Wingerworth family travel to Brazil to see child they sponsor for first time

Ben and Talita Bentley have been sponsoring and corresponding with 12-year-old Angelo for almost six years through child development charity Compassion UK. But until last month, they had never met.

However, a trip to Brazil to visit family in December gave them the opportunity to meet him in person.

Talita, 33, a lawyer, said: “Meeting Angelo after years of exchanging letters was quite surreal. He was a little shy at first but very touched by our visit.

“We found out that in the eight years his Compassion project has been running, we were the first sponsors to visit, so it was a special event for all of them. Even the project director and the staff were emotional. The memory will stay with us forever.”

The family discovered that Angelo had kept all of their letters, photographs and even drawings their children had sent him over the years.

“It made me realise that sponsorship is a real investment in someone’s life, and a genuine friendship can be formed,” Talita added.

The couple took their own children, Esther, six and five-year-old Caleb, with them to Brazil and they got to meet Angelo’s siblings.

Ben, 33, also a lawyer, said: “We hoped our own children would learn and grow from the experience. Our children were even able to join in with some activities, which they loved.”