Hello! I would love to be able to visit my sponsored child either in April or February (as I am a teacher and will be on vacation at that time). I would be going with my family for a mission trip around the same area as my sponsored child. Who do I contact about visitation and how do I go about setting that up?
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Posted 5 years ago
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Official Response
Hi Cassie! It looks like both of your sponsored children are in Guatemala so that would be perfect! How exciting! I hope you get to do this! We have a couple of options for visiting your child.
The first option would be a Sponsor Tour. You would travel with a group of other sponsors, tour a few different centers, do a service project, and spend a very special day with your child. We are actually taking a tour to Guatemala in February 2015 and July 2015 so you might look into this. Group tours are a all-inclusive trip including plane tickets, food, hotels, transportation on the ground, etc. Feel free to browse each of our trip itineraries and register for a tour at the above link.
The second option is to take a trip on your own and we will work with you to plan a Custom Visit. You would be on your own for all transportation, hotel stays, food, etc. However, we will provide translation services on the ground and will work with you and your child to arrange the visit. You may send a request for a Custom Visit at the above link. The Visits Team will then be in contact with you to arrange your visit.
The first option would be a Sponsor Tour. You would travel with a group of other sponsors, tour a few different centers, do a service project, and spend a very special day with your child. We are actually taking a tour to Guatemala in February 2015 and July 2015 so you might look into this. Group tours are a all-inclusive trip including plane tickets, food, hotels, transportation on the ground, etc. Feel free to browse each of our trip itineraries and register for a tour at the above link.
The second option is to take a trip on your own and we will work with you to plan a Custom Visit. You would be on your own for all transportation, hotel stays, food, etc. However, we will provide translation services on the ground and will work with you and your child to arrange the visit. You may send a request for a Custom Visit at the above link. The Visits Team will then be in contact with you to arrange your visit.
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How close does one actually have to be to their child's area for a visit to be arranged. For example, if I was on a safari in Kenya and was able to book some extra time at the end in Niarobi, would I be able to set up a visit with a kid in Busia rouighly 230 miles away?
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Lindsay, it may depend on the age of the child, etc. but most likely we could plan a visit like you had mentioned. You are more than welcome to send a request for a Custom Visit like this and our visits team will look into whether this would be possible. Also, please keep in mind that you will be responsible to cover transportation costs for your child, a caregiver, and translator to travel to meet you.
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Hi, for Sponsor Tours, can we be automatically notified if an upcoming Tour will cover our child's centre?
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Hi Chak! We currently automatically notify sponsors who sponsor a child in a country we are visiting on an upcoming tour. Regrettably, the specific centers that we will be visiting on a tour are often decided upon much later in the tour planning process than when sponsors would need to sign up. This means that it would not be possible to notify sponsors that we are visiting their child's center before they register for that tour.
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I sure hope you do visit your sponsor children. When possible go on both sponsor tours and individual visits. On the individual visit you get to see the child center and home of your sponsor child. Whenever you go on a group tour don't be surprised if God leads you to sponsor one more. I've seen that happen.
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This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Hi there! I was wondering if there is ever an opportunity to meet our sponsored c....
Hi! I was wondering if there is ever an opportunity to meet our sponsored child? We travel a lot and our son is asking when we can meet his "brother"? Is this a possibility & what are the guidelines?
Hi! I was wondering if there is ever an opportunity to meet our sponsored child? We travel a lot and our son is asking when we can meet his "brother"? Is this a possibility & what are the guidelines?
Cassie Cloutier
Thank you again for your help and information! I truly appreciate your support and assistance!
Emily
You are definitely encouraged to bring gifts to your child if you feel led to do so! This can be a great time for you to bond with your children and bless them in a tangible way that you aren't able to do just through letters. Toys and clothing are acceptable items to bring to your child but we do not have information on what size clothing your child may need. This will be something you would need to inquire with your child in a letter or purchase a size you think would fit your child. Regrettably, we do not have the ages of the members of your children's family but we do have information on their genders. Our records indicate that Zulema lives with her mother and father and has 2 brothers, one of which is in the program so we know that he is 10 years old. Luis has 1 brother and no sisters and lives with his mother and father.
I would encourage you to visit our FAQ page and Preparation page, for our trips as they provide a lot of helpful information and great ideas for gifts to bring your child and their family!