school or at their local site, and are given lots of colourful pens and markers to use for their creations. The staff view it as a wonderful opportunity for the children to get creative and have fun with friends!
This year, sponsored children have already started to write their Christmas letters and cards! In some countries, mail takes a very long time to arrive to Canada. Site staff start preparing Christmas packages months in advance so that the correspondence arrives in time for the holidays.
Eunice, our Tondo site director, says the children genuinely enjoy writing Christmas letters: “The most wonderful time of the year will soon be here! The children are busy preparing to wish their beloved sponsors ‘Merry Christmas’. All are so eager and so joyful to create something nice.”
Children at our Wa site in Ghana, Africa are also among the first to begin writing their letters. “The children always find it exciting to wish their sponsors ‘Merry Christmas’,” says Pele, our Wa site director. “They share their feelings, ideas, thoughts, experiences and prayers. They are so thankful to their sponsors for the loving care and support!”
We hope that the letters and cards that all of our wonderful sponsors will soon be receiving will bring a touch of light and joy to the upcoming Christmas season.