Gifts

Yes, you can! Giving a gift to your child's family will bless them. It could help provide income-generating opportunities the family can use to help support themselves and ultimately be released from poverty. It may be used to purchase livestock and household equipment or to establish a small business. Programme staff will work with the family to assess their needs at the time of your gift, and allocate the money in the most effective way to meet these needs.

We understand many supporters would like to send a larger gift to their sponsored child, but unfortunately, we can’t send parcels or bulky items overseas because of possible theft, high customs charges for our country offices and delivery costs.  

We can only send items that can be scanned like postcards and photos, and activities on A4 paper such as crosswords or pages to colour in.

Items like postcards and photos will be scanned by Tearfund and sent digitally. Please ensure you write your sponsored child’s number and your supporter number on any items you send us.

We can’t deliver non-paper items such as balloons, magnets, ribbons, teddy bears, dolls, stickers, sporting goods, books or anything made of metal or fabric.  

Our recommendation is to give a financial gift. That way the local staff in your sponsored child’s community can purchase a gift locally, buying something they know your sponsored child would appreciate. This ensures the gift matches your child’s needs, is culturally appropriate and helps to support the local economy. 

It is likely that the next time your child writes to you, they will thank you for the gift they have received, and let you know more information about what it is or how it is being used. If your child doesn’t indicate what was received, please contact us and we can find out for you.

No, you do not have to give gifts to your child or his family. A gift is truly that — a gift. But if you choose to do so, it will be:

•     a memorable experience for the child and his or her family;
•     a tangible expression of your love;
•     a way to strengthen your relationship with the child; and
•     a way to meet a need in the family's life.

Contact our Supporter Relations team by emailing info@tearfund.org.nz or calling 0800 800 777 and they would be happy to assist you in setting this up.

Generally speaking, we advise that a gift will take up to six or eight weeks to reach your sponsored child. This is a conservative estimate; some centres will process their gifts quicker than this, but we use eight weeks as our standard guideline to avoid creating an expectation we can't meet.

The gift process depends largely on the infrastructure in your sponsored child's community. Compassion International records and monitors the process to ensure transparency and accountability, and this is a significant reason for our eight-week guideline.

Don't worry, your sponsored child will still receive a Christmas gift even if you are unable to donate this year. Because all gifts to the Christmas Gift Fund are pooled internationally and distributed to purchase a gift for every Compassion International assisted child, your sponsored child will be unaware that you were unable to pay personally for the gift. Please do not be surprised if your sponsored child writes and thanks you for their gift and tells you what they received.

Even if you cannot send a gift, you can still show your sponsored child they are loved by signing and returning the Christmas card enclosed with the Christmas Gift Fund email letter. These cards are appreciated by Compassion International assisted children just as much as the gifts they receive.

In many cases, the siblings and other family members are included in the child development centre's Christmas celebrations. However, you are most welcome to send a family gift in addition to your Christmas donation. You can state that you would like gifts to be purchased for the other members of your sponsored child's family, and this will be communicated to the centre staff who help choose the gifts according to their needs.

Sending a special gift for the child you sponsor is greatly appreciated, and below you’ll find information to guide your generosity with an appropriately sized monetary gift. These perimeters are to avoid creating dependence and are vital to ensure the family are not placed at risk within their community, where many children and their families are living on just $NZ3 per day. 

If you would like to give a financial gift, please contact us by emailing info@tearfund.org.nz or call 0800 800 777. You can also donate a birthday or Christmas gift via the link in the email you receive. 

*Graduation gifts can only be donated within the year leading up to your sponsored child’s planned completion date, and up to 90 days after that date. 

You may give a gift at any time. Birthdays and Christmas are frequent gift-giving occasions, but you may also give family or special child gifts on other occasions. A graduation gift may be given during the child's final year of sponsorship.

For many families living in abject poverty, receiving a gift from their child's sponsor has the potential to radically change their circumstances. Once you communicate your intention to give a gift, particularly a family or a final gift, we strongly recommended you follow through on your commitment to avoid severe disappointment for the family. You can be assured that their greatest need will be determined through personal consultations between our child development staff and the sponsored child's family.

Please note birthday and Christmas gifts will be sent at the appropriate time. For example, if you donate money in January for your sponsor child’s birthday, which is in July, the money will be sent closer to the actual time so the child/family receives it in July.