Sending a gift to your sponsored child
Sometimes sponsors are keen to send gifts to their sponsored child, and it has been something that we’ve promoted in the past. But in-depth research and feedback from the children we work with has recently shown that gifts, however well-meant, can be divisive since so many don’t receive them.
So we’re no longer including gifts for sponsored children in our gifts catalogue, and we’re gradually moving away from individual gifting. However we hope you will consider sending a few words of greeting and perhaps a photo or two, instead.
We do understand that some sponsors have already built up relationships with the children they sponsor in which they feel gift-giving plays a central part, and we're keen to minimise disruption where this is the case. So if this applies to you, you are still able to send a gift which you’ve bought elsewhere. Below, we outline what steps you need to take.
You can purchase a suitable gift for your sponsored child, send it to Plan and we will send it to your sponsored child.
What to send | How to send your gift
What to send
Here are some examples of suitable gifts that we know children enjoy receiving:
- stickers
- local postcards
- small games
- skipping rope
- Frisbee
- puzzles
- football
Whatever you decide to send, please follow these guidelines. They will help you to choose something suitable and help us to send your gift as efficiently as possible.
If you are unsure if your gift is suitable please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to advise you.
Choose something small, light & robust so that is practical for us to get to your sponsored child. All items are hand delivered by Plan staff or our community volunteers and for some remote communities this might involve a days trek on foot or even by donkey. Please keep your gift under 150g/5 oz.
Avoid expensive or expensive-looking items. Like flashy jewellery or watches. As you know, Plan does not give hand-outs to individuals, your contributions are spent on projects that help the whole community. So, while small gifts as tokens of friendship support this approach, larger or expensive ones can create jealousy and resentment, contradicting our community approach and slowing progress. Expensive-looking items are also more likely to go missing on route (for which we cannot accept responsibility).
Often the most treasured gift that you can send is a photo of yourself and your family. As a guide, please keep the value of your gift below £10, or under £20 where you have found a gift that is designed to be shared with others or that has specific educational value (weight limit still applies).
Not too many! We believe that sending gifts helps build friendships and we are happy to help get correspondence to them and theirs back to you. But to make sure that most of our resources are spent on delivering long-term benefit for all children through our community projects we have to have some limits. Please limit the number of packages you send to two per year.
Please do not send the following:
Money, however small the amount. It may go missing and encourages corruption. It also contradicts our community project approach which can cause confusion.
Perishable items such as food, seeds, or anything sharp. Due to customs regulations, we are unable to forward them.
Liquids or fragile things that might break, leak, melt or spoil (for example makeup, creams and toothpaste). A broken gift is disappointing and they can damage other gifts sent in the same delivery.
Videos, tape cassettes and CDs. Your sponsored child’s family are unlikely to be able to play them.
Items requiring batteries. Batteries can leak and will run out so we advise against them. Gifts are often shared and we have found that the small electronic games or toys, so popular here, may last only a few hours. This can be disappointing and put families under pressure to replace them, which can be costly.
Items of religious significance (including overtly religious Christmas and Easter cards), unless relevant to your sponsored child’s religion. These can cause offence.
Second-hand clothes. These are generally not well received even if in good clean condition. Families are seeking a hand-up not hand outs.
Items needing translation, for example games with complicated instructions. Our translators are fully occupied translating letters to and from sponsors and don’t have the capacity to translate other items. Please bear this in mind if you want to send a book, these should be in the child’s language.
We check all gifts to ensure that they comply with custom regulations, our guidelines and to ensure that they are labelled clearly for our colleagues in your sponsored child’s country.
We reserve the right not to forward gifts that we feel are unsuitable. If this happens we’ll let you know what action has been taken, although it is simply not cost-effective to do this where the unsuitable item is a minor part of your parcel. We have to be practical. Unsuitable gifts slow the whole process down so please help us by following these guidelines.
How to send your gift
Once you have chosen your gift please:
Clearly label both your gift & any accompanying letter with your sponsor number and your sponsored child’s reference number. This helps us sort and track communications.
Please do not wrap or seal your present. Label your gift and put it in a clear plastic bag making sure that the label is clearly visible. This makes it easier for us when we check that it meets custom regulations, our guidelines and that it is labelled clearly.
Remember NOT to include your address. Your letters or gifts could be seen by a large number of different people during customs procedures, translation and delivery to your sponsored child’s community. This protects you from any unwanted requests for money or assistance.
Place your parcel in an outer envelope/packaging addressed to our usual Plan address:
Plan UK
5-6 Underhill Street
London NW1 7HS
And we will forward your gift to your sponsored child. It will be sent with mail from other sponsors as this is most cost effective. If you would like to make a donation towards the postage costs please enclose a cheque made payable to Plan with ‘postage’ and your sponsor number written on the back. This would be greatly appreciated.
Allow plenty of time for your gift to arrive and to get a reply!
It can take up to 3 months for your gift and letters to reach your sponsored child. It may take up to the same timescale to hear back as your sponsored child's letter makes a similar return journey. If you intend to send a gift to your sponsored child in time for Christmas we recommend that your gift is sent to us in September or early October.
Important Update - for sending gifts to your sponsored child in Egypt
Our colleagues in Egypt have advised us that the government there has recently introduced an extremely heavy customs tariff on imported clothes (for example, approximately £30.00 for a t-shirt). Therefore whilst we appreciate that items of clothing can be popular gifts for sponsored children, we have been asked not to forward them to Egypt as long as this tariff is in place.
Should the situation change, we will post updates and let you know.
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