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Whether you’ll be braving the airport or enjoying a staycation this year, you may be wondering whether it’s ok to share about your holiday or special trip with the child you sponsor.
The answer is yes – absolutely! Like all children, your sponsored child will be curious to learn something new about the country or place you visited.
Back by popular demand, here are our updated top tips for sharing your holiday plans.
1) Talk about visiting friends and family
In many of the countries we work in, visiting family or relatives during holidays is common and something your sponsored child will relate to.
In Indonesia, children join their parents in visiting relatives during national holidays and festivals. During this time the capital, Jakarta, is empty for a few days as people go to their hometowns to get together and share a meal with their family.
2) Buy a postcard
Sending a postcard of a landscape or town from your trip is a great way to share about a different part of the world with your sponsored child. The children in our programme love receiving pictures and want to know more about their sponsor’s life. When you send in your postcard, don’t forget to write your child’s reference number on the back along with your Compassion reference.
Alternatively, you could take a digital photo of the postcard and attach it to an online message via myCompassion and the Compassion UK app.
Nine-year-old Victor and ten-year-old Hellen from El Salvador were both delighted to receive postcards from their sponsors. For Hellen, “My sponsor, she is really special, she told me she visited Paris. She sends me cute letters and stickers and I like them.”
3) Share about a new food you tried
Talking about a whole meal may feel insensitive, but you could talk about a new dish or ingredient you tried on holiday. In your message, why not describe the taste or ask if they have a similar dish in their country?
Friends Dylan and Jesus love meal times at their local church in Ecuador. For Dylan, “My favourite food is rice with chicken and blackberry juice. I like to come eat here because they give me food I like.”
4) Talk about a summer sport
Are you a Wimbledon fan? Or is football or cricket more your cup of tea?
Whether you’ll be watching or playing, sport is a universal language and a great topic of conversation, especially with older children.
5) Share a highlight
Rather than detailing everything about your holiday, simply share one special highlight. This could be a particular place you visited, a funny incident or the enjoyment of having all your friends or family together.
Best friends Michele, Elizabeth, Josephine, Monica, Caroline and Lisa love spending time together at their Compassion project in Kenya. The girls have formed a close bond as well as a taste for mischief!
6) Talk about a favourite summer activity
Over the summer, do you spend time in your garden or in the park? Perhaps you brave a dip in an outdoor pool, lake or the sea. The child you sponsor would love to know more about life in the UK and what activities you get up to when the sun comes out.
7) Talk about the school holidays
Another topic the child you sponsor would love to know about are what children in the UK get up to for fun. Why not share about the school holidays here? You could tell them what your own children, grandchildren or children at your church enjoy doing during the holidays.
Perhaps your church organises a holiday club over the summer. Why not describe some of the activities or ask whether the child you sponsor is participating in a summer camp as part of their project activities?
8) Send a photo
Why not share a holiday snap? This could be a group shot of your friends or family, a photo of a landscape or your own village, town or city.
You can use myCompassion or the Compassion UK app to upload and send your holiday pics.
Please keep in mind the culture of the child you sponsor when sharing a photo. For example, a photo of people in swimming costumes might be seen as inappropriate. If you need advice about this, feel free to get in touch.
9) Describe the different seasons
Depending on where the child you sponsor lives, they may not experience the same change in seasons as we do in the UK.
Take a moment to describe the change in season from spring to summer, or summer to autumn; share your favourite season – after all, it’s a British tradition to talk about the weather!
You could get your own child to draw a picture to show the seasons, or attach some photos to illustrate the changes we see in nature.
10) Send a map or flag
If you don’t feel comfortable writing about your holiday, why not include a map or a flag with some fun facts about the country you visited, or about the UK. At their Compassion project, children learn about different countries as part of the Compassion curriculum so it’s a wonderful education opportunity you’d be giving them.
Thanks to fun sessions at his Compassion project, 10-year-old Cristofer from Honduras has been learning more about where his sponsor lives.
Is it summertime where the child you sponsor lives?
Depending on where the child you sponsor lives, they may also be on summer holiday. Why not ask some questions about summer in their country, for example:
- What is your favourite thing to do during the summer?
- Do you go to school during the summer months?
- Is there a sport you like to play during the summer?
- What is your favourite thing to eat when it’s hot outside?
Whether you decide to write about your summer holiday, the unpredictable British climate or share facts about a particular country, the child you sponsor will be delighted to receive a message from you. Receiving messages is a wonderful boost for a child’s self-esteem, so take a moment to write today?
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