Writing to your sponsored child - Children of the Mekong
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Writing to your sponsored child

You sponsor a child and want to write to them? Here are our tips.

Child sponsorship programme in Southeast Asia

For your child, sponsorship is already an invaluable help. So, there is no need to feel guilty about not writing to your sponsored child. However, if you can take a few minutes per year to remind them that you are thinking of them, know that it will make a difference!

We know that it is not always easy to start writing, so here are 6 tips and tricks from us, to make your exchanges simpler:

1.   The first step is sometimes the hardest: writing your first letter is not the simplest task…like your sponsored child, some sponsors find themselves with the daunting prospect of a blank page. Make it simple! Introduce yourself in a few words and if possible, send a picture of yourself.

2.   Send a postcard: the sponsored children’s houses often have little to no decoration. There’s less room to write, but the photograph can show your child a place or a monument — and open their eyes to the world!

3.   Make it simple! Ask about everyday subjects to get to know them better: food, seasons, holidays, travel, and so on.

4. Never miss a thing! Add your sponsored child’s details to your phone or address book, so they’re easy to find whenever the urge to write strikes!

5. Sponsor as a family: Involve your children and/or grandchildren in the correspondence.

6. Words more than gifts: Please do not send money or gifts to your sponsored child. The risk is that the letter will never arrive, or that the family will have to pay high customs clearance rates on their end. If you would like to send them something, opt instead for stickers, a T-shirt, or another flat, lightweight item.

For more information on exceptional circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@childrenofthemekong.org

Here is a video to hopefully inspire you to write to your sponsored children. It depicts the joy of sponsored children when writing and receiving letters.

Happy writing!

Discover other ways to bond with your sponsored child.

 

EXAMPLE OF A LETTER FROM A SPONSOR

Dear Cecilia,

Thank you so much for your letter! It made me very happy. My cat, Isis, and I really appreciated it! I am glad I know you. Like you probably already know, I am 24 years old and I live in France; and I have just completed a business school last year. This year I am starting my own tourism business in Asia. Here is my family: Matthew, my cat Isis and me. I’m sending you a picture of me as a child, one of my brother and I when I graduated and one of my brother with our mother.

My passions are horse riding, travelling and photography (I love photographs and hope that you enjoyed the ones I sent you during my travels!). I had the chance to travel to Vietnam and Mongolia… and I hope to visit you in Myanmar soon!

Please accept my apologies for taking so long to get back to you.

I have some questions for you:

What do you like to do?

What are you learning at school?

What is your favourite subject at school?

Would you like to know anything about me?

My dearest Cecilia, I wish you all the happiness and cannot wait to hear back from you! I’m sending you all my love!

 

Your sponsor,

Manon.

Convinced by our child sponsorship programmes?

You can also introduce sponsorship to your children and/or grandchildren! It is a great way to introduce them to solidarity and to show them how lucky they are to access education.

Sponsor a child

 

The Letter Route

For each country, the route taken by the mail is different! During their journey, all our letters are translated by volunteers. It’s worth noting that this means you can correspond in French or in English when writing to the Philippines or Myanmar. The route the mail takes varies from country to country. Here’s a closer look at three of them:

Sending letters to Cambodia

Sending letters to Myanmar

Sending letters to the Philippines

Can I email my sponsored child? 

We have been asked this question so many times! Children of the Mekong offers a simple service of sending emails — which will be translated and printed for your sponsored child. Interested? Read below:

Email your sponsored child

 

Learn more about our child sponsorship programmes

Empower Lives in Lam Lukka, Thailand

  • Child Sponsorship
  • Thailand
  • Rural and isolated populations

In this neglected community not far from Bangkok, sponsorship is vital in supporting the basic needs of families, enabling their children to attend school. […]

Progress: 95%

Sponsored children: 21 of 22

Learn more