Sorry fors, was feeding the parasite.
We began sponsoring a young girl named Jane from Uganda. It was World Vision season when we started it; either the 40 Hour Famine or some television phone-in caper. We got her biography, though brief, a photograh, and a list of general information about her. I recall she liked soccer and maths. She was an orphan and lived with an aunt who couldn't afford to keep her in a villge she didn't know. We weren't allowed to send her packages or presents. Gifts could be things like cards, though no money or anything, basically things which were flat and paper. If we wanted to send her a present for an occasion, like a birthday, it had to be organised through World Vision. You see celebrities and so on swanning about these poverty and drought stricken places and they make it look as though their cessna just landed. Which is bullshit. Sponsorship was (at least) very tied up with red tape. We were welcome to write to her, though warned she might not reply either due to not having English skills or not being able to mail things out. The paperwork also mentioned that governments of these countries seized incoming aid, mail, etc, at times, so contact could be sporadic. Needless, this turned out not to be a problem. We sponsored her for about 10 years, and I wrote to her 0 times. I tried to very frequently. I'd sit down and think what I'd write. Tell her about my school? My 3 bedroom family home with my sister? My favourite food? Music? Books? I didn't think I could send her photos. She was drinking dirty water and I was going to send her a picture of the stray cats my family adopted? Why not just visit her and pat her on the head condescendingly, to top it all off. Now of course, it might be easier to write to someone who was sponsored, but as a teenager I couldn't.
World Vision sent many things to us outlining what the situation was in all those surrounding countries. It was thoroughly depressing and I couldn't grasp the statistics, let alone the stories. It's eye opening. World Vision will harrass you relentlessly, too, for more money, more sponsorships, care packages, the list goes on. You cant begrudge them, but they'll stick to you like the proverbial fly.
All in all, I recommend it. And I will sponsor again.