Notes from the field
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Notes from the field #11 — Bolivia |
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Notes from the field #10 — Costa Rica |
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Notes from the field #9 — Colombia |
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Notes from the field #8 — Haiti |
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Notes from the field #7 — El Salvador |
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Notes from the field #6 — Ecuador |
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Notes from the field #5 — Guatemala |
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Notes from the field #4 — Honduras |
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Notes from the field #3 — Madagascar |
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Notes from the field #2 — The Philippines |
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Notes from the field #1 — Kenya |
1. Patty Reisinger | September 24, 2008 at 6:15 am
I sent a letter to my sponsored child 3 months ago and I haven’t heard anything back. Should I write another letter? Or do you have any other advice?
2. cfca | September 25, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Patty –
We’re so happy to hear that you wrote your sponsored child! A letter means more to them than you can imagine!
Mail to the countries where we work usually takes 6-8 weeks to arrive; a response letter from your sponsored friend will take approximately the same amount of time reaching you. In many countries, the letters also have to be translated.
Because of this, we ask sponsors to allow 4 months from when they mail something to expect a reply. High mail volume during the Christmas season can add 2 or more weeks to the travel time. But please feel free to continue writing to your sponsored child in the meantime.
If you have any other questions regarding your sponsorship, please contact sponsor services. Their contact info can be found here: http://cfca.wordpress.com/about/your-guide-to-the-blog/.
Thanks so much!
3. Kathy Baron | October 16, 2008 at 12:44 am
Hi,
We have been sponsoring a child in Uganda, Busunju Project, for about 4 years. She is 12 years old now. We write several times a year and send packages occasionally, which presumably never get to her. She is not much of a writer herself, and we always wonder about what her daily life is like. Has anyone visited this area? I notice that the posts and newsletter stories have never been about this volatile part of the world. How can I find out about the project?
Thanks for any info.
4. cfca | October 16, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Kathy –
CFCA has two programs in Uganda, the Busunju project you mentioned and a project based in Kampala, the capital. Neither of our programs is located in the volatile northwestern part of the country.
CFCA-Kansas representatives most recently visited Uganda in April of this year and met with staff, sponsored members and their families. Busunju is a rural area about two hours outside of Kampala, and the majority of the sponsored members’ families are farmers. The parents place a high value on their children’s education, and a large part of the sponsorship benefit is used to cover educational expenses.
Thank you for your support of your sponsored child, and for your interest in the CFCA-Uganda program. We hope to be able to bring you inspiring stories from the sponsored members and their families in the coming months.
If you have specific questions about your sponsored child, please contact Sponsor Services at mail@cfcausa.org or (800) 875-6564. Thanks!
5. carol osborn | October 30, 2008 at 4:50 pm
My husband and I sponsor a 14 year old girl in Guatemala. We always wrack our brains trying to find things to send her but the rules are so restrictive (no money, certain size package under a pound, etc, etc). It seems silly to send jewelry which we usually resort to when they may desperately need blankets). We ask in our letters “what do you need” but we don’t get an answer. How can you help us? Will you answer us?
6. cfca | November 4, 2008 at 10:14 am
Carol –
We just published a blog post that addresses your question! Please read it here:
http://cfca.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/from-the-mail-bag-writing-your-sponsored-friend/.
Thank you for your care and concern for your sponsored child. We know that she is very grateful for you and your husband’s support in her life!
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact Sponsor Services at mail@cfcausa.org or (800) 875-6564.
7. Pete M | December 3, 2008 at 12:04 pm
We have been sponsoring through CFCA for quite some time. I would just like to say that Sending a letter to your sponsored child is a big deal. I have met some sponsored children that were sponsored but never recieved a letter from their sponsor in years. And you can see it is like a void in their life. I believe a big part of sponsorship is making them a part of your life and vise versa. In doing this they can see that the whole world is not like the area they live in and i think this helps give them hope. As far as sending gifts, sometimes we need to think outside the box when dealing with foreign countries. There are ways to send things where foriegn post offices can’t detect them and try and steal them. Have a good!
8. Lisa Tuell | June 23, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I have been sponsoring a child in Columbia for a little over a year. I finally sent a letter last week. I am ashamed to say that I had good intentions but didn’t actually get a letter sent until then. I included a letter, a sheet of paper with drawings from each of my daughters (age 12 & 9), a photo of our family, a postcard of our state and two pencils. I hope the pencils were OK to send. Will they hold up the package from getting to our sponsored child? Also how will I know if the letter is actually received?
9. cfca | June 24, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Lisa,
Thank you for your question. Your friend will be so happy to hear from you. The items you mentioned are perfect examples of acceptable gifts because they are small and inexpensive. Although mail is out of our hands between your post office and the post office in Colombia, it does not sound like you have sent anything that would delay or prevent your letter from arriving safely.
In most cases, your friend will write and let you know that your letter was received. However, this can depend on the child’s age, and if she writes back to you immediately. Sometimes the child may forget to mention the items if it has been a while. If this happens, please feel free to ask your friend if your letter and gift was received.
Just keep in mind that your letter will probably take six to eight weeks to reach your friend, and her reply letter will likely take at least the same amount of time to reach you. You can read more about sending gifts and letter writing here.
Thank you for your support of your friend through CFCA.
Claudia
Sponsor Services