We still have more Compassion kids to visit someday but I wanted to get to see several of them now while we still had the chance (both financially, and before we get too busy if we have kids of our own someday).
People have asked if we preferred the group trip or the individual trip more and the answer is......both! They each had their pros and cons so I think it really depends on the person, how many kids they sponsor in that area, how familiar they are at arranging travel plans, language barriers, finances, etc. Both trips were so special and life changing that we really wouldn't trade them for the world. We are so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet our kids.....it just makes us love them even more!
A reminder of where we went:
In May we went to Peru to visit Said (sponsored), Flor (sponsored), and Yessica (correspondence child) on a group trip.
In November we went to the Philippines to visit Zymvra and Precious (both are our correspondence kids) on an individual trip....so we did the visits and then had a vacation of our own with snorkeling, swimming with whale sharks, etc.
Below I will go over a few of the pros and cons of each based on our personal experiences. Of course these might be in different categories for you, or not an issue so this is just my perspective to give you a few things to think about. (Obviously it is a win-win situation either way....so the con's aren't really that bad, but just things to think about when deciding.)
Visiting with Child Survival Program participants in Peru.
Sponsor Group Trip: (with a Compassion leader, they arrange everything, go to several Compassion projects, and then have one (maybe 2) fun day to meet your sponsored child...where the child comes to your location)
Pros:* Nothing to plan (other than your plane ticket from your location to the group meeting spot....Miami in our case). Then sit back and relax (and shop like crazy for gifts for your kids).
* You get the knowledge and expertise of the Compassion staff who have arranged every detail, the schedule, the projects you are going to, the travel arrangements for your Compassion kids, etc.
* You get to socialize with other sponsors who love Compassion just as much as you!
* You learn about all the Compassion programs first-hand by visiting several Compassion projects, home visits of kids in those projects to see living conditions, Child Survival Program, meet LDP kids, etc. It is amazing at the wonderful work going on around the world with this great organization.
* TRANSLATORS! Every step of the way, we had translators and I can't tell you how important this is when you want to be able to understand what is going on and to be able to connect with your child. On our fun days, each sponsor has a translator so that you can have that one-on-one time with your child to get to know them more.
* Able to take gifts for other sponsors for their sponsored kids (drop them off at the country office, or give to local Compassion staff to take it there for you).
Cons:
* Having the kids share a "fun day". In most countries, there is only one "fun day" to meet your sponsored/correspondence kids.....so if you have several kids, they are sharing your attention. Thankfully in Peru we had 2 "fun days" since we were in different parts of the country during the week (so kids went to whichever location was closer for them). This helped us by having 1 kid the first day, and 2 kids the second day. Having more than 2 at once might get too overwhelming trying to learn about each of them and to make them each feel special. Thankfully since both my husband and I went, on the day with 2 kids he was Said's buddy and I was Flor's buddy for rides and such, which did work out well.
* Not visiting the actual homes, Compassion project, etc. of your own sponsored child (unless you are lucky enough to have a child in one of the 3 projects you visit that week). This obviously wouldn't be possible for everyone, but it is something to keep in mind if that is your goal...since an individual trip would work better for you then.
* Having to stick with the group at all times, and the group schedule. Sometimes we allowed way too much time to get the group together (and sometimes people were still late from their rooms). If we were by ourselves we would have just left and been on with our day much sooner. Sometimes we did more shopping or filler activities than we would have done ourselves, but its hard to please the whole group regardless :)
* Expensive: This trip cost over $6000 for my husband and I to go on (plus domestic flights...since you meet the group in Florida before continuing on to Peru....thankfully I have plenty of frequent flier miles so that portion was free for us). Some countries you visit cost even more....plus I was lucky enough to use my advocate discount towards my portion (not my husbands) so that helped a little. I like planning trips so I know I could have found cheaper deals on our own hotels (but then we wouldn't be on the group bus, same hotel, following the itinerary, etc. so it would be totally different too).
*Disclaimer: Part of the fee you do pay for a group trip does cover the travel costs of the kids to come to see you on the fun day. In Peru, this worked easier than an individual trip for us since our kids are in the very north, middle, and very south parts of Peru so it would have been a lot of traveling for us to have to go to each of their locations (although now that we've been there, we might try it the next time). This also allowed the kids and one of their parents an opportunity to travel, stay in a hotel before meeting us, etc. (if they lived farther away.....2 of our 3 had to do this). This was a fun opportunity that we are glad we were able to give them. Getting them there does cost money, which is why it is worked into the cost of the trip....regardless of if you are visiting 1 kid or 10.
This is us meeting Said on one of the group fun days.
Individual Trip: You plan the details, let Compassion know the day you will be in the child's town and they help arrange that day (and give you the costs so that you bring enough cash to pay for it all), etc.
Pros:* You can visit more of the country..... at your own pace..... doing your own interests (snorkeling, hiking, relaxing, etc.)
* Costs less (in some cases it might be close....totally depends where you are going). Since you are booking your flights from your home location, you might get better direct flights or plane schedules at least compared to needing to meet up with the group in a set location (or use your frequent flier miles and such). You are able to book hotels you choose (some people like fancy, others do not since its only a bed), and restaurants you want. This saves a lot in some cases! Our trip to the Philippines only cost about $1600 for the two of us (food, hotels, inter-island plane tickets, taxi's, tours, snorkeling, etc.), including what we spent on the two days we met the kids. International airfare would be extra but I used frequent flier miles so it was free. This made our trip so cheap that it was a no brainer to go! The exchange rate and costs of hotels and such is so cheap in the Philippines so in this case, an individual trip did make more sense.
* You can go when it works the best for you. The Peru group trip wasn't ideal (since it was over payday....and that is one of my job duties so I had lots of planning to do in order to be gone). For the individual trip we were able to go over a holiday (Thanksgiving) when it worked the best for being gone from work (less vacation days). Group trips are set dates, where individual trips are totally up to you!
* You are able to see your sponsored child's Compassion project, meet their local project workers (those there that day), visit their home (which is awesome to see how they live), do a fun activity together and take them out for a nice meal, take them shopping to buy them what they need, etc. You pay for the actual cost incurred for the day so in some cases this might be a few hundred, but other times not as much.
*In the Philippines, we paid for our private driver to drive us the 1.5 hours to Zymvra's town, wait for us all day, and then drive us back to our hotel at night (about $60 or so). Then we paid for the vehicle in his town that took us around all day (along with his family) which was another $60, then lunch (probably like $40 or so), entrance fee to the pool at a hotel ($20 or so), shopping (probably close to $95 since we couldn't tell him no when he picked out some more expensive shorts/shirts and hair gel...lol). Then the second day when we met Precious we flew to her island (only about $100 round trip for 2 of us), then paid for groceries ($60), playing at an indoor playground ($20), lunch ($30), swimming at a hotel ($25 or so), and a driver for all of us for the day ($60 or so). We also paid Compassion $25 for making all the arrangements and plans for these two days (very good deal!). Usually you just meet your child and one of their parents, but in our case we requested to have the whole families come along (which they can do....you just have more people to pay for in terms of food, fun activities, etc.). It was totally worth it to us though to be able to meet them all and make them all feel special. Some of these costs would go up or down depending on the country, activities you do, how many in the family (if you include them all or not), how much you say you are willing to spend at the market for things they need, etc.
Cons:
* You have to visit the kids Monday through Friday....so make sure to plan your vacation around which days you can be in your child's town. This isn't a huge deal, but something to keep in mind. Since it is during a school day, your child will skip school (for a good reason though!). This means that when you go to their project, no other kids will probably be around if its during the day.....again, not a huge deal unless you really wanted to interact with more of them. It does make it nice doing activities though, since the hotel pools and such will be pretty empty in the middle of the day! (so this is both a pro and a con).
* You are responsible to arrange your trip and to make your arrangements to get to your child's town. If you are not a savvy travel planner, this might be difficult (especially if they are in a remote location). I think you are able to have the child come to you in some cases, but then you are paying for their travel costs instead of your own (which might also limit the time spent with them), and you wouldn't see where they actually live.
* You are limited to up to 3 visit days within a particular country (only one day with each kid though). If you have more than 3 kids in a country, you would need a few of them to share a day together meeting you (at least this is what I was told at one point....since I have 4 in Rwanda, plus the girl my mom sponsors so I wanted to meet 5). This is still way better than a group trip when you only have 1 and in some cases 2 days total to meet all your kids.....but still something to keep in mind. (I originally mentioned 4 days, but I have since edited this to 3 days total after being reminded by others....I had mixed this up by mistake (sorry)).
This is me with little Precious in the Philippines on an individual visit.
Whether it is a group trip or an individual trip, your sponsored kid will feel so special that you came around the world to see them! They are all smiles, and usually can't sleep the night before from excitement (us too!). It builds your relationship and you are able to ask (and get answered) all the questions you feel like asking but don't always want to put in a letter.
I'm sure I'll think of more later, but this is a great start of things for you to consider. If you have any questions at all, please leave me a message and I'll try to help out :)
Consider sponsoring a child today.....or visiting the ones you do sponsor! They will cherish it always.
