Still have a question?

Help, I don’t know what to write…

Visit our letter writing tips page for suggestions.

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How will my letter/ card/ postcard get there?

Your sponsored child lives in one of the world’s poorest areas, where infrastructure is typically weak and unreliable and postal services often don’t exist. When your letter/ card arrives in their country, it will be logged, the contents vetted and translated before it’s delivered to your sponsored child in person by a World Vision staff member.

Unfortunately for reasons outside our control, we can’t always guarantee your letter will arrive.
Find out more about how your letter or card gets there

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Should I involve my own children?

Absolutely! Involving your own children is a great way to teach them about issues of poverty and injustice and give them a real friend on the other side of the world. Many of our sponsors’ children send letters, cards and drawings. Find out more.

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Will I get a reply?

In many cases the answer’s YES. However due to infrastructure constraints and often unstable climatic, political and economic conditions where sponsored children live we can’t guarantee this. Find out more.

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Can I send a gift?

Well-meaning sponsors sometimes send gifts that cost us large sums of money in customs duty – money we need for our programs. Visit our guidelines on sending gifts.

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Can I send money?

Please DON’T send money directly to your sponsored child. Find out why.

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Will you read my letter/ card?

Yes, to protect our sponsored children, our policy is to open, log and vet all letters/ cards to ensure they don’t contain offensive or inappropriate content. World Vision places the highest priority on child protection.

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My sponsored child’s too young to read or write, how will we connect?

World Vision staff, a family member or a teacher will help younger sponsored children to understand and respond to your letters/cards.

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How long should my letter/ card be?

Most letters/ cards will be translated by our very busy, dedicated field staff. We’d recommend your letter/card is no more than one A4 page.

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How do I address my letter/ card?

If you’re writing on a card or writing paper that we’ve sent you, just put it in the envelope provided, send it to us and we’ll forward it to your sponsored child.

If you’re writing your own letter or card, you’ll find the full address details on the back of the picture folder we sent you, or you can look up the addresses of the national office in your sponsored child's country.

If you’re sending a postcard, put this in an envelope for posting. Find out more.

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We have a group sponsorship, how should we write?

Please remember that most letters/ cards are translated by our busy, dedicated field staff, so please limit group letters/cards to one per sponsored child.

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Can I send photos?

Absolutely! Photos often become prized possessions.

We encourage you to send photos of your family, your friends and your activities. Please avoid photos of people in swimwear, revealing clothing or t-shirts that could be considered offensive, as well as photos demonstrating your material wealth and possessions that might increase the perceptions of difference between you and your sponsored child.

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© 2012 World Vision Australia. World Vision Australia ABN 28 004 778 081 is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.

World Vision Australia is a Public Benevolent Institution and operates three funds which have Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status with the Australian Tax Office.