Connecting with Sponsors of Zambian Children Cancel Se requiere un título

Hello, everyone! I have been sponsoring 6 year old Ruth from Zambia for almost 2 years and it has been an incredible experience.
I wanted to create a forum to connect with others who are sponsoring children in Zambia. I wanted to try and see if I could meet new people this way and I would really love to connect with other sponsors of Zambian children.

If you are on Instagram, feel free to message me there @my.name.is.diego

I don't sponsor in zambia but I would love to connect with you. Both my parents sponsor in zambia

Greetings!  I have been sponsoring children for years in Zambia.  I also visited the first two girls I sponsored in Zambia, it was a great experience.  I enjoyed my visit, went to their villages and then took them to the city for lunch and shopping. Although it has been sometime since I made that trip, I will never forget the wonderful experience I had.  I stayed over for a few more days and had a great vacation in this very laid back country.  Welcome to the Zambia corner! I would love to share notes with you.  I have not posted anything for a very long time but will make an effort now.
Keep well!

Hello Joaniedear, thanks for reaching out and of course I would like to connect with you as well.

Hello, Brawta, thank you for reaching out. I am glad to hear you were able to visit your sponsored children in Zambia. I am currently halfway through my university studies but my goal is to go visit Ruth in Zambia in 2 years when I graduate.

Hello - I have been sponsoring a wonderful young man from Zambia since April.  I get such joy sending letters and EG's to him and his family. I am hoping I get the opportunity to travel to Zambia and meet him one day.   

Hello, My boyfriend and I sponsor 2 boys in Zambia currently, and in the past I have sponsored others in Zambia. Our current sponsors are Justine who is 9, almost 10 and Zindi who is 12 years old. Both write letters to us several times a year. They are both sweet boys and we have loved getting to know each of them. If you are interested, we would love to chat and meet other sponsors as well

Hi! I’ve also been a sponsor for two years to my little friend Evans from Zambia and I’m just looking at a picture of little girl Ruth - she’s so cute! I agree, it’s an amazing experience to be a sponsor and even through letters and pictures to see a shift for the better in their little lives. One day I am hoping to go visit Evans and currently waiting for feedback on the EG I sent on 22.10. and I hope it arrives soon .. I'm rarely on instagram, more often on fb, but I'd love to also connect with people who sponsor children in Zambia, so .. we'll stay in touch :)

Hi Brawta! I'm glad you enjoyed your visit to Zambia. I am looking forward to the day I can go visit the beautiful child I sponsor in Zambia!

Hi, I've sponsored 2 girls in Zambia since 2012/2013. Previously I had only sponsored in India and it has been interesting to get to know my Zambian girls. One of them is definitely more "talkative" than the other, but that's ok, everyone has their own personalities. I'd love connect with other sponsors of kids in Zambia. I've never been there but I'd love to go and meet my girls before they age out of the program which will be in 3 years!! 

I sponsor 2 girls in Zambia, but I receive very little information, and none directly from them. In one case a father and in the other a grandmother have briefly responded, but I don't find out much about their lives, interests, activities or needs. Children International did let me know in general terms how my first extra gift to each girl was used, but not the subsequent ones. I feel very much in the dark and just hope they are well and the money is being put to good use.

Oh Bonnie, so sorry you didn't receive the reports from your July 2021 extra gift donations, I'll have them sent again. For kids in Zambia the funds for this donation are sent directly to the family using a local mobile money transfer platform and the purchase of items was done by the family without the presence of a member of staff as a way of abiding by the COVID19 prevention measures. This means no photos are sent because there is no direct contact between the family and the members of staff and the families do not have smart phones or technology to assist in the taking of photos and processing of letters. However, a parent/grandparent/guardian do call the staff to let them know what items they selected and to share a "letter" with the staff, which is included in the report. 

Also, it's typical for a parent, sibling, grandparent, etc. to write letters for the kids until they are able to read and write.  Kids in Zambia to not begin grade school until age 7, Grace and Ruth still have a little ways to go before they are confident enough to write their own letters. In the meantime, keep enjoying the letters that dad and grandma are sending to you. 

Hello I am new here and I sponsor a little girl in Zambia I would love to get more letters and pictures from her to track her progress. I have not communicated much but want to try to communicate more on a monthly basis.

Patricia_2f8ce, brava and congratulations for sponsoring five-year-old Beauty in Lusaka, Zambia.  About your statement "love to get more letters and pictures from her to track her progress."  Your sponsored child is only five, it is highly unlikely she can write.   She is not even eligible for public school until she is seven.  As for her caregivers in Lusaka -- be they parents, grandparents or relatives -- it is best to remember that the literacy rate in Zambia is only 55.3 percent and sometimes far less in the urban compounds where CI children and youths live.  It is an important truth that CI adult volunteers and employees may write/send you update letters until your sponsored child can write on her own.  Adding to this reality is Zambia's caution during the pandemic and the pandemic's continuing impact on the work of Children International.  Best to be patient and realistic while things are sorted out.  In the meantime, yes, do increase your letters and greeting cards to her using CI's convenient online letter and card system.  Your missives will be cherished. The children/youths I sponsor in Zambia (nine!) always express their gratitude for receiving my communications and tell me they save my letters.

It can take a while to receive a letter from your sponsored child or her family member. Sometimes parents or people from the community centers write letters for the younger children. Even if she can't write I still encourage you to write letters so she has something to look back on when she gets older. Most of these kids live in areas where there may not be good mail service so it takes time for them to receive the letter. And if you send it electronically it can take a while too. Letters have to be translated and sent to the child, then written to you and translated again. It may take several months to receive a letter. Writing a letter electronically is faster, but if you want more personalized letter for your child to read, you can write it and mail it, but it will take a while to receive a response. I would also say don't write too many letters at once, it can be overwhelming for younger children. Wait until you receive a letter back and then respond. Hope that was helpful. :)

I sponsor Charles in Zambia. I have been sponsoring him for 3 years. He is 18. I can't believe how fast he grew up!!! I love knowing that I am helping older kids continue their education. Sometimes older kids are made to stop school and work which is detrimental to their future, so I like sponsoring older kids so they can finish their education and learn other skills too that will help them in their future. 

REMINDER:
Currently, the only letters we can process are ones written through MyCI. When you write a letter through MyCI, your letter will be transferred electronically to your child’s field office. If your child’s family has a phone, a staff member will either digitally forward it to your child’s family or call and read it to them. Note: If the family is not able to communicate digitally, we will try to find a way to deliver it and keep the lines of communication open whenever possible. We know how disappointing this is for our sponsors and children, and hope you won't let that disappointment overshadow how important sponsorship is for providing critical needs at this time.

Bonnie, I am having the same experience. This is my first time sponsoring - nearly a year now - and the letters I receive seem more like 'form' letters for the most part, and the information in the letters sometimes contradict each other in a manner that makes me wonder what is actually going on. I plan to call CI about it; I've had a few disconcerting experiences, including in relation to a Zambian girl I was supposedly sponsoring who turned out not to be in the program, yet I was getting letters from her.

Rebecca1010: I know how confusing it can be to receive letters from a youth and begin forming a friendship, and then learn they've moved out of the program area unexpectedly. I've had that happen too...with my first sponsored youth, but he moved after 10 years.  Zambia has been one of the most difficult agencies for CI to gather letters from since the pandemic began in March 2020 due to the government mandates and the families lack of digital means. They've come a long way in the past two years and we're seeing more and more letters arriving from the agency - most dictated over the phone to a volunteer, who in turn dictates it to a staff member. We know that once the centers are more fully opened and families can move freely and begin their new normal, that we'll see an increase in letters and they'll be more personal, because it's less awkward to write your own letter than it is to dictate one. You began your sponsorship at a very abnormal time in the world, but we still want your sponsorship to be enjoyable, so please call our Care Team and we'll be happy to address any concerns you have. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing, this sounds fun! I always wanted to travel to Africa and I figured visiting my sponsored child would be a great reason to. I would love to connect and hear more about your experiences & notes. 

Hello All,

I just began sponsoring 6 year old Selina from Zambia this past January, so it's been a few months so far. I love the user interface of this platform and ability to engage with the sponsorship community, which my other sponsoring organization doesn't do. Definitely looking forward to long-term journey and experience with CI!

Hi All, I received a letter today from my sponsored child's mother in Zambia and she reported that she feels the COVID situation has improved a lot recently and that the child I sponsor has been able to continue going to school in person (and the mother has been able to return to working some.) I thought that sounded like positive news and wanted to share with others who sponsor there. 

HI Team Zambia!  I am interested in learning about the education report?  How can I find out what the children might need for school? I love the story of having the brother also get everything needed :-)

 I have 2 older girls (16 and 12) and just started with two young one (6 and 7).   Are most of the CI kids in/around Lusaka or in other parts of the country?  I would also love to go once Covid settles down. 

Thanks for explaining the 'form' letter style and about how the process of translation works, each letter is really a labor of love.  

Hi Barbarap, CI works in Lusaka only. You can ask for an education report, but then there is an unspoken expectation that the sponsor will contribute the necessary funds through an extra gift (EG). A report would be useful in order to know what grade your children are in. Zambian children definitely value education, as I and some other sponsors have found out. At the same time, school is expensive in Zambia, and CI and families can only meet a small part of the children’s education needs. An EG of $150 a year for the younger children and $250 a year for the older ones should be very helpful. School starts in January, but funds can be sent any time of the year.

Hi Diego, I just started sponsoring a little girl from Zambia. Everything is new for me. Can you give me some advice?

Hi barbarap: Wow, thanks for supporting four children. This site is moderated by the Care Team staff in Kansas City, rather than the staff in the field (they are busy with the children and youth in the program).  You are welcome to send an EG to help provide for any educational needs your sponsored youth may have. You can send a donation and just indicate it's for educational needs and ask what grade the youth is in and how they are doing in school.  Or you can request a report for education needs, which will include what grade the youth is in, how they are doing in school and a complete list of the needs. 
Someone mentioned it is an unspoken expectation that by doing an inquiry the sponsor will send the necessary funds. This is not actually unspoken, if a sponsor is not interested in providing funding (and that's ok!), and just wants to know more about the youth's education experience, then we do not memo we suggest that the sponsor write to the youth and ask.  By not sending a memo for the information, it saves CI money, saves the staff time and does not create expectations for the family. 

Hi, I dont have instagram and to be honest I dont come on this site anywhere near as often as I should but we have sponsored a girl in Lusaka Zambia for quite a while now. My wife and I actually visited Rabecca at her home and met her family and went to the Children International center. We took them grocery  shopping and arranged for a bed as she was just on the floor on a matt. We took them all out for lunch and it was a joy watching her enjoy what I am sure was her first chocolate sundae. I am huyoo on facebook. If there are more i am huyoo and the picture is basketball players and its a bad joke. if you dont find me, I congratulate you for sponsoring a child. Its an absolute good and I wish you well. Rob.

Hello everyone,
I m María and I m sponsoring two children from Zambia, I started recently. I m happy to do so. it s great to be able to communicate with other sponsors. 
best"

Hello,
I have been sponsoring two kids in Zambia for many years now, so the children I started with are no longer in the program and I have a few more changes over the years.  I have also visited the children in Gambia and visited their villages. We also went shopping, had lunch; a first for both.
I am always curious to know what has become of these children once they leave the program. There is always a bit of sadness for me when I am no longer connected to them. I am glad that I am able to continue sponsoring because it makes such a difference in their lives.
Wishing you well on your journey of kindness to someone in need.

Regards,
Paulette