Gift Boxes for Sponsored Children--What to Send

Once a year you can send a gift box or bag to your child. The following is a list of suggested items that you might send in a small shoe box, plastic Ziploc bag or cloth bag. The contents should not weigh more than five pounds. If you are participating on a work team or vision trip to Haiti, please feel free to take your items along with you in personal or team baggage. If you have questions, please contact Bethany Coordinator.

Packages might include some of the following useful articles:

-School supplies: pens, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpener, ruler, composition book, stickers, solar calculator, crayons, colored pencils, child scissors, French-English dictionary or French-to Spanish, or English-Creole dictionary.

-Clothing for girls shirt/skirt, sundress, undershirts/underwear, white socks, sandals or flip flops. Many girls wear black dress shoes for school and church.

-Clothing for boys collared shirt, tie, black socks, shorts, undershirts/underwear, sandals or flip flops. Many boys also wear black shoes for school and church.

-Toiletries washcloth/hand towel, soap with plastic case, deodorant, comb/hair pick, barrettes, head scarf, hair elastics, toothbrush/toothpaste/toothbrush cover, small first aid kit with Band-Aids/bacitracin, baby powder, for young ladies feminine products, for young men disposable razor and shaving cream (small).

-Extras jump rope, jacks, small matchbox car, inexpensive jewelry/earrings, beanie baby, small solar or hand-crank flashlight/radio, greeting card with picture of your family, children’s vitamins, Bible (French or Creole), empty water bottle.

-Please do not send any candy/food items/money in the gift bags. Please keep bags to a maximum of 5lbs; if bags are overweight then heavy items will be removed. Sponsor gift bags will be delivered to the Bethany Project office in Port-au-Prince. In most cases, they will be distributed to the children by the Bethany Project staff during school visits throughout the year.

-All items must be *new. Please include your child’s name and school code on the package! (ex. “Daniel Pierre BTA-11”)

*This may seem restrictive or even "wasteful," but please remember that Haitian children hardly ever get anything new. If you give them something new, it's a very special treat!