Sponsor Communication

Armando received a sweet note from his sponsor. It included a picture of the two of them when she was in Nicaragua!

Our students love to receive letters from their sponsors! It’s one of the best things about sponsorship. Without Limits strives to empower kids not just with school supplies and backpacks but also through encouraging and expecting big things from them. If they know that there are people who believe in them and want them to succeed, students do better in their classes.

As you know, we changed the way we do sponsor communication this year. Students will now write letters in response to letters they receive. This encourages two-way communication between sponsor and student. If you haven’t sent a letter to your student, please consider just sending a quick note.

One thing that we are asking of sponsors is that any communication with your student be done through us and not directly through social media. While we strongly desire our students to have a relationship with their sponsors, we have found that direct communication does not grow that relationship. Our students do not speak English and most sponsors do not speak Spanish, which leaves it up to guessing and usually Google translate. The students use local slang and abbreviations while chatting on social media, which is almost impossible to translate correctly leading to constant miscommunication. Also New Song and Without Limits work to create a culture of empowerment, not dependency. This is difficult to do when families often encourage their children to ask sponsors for things before they even talk to us. We do not want that to be the relationship you have with your sponsored student nor do we want that to be a constant temptation for the students or their families.

You might think that you need to send a gift with your letter. While this is so appreciated, usually, they get more excited about the letter and a photo than any gift sent. It’s amazing how much the students really do love to see what their sponsors and families look like and read about their lives. If you are going to send a gift to your student, please remember that your student only speaks Spanish. Books and cards in English are not helpful for your student.

Ideas of what to send your student:
–Photographs
-Age appropriate books in Spanish
-Toothbrush
-Stickers and stick-on tattoos
-Hair Accessories
-Coloring Books
-Clothes
-Balloons (flat, not with air in them)
-Puzzles
-Beach balls or bouncy balls

Things NOT to send:
-Books in English
-Money (our program strives to give goods not money)
-Technological or expensive items
-Candy or food (It takes a long time for packages to get to us, and because of insects and the climate much of the candy is inedible by the time it gets to the student)

Packages and letters can be sent to this address and will be sent to the next available team or person coming to Nicaragua:

New Song Mission Nicaragua
2624 Leighton Ridge Dr., Suite 140
Wake Forest, NC, 27587

Please remember that letters and packages take a long time to get to us so please be patient.
Thank you so much for your love for these kids. They are smart and anxious to hear from you!