Comments on: Are My Letters Really That Important?

By: Kathy Olson

Kathy Olson — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:25:42 +0000

@Joy –
Hi Joy,
Yes, the children absolutely get every last little thing in our envelopes. They are very good about commenting on everything they received in a letter. I also keep track of what I have sent since I have 7 kids and don’t want to send the same thing twice. They thank me for every item each time. I too was originally worried that they might not receive everything. I am happy they do. They also let me know how much they receive for the family gift and I always use a currency converter and it’s always the amount I sent. I am so impressed with Compassion, they are so committed and so thorough with everything.

By: Barbara M.

Barbara M. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:33:46 +0000

@Caitlin -This has been something that has been on my mind as well lately. I too, question some of these translations. I see words in the children's letters that do not appear in the translated version. I don't want to miss a word of what they have to say but I also realize I can't keep sending letters back for retranslation. I hope the translators aren't overwhelmed and just give us a summary of what the child said. Each word and thought they write is very important to me. Anyone else wonder about the accuracy of their translations?

By: yanghyelin

yanghyelin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:52:37 +0000

hello, my name is yang hyelin
i’m from korea
i saw compassion is Love of god delieverer so i want to volunteer
here. as soon as i know there is a tranlating mate i signed here

i will translate letter for chilldren and for LorD

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 01:34:27 +0000

hi I’m from Korea
and I’m doing volunteering by translating korean sponsor’s letter into English.^^
Actually before I read this thing, I didn’t know that these letters are that important to them..but now I get it.
I should translate a lot more letters than before so that more children get the chance recieving their letters.

thank you~♡

By: Joy

Joy — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:26:55 +0000

Hi-
I was wondering how people sent band-aids because I called and asked if I could put them in a ziplock or something like that and the lady said well you could but we would probably take them out of the bag. How will they get them since I can’t exactly label each one? Do I need to tape a bunch to a letter or something?
Thanks for any ideas?

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:54:49 +0000

It came from Haiti. The letter was 3 pages longs, both sides, so I think the translator may have been overwhelmed. I know just enough Creole to notice “something’s not right here” but not enough to correct it. Plus there were numbers in multiple sentences in Creole, and no numbers mentioned in the translation. Then there was one whole page of Creole writing and the complementary English page had only “I thank you and your family for their prayers.” And she asked me a question that didn’t get translated… so I am eager to find out the translation, I just want to know what the letter said!

By: Amy Brooke

Amy Brooke — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:42:39 +0000

Caitlin,

Found your comment. It took about 3 weeks because someone there was on vacation, but they did get to it! They are busy. Also, from what I understand, it may have to be sent back to the country it came from to get redone. I lucked out on that not needing to happen to mine.

What country is your letter from?

I’m glad they were willing to redo it. They also sent a memo to the field office to let them know that the translation was lacking.

Have a great day. I hope it comes soon.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:32:46 +0000

@Amy Brooke – Congrats! How long did it take the translation to get to you? I’m waiting on a retranslation myself, and I really really want to read it now

By: Amy Brooke

Amy Brooke — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:00:48 +0000

I got the retranslation on the letter to my little one in Ecuador. I was write in that it wasn’t an accurate translation. Compassion worked hard to get me one and they are letting the field office in Ecuador know about the mistranslation. Compassion works so hard to make this a good experience all the way around.

By: Kees Boer

Kees Boer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:23:22 +0000

@Cora Collado –

Hi, Cora,

Were you sponsored through Compassion International? They have an office in the Netherlands in Apeldoorn.

Being from Holland myself and being “Boer” myself, I know it is a fairly common name in the Netherlands, so it can be difficult to find a person like that with just that much information. Do you know their first name. That would narrow it down considerably.

So, if you were sponsored through Compassion in the Netherlands, I can maybe forward your contact information to them and see what they can do. I know that they can’t give out the information without the consent of the sponsor.

I hope this helps.

Blessings,

Kees