What is the required donation for E-Pal? E-Pal costs $15 per calendar quarter or $60 per year. The funds for E-Pal are used to cover the translation and administration costs involved in the program.

How long is my E-Pal commitment? If you have signed up for E-Pal, we will expect that you are continuing with the program unless we hear otherwise from you.

How often do I send a donation? E-Pal donations are due either quarterly or annually.

When are quarterly donation amounts due? If you subscribe to PayPal's automatic payments, your quarterly due dates will be automatically determined from the date you sign up. Otherwise, your quarterly donations will be expected March 1st, June 1st, September 1st, and December 1st.

What donation methods are available to me? If possible, we prefer that you send a check or money order for your E-Pal donations. However, if you wish to use your Visa/MasterCard, click on the Donate quick link on the left hand side of the home page of www.nclo.org and you will be able to make an online donation. You can also sign up for our donation subscription service through PayPal. NCLO is assessed a 3% service fee for these on-line payments and so we appreciate checks if possible.

What happens if I forget to send in my donation? Please send it as soon as you remember! We wire E-Pal funds to Cambodia only once per quarter so if your donation is late, it may end up missing the wire transfer that quarter. We count on your donation being there so that we can maintain a consistent level of support for the children each month. If an entire quarter passes without your donation being received, we may reassign your child to a new E-Pal.

When can I begin writing? Once you have completed your E-Pal form, you will be logged into our system as being interested in being matched with a child. Once we receive your first quarterly (or annual) E-Pal donation, you may send your first letter!

I'm not a sponsor. Can I sign up to just write to a child? At this time, NCLO is only assigning children to existing child sponsors.

Am I the only one writing to my child? If your child has more than one sponsor, it is possible that your child is writing to more than one E-Pal as each sponsor is able to sign up to be an E-Pal with their child.

May I send gifts to my child? You are welcome to purchase gifts for your child through Psah NCLO, our online Market. We recommend that you shop from your child's wish list found on their Sponsorship page.

Does my child have e-mail access? In the majority of cases, our team coordinates communicating your e-mail to your child as well as helping them to respond. Since the majority of the children are not fluent in English, a translator is required to both translate your letter as well as the one the child writes back to you. One of the many goals of the E-Pal program is to improve English skills as well as computer skills so it is possible as your child progresses that they will begin emailing you directly.

How do I go about e-mailing my child? After you receive notice that you have been added to the system, just log into WORKS using your login details and you will see the option to send a letter to your child.

What should I write about? The children love to learn about other cultures, pets, children, daily routines, jobs, holidays, as well as what it is like to live where you live. Their exposure to anything beyond their own country, and often their own village area, is limited. These are only some of the topics to start with. The children are just beginning to understand the process of communicating through letters. Please encourage them with asking just one or two questions that they can answer for you, in depth, so that they are not overwhelmed. It is our experience that the “getting to know you” process works better with frequent shorter letters than sporadic longer letters.

Are there any rules or guidelines about what I shouldn’t write? We ask that you do not share your last name, your e-mail address, or your mailing address with your E-Pal. This is for your own protection in case your child should share your letter with others who are not in our program. While it has not happened with our program, it is possible that by sharing this information you would open up the possibility of being contacted directly for money, assistance, or even the victim of scare tactics to coerce you into some sort of action. NCLO does not share your contact information with your child or even with the team members who work with the children in order to protect your privacy.

Indecent or inappropriate content or language is prohibited. Not adhering to this policy or in any way endangering the safety or welfare of the children or NCLO programs will result in immediate cancellation of your E-Pal program.

We also ask that you use discretion and consideration when asking personal, and potentially invasive, questions of your child. Remember, besides being only a child, your child is likely to be an orphan, often with little knowledge of their background and most likely without knowledge of the luxuries afforded to much of the rest of the world. Please keep their feelings and limited experience in mind when sharing your lifestyle or asking questions about their family and background.

How often can I write? We encourage E-Pals to limit their writing to once monthly as the children only have 30 minutes of class time to reply to the letters they received the following month. If you should write more frequently, just be aware that your child may only reply to one of your letters.

Are there any restrictions on how long my letter can be? To keep translation costs minimized, WORKS limits letters to 1500 characters in length.

Can I send photos to my child? Yes! The children enjoy receiving photos with their letters. To save on printing costs, WORKS limits you to attaching one photo to your letter. Please ensure that it is no larger than 150kb in size.

I just got a letter from my child and they have asked to call me Mom or Sister! Should I be concerned? While we have several titles for addressing anyone from a complete stranger to relatives in our culture, Cambodian culture tends to generalize with Sister/Mom/Auntie and Brother/Father/Uncle. The titles are more a way of showing respect and appreciation than they are a means to communicate an actual blood relationship. There is no need for concern if your child addresses you as Mom. It just means that your child is trying to convey that they appreciate and respect your friendship. If you are uncomfortable however, you are more than welcome to ask your child to address you in a different manner.

What happens if my child leaves the program or is moved? We do our best to keep track of the children but we must admit that this does happen occasionally. Sometimes a relative will return and remove the child from the orphanage or the child will leave on their own. If this should happen, we will do our best to accommodate your wishes. We hope that you will want to write to another child that is waiting for a Sponsor.

May I visit my child? Sure! They would love it and we would love for you to experience NCLO first hand. We do require that all onsite visitors or volunteers register with NCLO. Click here to learn more. This protects the integrity of our program, minimizing the possibility of those unaffiliated with NCLO to show up unannounced.

Is my E-Pal donation tax deductible? Every state has different laws regarding donations to charities. Please check with your state. NCLO is classified as a 501c3 non-profit charity and in general, donations to our organization are tax deductible.