There's no question about it: your letters make a huge difference in your sponsored child's life. If you want to write to them but don't know where to start, simply customise the template letters below.

24 Mar, 2020

Letters have the power to make a world of difference in your sponsored child's life.

For a child living in poverty, your words bring hope, support, love, and the encouragement they need to believe in themselves and feel valued, despite their circumstances.

With that said, living in the digital age means that writing letters can sometimes feel unnatural and a little difficult. If you're unsure about what to say or how to say it, it can be easy to forgo writing letters altogether.

We want to help you bring joy to your sponsored child, so we've put together some easy templates for you to follow below. Simply copy, paste, customise, and send!

Just remember: In the same way your sponsored child writes to you using only their first name, please only use your first name as well. Or, if you sponsor as a family, just use the first names of each family member. This is so we can ensure both you and they have an appropriate level of privacy and protection.

THE FIRST LETTER

Example

To dear Nardy

My name is Angela and I am so happy to be your sponsor! I am excited to learn more about you and to watch you grow up. I hope we can be great friends.

Where do you live? I can see that you are five years old. I am 64 years old and I live in Australia in a place called Newcastle. The picture I have sent you is of me at the golf course.

What do you enjoy doing?

I am looking forward to hearing from you. I will be praying for you and your family.

Love,

Angela

Copy and Paste

To dear [sponsored child's name]

My name is [your first name] and I am so happy to be your sponsor! I am excited to learn more about you and to watch you grow up. I hope we can be great friends.

Where do you live? I can see that you are [sponsored child's age] years old. I am [your age] years old and I live in [your country] in a place called [your town/city]. The picture I have sent you is of [me/my family] at [location photo was taken].

What do you enjoy doing?

I am looking forward to hearing from you. I will be praying for you and your family.

Love,

[Your first name]

TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR HOBBIES

Example

To dear Bereket,

Hello from Australia! Thank you for your beautiful letter. I loved hearing about your family in Ethiopia.

I spend most of my time at school, but when it's not a school day, I like to play soccer at the park with my friends. Mum brings our dog with us too sometimes, and he always tries to take the ball. Sometimes when we play, I imagine I'm playing for the Australian team in the World Cup. I hope my dream comes true one day!

What are your favourite things to do?

I hope you are doing well. I'm looking forward to your next letter!

Jake

Copy and Paste

To dear [sponsored child's name]

Hello from [your country]! Thank you for your beautiful letter. I loved hearing about [subject of last letter].

I spend most of my time at [occupation/workplace/school], but when I'm not there I like to [hobby/sport/pastime].

What are your favourite things to do?

I hope you are doing well. I'm looking forward to your next letter!

[Your first name]

INTRODUCE YOUR FAMILY

Example

To dear Armando

Thank you so much for your letter! I loved hearing about your neighbourhood.

Who is in your family? Do you have any brothers and sisters?

I have included a picture of my family for you. This picture was taken on my birthday this year, and I like it because it reminds me of all the fun we had that day.

In the picture you can see my mum and dad. Dad works as an architect, which means he designs houses for people. Mum works as a nurse at a nursing home, so she takes care of the elderly.

I also have two sisters. Mara is 12 and she is a dancer. Last year she won a competition in our town! Lydia is 18 and is about to finish school. She wants to be a nurse, just like Mum.

Can you draw me a picture of your family and tell me about them?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Aaron

Copy and Paste

To dear [sponsored child's name]

Thank you so much for your letter! I loved hearing about [subject of last letter].

Who is in your family? Do you have any brothers and sisters?

I have included a picture of my family for you. This picture was taken [location of picture] and I like it because [reason].

In the picture you can see [description of picture].

Can you draw me a picture of your family and tell me about them?

I look forward to hearing from you,

[Your first name]

ASK THEM ABOUT THEIR GOALS

Example

To dear Rakeri,

Reading your letter made me very happy. I'm so glad you had a great birthday!

What is school like in Uganda?

My school in Australia was really fun! My favourite class was English, because I really enjoy reading and writing. I also really liked lunch-time becuase I got to see my friends who were in different classes.

After school, I went to university to become a journalist, so now I write stories about important things that are happening in my city and they get printed in the newspaper.

This was my dream when I was your age, and I pray that your dreams will come true too.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I'm so excited to hear about your school!

Lots of love,

Jess

Copy and Paste

To dear [sponsored child's name]

Reading your letter made me very [emotion] because [subject of last letter].

What is school like in [sponsored child's country]?

My school in [your country] was really [school experience]. My favourite class was [your favourite class] because [reason].

After school, I [futher education/training/career path]. Now, I [occupation].

This was my dream when I was your age, and I pray that your dreams will come true too.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I'm so excited to hear about your school!

Lots of love,

[Your first name]

Words by Claire Ince

Compassion Stories