It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Sponsored children around the world have been creating Christmas cards for you, their sponsors. And it’s been extra special because for the first time, they’re using tablets and a special app to do it. This is opening doors for children into the digital world, and new opportunities to connect with you – which they love!
These digital tools combine high tech with high touch. We are pioneering digital technology to foster deeper personal connections, building more meaningful and joyful relationships between sponsors and sponsored children.
Seventeen-year-old Estami from the Dominican Republic is sharing a moment of hope and joy. “Making my Christmas Card on the tablet is so much fun. “I feel like I’m creating something special for my sponsor. I love decorating my Christmas card on the tablet because I know my sponsor will receive it with great joy,” she says.
“I’m delighted to be making my sponsor’s Christmas card,” says Rady, age 8, from Cambodia. “Using this tablet for writing and drawing has provided me with a special experience I have not had before.”
“We thank you for providing us with this magical technology,” says Kevine, age 9, from Rwanda. “We gather, write together, laugh, and share stories while using these tablets and we don’t want to let them go. They have truly brought us joy and strengthened our connections. We love them.”
In some communities where sponsored children live, even pencils and paper are scarce. So the opportunity to use a digital device to connect with you is a real highlight.
We’ve created a special app where children can write to you in their own language, choose from an array of colors and stickers, express their creativity through coloring and drawing, and even take photos and videos.
Your relationship with your sponsored child is the heartbeat of this change.
Using tablets to write to you will help your sponsored child grow their digital confidence, communication and literacy skills, and express their creativity in new ways.
Digital communications will also strengthen your friendship and bring you and your sponsored child closer than ever before.
For the very first time, sponsors are emailed their Chirstmas Card from their sponsored child. You can even forward it to your family. And it only takes a few moments to reply back online. Just simply log in and select “Write My Child”.
“I am happy that I will be able to write to my sponsor more often and receive replies, so we can share updates with each other,” says Kevine.
“Another thing I really enjoyed is that this tablet has beautiful colors, and I have learned how to use them. I even colored the card I wrote to my sponsor, wishing them a Merry Christmas. I am eagerly waiting for their reply. I truly appreciate them.”
This year, many Christmas cards also included a photo of your sponsored child with their family – another exciting first!
“Knowing our photo will reach her sponsor fills us with gratitude; it’s a way to show how much we value their support,” says Domingo, Estami’s dad.
“Capturing the essence of each family in a photo is an honor,” says Franklin, Sponsorship Relationship Officer in the Dominican Republic. “We know these images strengthen the connection between sponsors and the communities they support. Every photo we send is more than an image; it is a story of hope and gratitude that connects hearts across distances.”
“We truly appreciate these tablets because, as parents, we now know what our children write to their sponsors,” says Deborah, mom of Samuel.
“We write together, and our children have also taught us how to use the tablets, including how to open them, write messages, and draw. We understand every step of the process. Both parents and children are becoming more knowledgeable and skilled with this technology.”
“When I watch children in our remote communities using digital tablets, it’s like seeing a glimmer of hope,” says Samaresh Nayak, Country Director of Food for the Hungry Bangladesh.
“These devices are more than tools—they’re windows to a world of opportunities, transforming dreams into a new reality. It’s incredible to witness how something as simple as a tablet can open a universe of creativity, igniting curiosity in ways we never imagined. “
“Children just love it and are thrilled to draw and write on it. I hope the sponsors love the pictures that were so lovingly drawn by our children!”
As you hold your Christmas Card in your hands, we hope you can feel all the love and joy it was created with, from your sponsored child and their family to yours.
Please don’t forget to send your special Christmas Card to your sponsored child. You can do that online too! Log in to your sponsor portal here to send your Christmas message online now.