Enatenesh is 17 years old. This letter was written on February 12th. Mail from Ethiopia is extremely fast!
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Dear Kayla ,
Greetings be to you. How are you doing? My family would like to forward their greetings. Thank you so much for your goodness. May God bless you. I am attending class properly. Thank you so much for your support and gift. I got grain and shoes. Thank you. I attend Sunday school class. We have finished 1st semester exams and school lessons for the season. We went to picnic during the semester break. What do you do when school closes for a break? I love you. I pray for you. Bye.
Enatenesh
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Wow! What a fast turn-around for the letter!! I love that she's attending class "properly." And maybe she's thinking of a break as a teacher, not a student!
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm not teaching this year. Haha. I started as a nanny in September. Maybe that news hasn't gotten to her yet. :)
DeleteHi Kayla,
ReplyDeleteI just started with my first sponsorship (through WorldVision). I was looking for more info on sponsorship and came across your blog. If you'd be willing to share some guidance as to how to be a good sponsor, please let me know! I've learned a lot from your blog and others but still have questions.
One of the best things you can do as a sponsor is to write letters to your child. Write letters and write often. I find that most sponsors strive to write once a month, but of course, there are some that write a little less or a little more.
DeleteWhat kinds of questions do you have? I'd be happy to help, if I can.
Soooooo many:
Delete1. How long did it take you to receive your first letter from your kids in Albania? Mine is Romanian so I'm hoping it won't take the full 3 months the WV website said it would.
2. Do you use a customs form at the post office when you send small things to your kids? E.g. stickers, a couple of pencils, that kind of stuff
3. Do you get any warning when kids exit the program so that you can send a "goodbye"-type letter?
4. Do they automatically assign a new child to you when your child exits?
5. How often do you think most sponsors send extra monetary gifts to their sponsored children? I'd like to be able to do this but don't want to cause discord in the child's community if he's getting more than others.
6. What influenced your decision to sponsor several children financially rather than just one?
7. Do you write your kids monthly even if you don't receive any letters from them during that month?
Thanks!
Whew! That is quite a list.
Delete1. I'm surprised that WV told you it would take only 3 months to receive a first letter, as more often than not, it does take longer than that. I'd say about 2-4 months is normal. I don't remember the exact amount of time for my first letters.
2. If you send something that is considered a document (paper items, stickers, etc) you don't have to fill out a customs form. Anything else (toys, clothes, art supplies, even things like foam and cardboard) you do. Be careful as shipping internationally is extremely expensive. It is basically impossible to spend less than 10-12 dollars, for even the lightest packages.
3. I have never had a child leave the program, so I do not know this for sure, but I assume that yes, WV would let you know.
4. Yes. WV will automatically assign you a new child when your child leaves, unless you ask them not to. I have requested that no new child be added to my account should this happen. I would want to choose my own new child.
5. I don't know the average on this, sorry. I try to send one a year, but that is typically because I have 4 kids, so that is $400 and it takes quite a bit of time for me to be able to save up that much money.
6. That's an easy one, because I have the money. I'm not a materialistic person and I have no desire to own the newest and best of things. Heck, I don't even buy new clothes. I buy almost everything used and I try to find great deals. I figure, why use the money on things I don't really need when there are so many families in the world who can't afford the most basic of things.
7. Yes. I typically write my kids 2-3 times a month, and that's all of them. Letters will be a on 1-3 month delay. You could write a letter now, in March, and your child will receive that letter in April, at the earliest. If you wait each time for a letter from your child, you'll just extend that delay even more. Your WV child will not write if you don't write, so you could end up only writing 2-3 letters a year if you wait to receive a letter from your child before writing again.
Thanks! That was really helpful.
ReplyDelete