Although it is tempting, please don't tell your sponsored child that you will be visiting. If you have to cancel for any reason, he or she will be disappointed. World Vision project staff will tell your sponsored child on your behalf once the trip is confirmed.

• Special Government travel permission is required in some countries where we work, this can take 8-12 weeks to arrange.
• We need to contact your sponsored child’s family and notify them well in advance to be sure they are available to meet on the proposed date.
• Your visit is a very special occasion for your sponsored child, their family and community. They will want time to plan welcome activities and other aspects of your visit.
• Staff at the World Vision office in your sponsored child’s country need time to plan too. There are limited staff members who must organise time away from their project work to accompany visitors.
• We may need to coordinate several different sponsors visiting at the same time. Some countries have a very high frequency of visits compared to others and we need to be conscious of the impact many visits may have on each country.

• Take small gifts that are easy to pack and have a practical use. Ideally, try to purchase gifts in country. It will not only save luggage space, but will also support the local economy and community in your sponsored child's country.
• We have found that children love pencils, crayons, t-shirts, skipping ropes, tennis balls, footballs/soccer balls (with a pump), maps of Australia, inflatable world globes, your family photos and Australian toy animals. Keep it simple.
  

You will be surrounded by many children from the community. It's best to bring gifts that can be shared, like stickers, balloons, bubbles or sporting equipment, so that children who aren't sponsored don't feel left out. We can advise you more specifically on what gifts to bring as your visit plans progress.

You definitely should not hand out cash – as your child sponsorship funds are used to cover the community needs.

Please do not give your contact details to your sponsored child, their family or community members.

We discourage direct postal contact for a variety of reasons, most particularly for the privacy and protection of both you and your sponsored child. It’s important to keep your address confidential in case it falls into the wrong hands, which may lead to unwanted requests for money or other help.

Please continue to send your correspondence to the World Vision office in the country where your sponsored child lives. You’ll find these details inside your sponsored child's photo folder and on the World Vision website.

Often the best response to this question is to explain that you currently donate money to World Vision to help your sponsored child and their community.

World Vision discourages giving cash directly to children or communities and it’s best not to make promises that may not be kept when you return to Australia.

If you have questions about areas of need which you may be seeing during your visit, please ask the National Office staff to explain what strategies are in place to address these needs.

We have attempted to streamline and make the process as easy as we can, however, we cannot compromise on any child protection standards and DFAT requirements.

It is a DFAT requirement that we conduct a police check where the result will be returned to World Vision no earlier than 30 days prior to the visit.