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I’m just curious if others do experience what I have experienced when it comes to writing letters and the response that is received. Last letter and letters in the past I’ve asked very specific questions, example, if the child is doing school virtually or in person, my questions go unanswered. So I am just wondering, is the child really receiving and reading the letter, if not read to.

Yes, I have experienced the same.  It seems to depend on whether the letter from the child is one they were required to write (as part of the sponsorship program), or is one written voluntarily in response to the sponsor's letter.

There is a code at the top-right of the letter from your sponsored child, either CR or CP.  If it is CR, then it is one of the required letters and may not reference a letter you have previously written.  If the code is CP, then it is a letter the child wrote voluntarily in response to one you wrote.

Search "code" in the search window of this message board.  There is a good thread entitled "Letter Codes (CW, CR, etc.)" from June 2015 that explains this system.

In my own experience, when I've received CR-coded letters they ​contained very general statements from the child, almost as though we had not corresponded previously.  But then they would follow a few weeks later with a CP-coded letter where they would answer my questions or comment on something I wrote.

The last letter is a CP. I written a letter to respond to a letter I received from him. Besides asking a couple of questions, I shared some personal difficulties, passing of my father and uncle last Letter I received recently, I just felt that it didn’t correspond to the letter I sent at all. 

@Kenny239, I want to extend my deepest sympathies for your father and uncle's passing. We're also sorry to hear that you are disappointed in your sponsored child's latest letter. While we cannot say for certain why all of your questions were not answered, I do want to assure you that your letter was delivered to him and the letter you received was his reply. The school year in the Dominican Republic runs from September to June so he received your letter towards the end of the school year and may have been unsure what the next school year will hold regarding in-person or virtual learning. We have learned from our staff in the Dominican Republic that the new school year, beginning in September, will be in-person. 

Sponsors can send their child as many letters as they want to. I think the children can only send one letter every quarter. If they have already responded to their sponsors letter  in January. for instance, they can't  send  another one until April. If they send one in April they may be responding to previous letters. They haven't necessarily seen your most recent letter yet. and if they have they aren't able to respond to it until  the next quarter, which isn't until April. This does not include things like the twice yearly letters, EG reports, follow ups, ect.  CI allows more communications between sponsors and children than most (possibly any) organisations do. I'm not 100% positive but I would like CI to explain exactly /clearly how this works. Between letters, DPs, requests for information, ect. there is a cost of time, resources, and money for all the services CI provides. It would be helpful for the child's letters to be dated and sponsors to understand they will only get one CR letter every quarter if the child can send one. That is, of course, if I am correct? 

I'm not sure this is true. I got two letters from Lyza in one month. I think they can respond as often as they want to but because they would have to go to the community centre I guess they don't always have the time to do so. Or the opportunity to.

My understanding is that children have to write two CR letters each year ​regardless of whether their sponsors wrote to them or not. If the sponsor writes, then the children are also asked to respond to one of those letters every 3 months - those are the CP letters. Once they respond, the timer starts again and if the sponsor writes more letters during that time, the children are not asked to write more CP letters until the 3 months are up.

I think that means if a sponsor writes a lot they will probably get at least three or four CP letters per year, but it is up to the child if they want to write more often beyond responding to ​a sponsor letter ​once every 3 months.

As an infrequent writer (​sometimes I go 2 months between letters and sometimes it takes me up to 6 months to write), the children tend to respond to each of my letters and I usually get CP letters within a couple months of sending a letter. The CR letters come randomly and yes, those letters are very formulaic and pretty much never reference anything I have written in my previous letters, but in CP letters the children usually ​do respond to my questions, especially the older ones. 

CI, CR, CP, CW...why so many "C's" - LOL!  Keeping track of all the C's of CI can be confusing (even for the moderators), so here's a quick refresher:

CW = Child Welcome letter - This is requested when you first begin your sponsorship
CR = This is the semi-annual letter we ask the youth to write to continue participation in our program
CP = This is a letter that is written in response to a sponsor letter, we only ask the youth to respond once every 90-days

To me it's easier to remember because I think of the CR as a Child Response, rather than a requirement. 

If you write to your newly sponsored child within a few days of sponsoring them, it is possible you could receive a CW and a CR within days/weeks of each other
If you write to your child and the letter is marked for a response (CP) and the youth has also recently written a semi-annual letter (CR) you could receive both the CR and CP within days/weeks of each other. 

Hope this helps. 

Are you saying that a sponsored child or youth ordinarily can't send another response letter to their sponsor before at least 90 days have passed since they sent a  previous reply letter?   I'm thinking a child could  be responding to a previous letter (or letters) from their sponsor and not necessarily to the sponsors most recent ones which the child may not have even received before sending their letter.  I think some sponsors might be expecting to get a letter back for every one they send. 

This link is to a thread from June 2015 that helped me understand the difference between CR and CP codes:

https://www.children.org/MySocialCenter/messageboard/!content/q-and-a-with-children-international/letter-codes-(cw-cr-etc-)

In the CP letters I've received, the child answers questions I've asked and comments on photos I sent, etc.  Some examples: "I am happy for your new pet cat..." or she "is glad to know that you also had hen."  I just received such a letter today!

But in CR letters it's almost like they were writing a general letter that could be sent to anybody, with no reference to a prior letter from me.

Sorry - too many C's and too many hours. I've edited my response. 

Yes, barbmc we only ask the kids reply to one sponsor letter every 90-days (from the date of the first letter we request a response for). Of course, some kids decide to respond even if we don't ask them to. And, yes, prolific writers probably won't get reply for every letter they send. 

Thank you, debbies!  I also edited my response.

I think the CR letters there is some kind of leader/guide giving kids letter writing ideas and that’s why they sometimes (often?) come off more generic and formal that the CP letters.