Colombia Cancel Title is required

Hello All! 

I do not see a discussion board for Colombia, so I will include it in the "Caribbean Region" discussion :)

I just started sponsoring through Children's International, and am very excited. My Colombian girl is named Maria, and she lives in the Barranquilla area.  She was flagged as "high needs," so I hope to provide regular, steady help.  I notice in other discussions sponsors who have children in Zambia provide care through a grocery delivery service. 

How does a grocery delivery service work with sponsorship? Do the groceries get delivered to the center, and the family picks them up? 

Does anyone know if there is something similar in Colombia? 

If not, does anyone know how to find some "on-the-ground" food service in Barranquilla?

Thank you! I look forward to growing in this community.
Claire

Although I don't sponsor in this country I would suggest that the easiest and most efficient way to help with needs is to send an Extra Gift of $100 or more for your child. If this is a new sponsorship you will gain some information about what the family needs by how they choose to use the funds. 

Claire, 
You can give what is called an Extra Gift, which is a monetary gift in the amount of $50 or more. With this you're sponsored child and family will be able to pick items they are in most need of. If you give $100 or more, you can include a note to use it for food. Also, you can find more information on these gifts here on MSC or on our FAQs.

That makes a lot of sense! Thank you!

If you make at least a $100 ER you get back pictures of what the family bought with your sponsored child.

I agree that, for Colombia, extra gifts are the best way to give. I thought I'd test the previous advice on the msg board and send a medium size box directly to CI Baranquilla. It left Florida April 24, arrived at Bogota customs April 27, I paid the "ransom" to get the hostage package released, and still it sits there on hold. It was only three t-shirts, a few mini toys, some dry food, and dental hygiene items. Jhorman may never get to see the package and I learned a lesson about Colombia. Amazing (not surprising) that government officials would do that to one of their own kids in need. EG's from here on out for me.

That makes me sad. I put together a small box of art supplies. Maybe I wont send it. 

How long did it take to get a letter from you kids in Colombia? At first they said 4-6 weeks.  Now, an email from CI suggest it might be 8-12 weeks. Do we not get to hear from kids more regularly than that?

I don't send Direct Packages with CI, because I think an Extra Gift is a lot more convenient and efficient, but I have a friend who lives in Bogotá and sometimes orders items from eBay to sell locally and she told me that a lot of packages never arrive. Do a google search for "Colombia postal system" and read some of the articles, blog posts and forum comments that come up. Apparently, their postal system is privately owned (it's called "4-72") and completely unreliable.

Here is an article in Spanish that describes what a complete disaster the service is, with people lining up every day to inquire about packages that have gone missing: http://www.elcolombiano.com/antioquia/los-envios-perdidos-en-4-72-GX7527954 (If you don't speak Spanish, google translate does a decent translation.)

Edit: This should probably be moved to the South America forum.

About the timing for letters, they are normally received 6-8 weeks for the first letter.  After that, the children write every 6 months no matter what, but if you write often, they will respond once a quarter.  CI doesn't require the kids to write more often than that because it can put a burden on the family.  Keep in mind that coming to the center can require travel, a parent missing a day of work, etc.  So, while some kids may write back more often, for those that don't, it could be for many reasons :-)