The staff at Compassion centers around the world witness it all: the moment children are registered, the day they learn they have a sponsor and the second those smiles spread across their faces as they open their first letters.
Center staff have the closest and most consistent influence on the children we serve, so we thought they would have some unique insights to share. Here are the top five things they want you to know.
1. Letter-Writing Day Is Both Joyful & Chaotic
Have you ever asked a child to sit still and write a letter? If so, you’ve probably experienced that getting a child to sit down is a challenge in itself! Similarly, sponsored children giggle in groups, squirm in their seats and buzz with energy before getting down to business.
“Letter-writing time at any center requires time, a lot of coordination and patience to make sure all the sponsored children have written letters,” says Tigist Gizachew, a photojournalist with Compassion Ethiopia. “If not well planned, it could be chaotic and stressful.”
While older children focus on writing, tutors assist those who are still learning and can’t write.
Their center wishes you could experience the energy and excitement during letter writing. When you read the child you sponsor’s letter, remember that it was written in the middle of his or her wild and wonderful day at the center.
Recognizing the context in which your letter was written will enrich your perspective and appreciation for the words you hold in your hands.
2. Letter Writing Is Sometimes a New Concept for Sponsored Children
Many children in poverty grow up in homes where family members are unable to read or write. According to the World Bank, over 770 million adults worldwide still lack basic literacy skills. In many communities, oral storytelling and verbal communication are the norm.
"We have an oral culture," says Alemnesh, a center director in Ethiopia. “We tend to discuss things, tell stories and those things.”
For many children, writing a letter is something they’re learning for the first time. If the child you sponsor sends a letter that seems short or simple, remember they are engaging in a brand-new experience and doing their best to connect with you.
Center staff want you to know that each word reflects their growing confidence, literacy and future.
3. Writing to a Child Gives Them a Window Into Another World
Milagros has been a center director in the Dominican Republic for more than 15 years. She has seen many children become completely absorbed in the letters they receive from their sponsors.
“The letters are like teleporters,” she says. “When children receive them, they mentally travel to other places and countries and enjoy learning about their sponsors and other cultures.”
When you write to the child you sponsor, you give them access to a world beyond the one they know — one that is often fraught with hardship. Children love learning about where their sponsors are from, what the weather is like and what kinds of pets they have.
Alemnesh in Ethiopia shares, “A photograph can impact a child greatly.” When you share your life, especially through pictures, you help the child you sponsor explore the world with you in heart and mind.
4. Your Letters Encourage a Child’s Growth
Compassion center staff say that letters from sponsors go beyond encouragement. They actively support child development. Sam, a center director in Kenya, explains that communication with sponsors motivates children to grow.
“When sponsors ask about progress in school or Bible reading, you notice determination in the child to improve, knowing they will be held accountable.”
Alemnesh notes that children who receive letters are often more engaged and consistent in attending center activities. “The difference is very visible,” she says. “Please write!”
5. Your Letters Provide Hope
“When you say in a letter, ‘I am praying for you,’ that is hope to a child,” says Sam in Kenya. “Through letters, lives have changed, behaviors improved and perceptions transformed.”
The center wants you to know that your words matter! “I can’t explain how joyful the children get when they receive a letter from the sponsor,” shares Alemnesh.
Each Compassion center handles letter delivery a bit differently, but most centers make letter delivery day a celebration. In small communities, it’s rare to receive mail at all, let alone letters from someone halfway around the world.
So, when letters arrive, a center may host an assembly where letters are handed out, and everyone celebrates as though they received a letter of their own. Hope has been delivered!
