In Reply to: Gifts for sponsored children? posted by shaddup on Saturday, 17. February 2007 at 05:55 Bali Time:
I've only visited my sponsor child once and won't be able to go and visit him every year. The best i can hope for will be every second year (hard trying to pay for holidays when you're going solo on a mortgage!). I visited my child on the distribution day so that may have eased things a little as all the children received things on that day and it was a big carnival atmosphere anyway.
I took a bag of gifts for the school, which I gave to the headmistress. It had assorted books to teach basic english and maths as well as some wall charts. The local football associatioan (via my dad who is involved there) donated some footballs (rugby league balls for something different), and a pump with the right needle for pumping up the balls, as well as a few assorted sized shirts and caps - unfortunately not enough for everyone but could be used as prizes or rewards perhaps. There were also a few other bits and pieces that I can't remember off the top of my head now.
I also gave my sponsor boy his own gift of a new backpack containing colouring book, sketch pad, exercise books, stationery set with koalas on it, some aussie themed stickers, coloured pencils, toothbrush and toothpaste, some small toys like matchbox cars, bouncy balls, a tshirt. I know it sounds like a lot, but it all fit inside a small backpack so it really wasn't massive amounts.