I sponsored two small children 40 odd years ago when my children were small. There was a little girl in Uttar Pradesh in India and a small boy in Thailand. My monthly contribution paid for their meals, some school books and a roof over their heads until they left school. This was done through Action Aid, I seem to remember. They were cared for by Nuns and I received 2 newsy letters each year from the children and from the Nuns, telling me of their progress, sending a photograph and anything else - like a drawing - that the child wished to send. I would write with photos from time to time and I loved to feel that my sponsorship money was going directly to a child (with a face and a name that I could recognise). Once they became adults, I stopped sponsoring.
Now, at Christmas time I give to Sleeping Children Around the World - a Canadian charity which organises volunteers to travel to third world countries where they have very efficient arrangements in place to provide special gift packs for children. These each contain a sleeping mat and blanket, (since kids are usually left to sleep on a hard floor often outdoors and are often permanently tired) a school uniform so that they can go to school, books, stationery and pencils, a vital mosquito net etc., By Spring I then receive photographs of the 2 children from an area I have chosen, holding a card with my name and message to them. It always makes me happy to see their little smiling faces.