{"id":123703,"date":"2026-11-02T10:20:05","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T18:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/?p=123703"},"modified":"2026-11-02T10:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T18:20:08","slug":"how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe","title":{"rendered":"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><style>\n.full-width-feature { \ndisplay: none; \n}\n.full-width-header { \ndisplay: none; \n}\n.addtoany_share_save_container { \ndisplay: none; \n}\n.entry-content { \npadding-top: 0px !important; \n}\n.kt_simple_share_container { \ndisplay: none; \n}\n<\/style>\n \n<\/head><body><div style=\"max-width:100vw;margin-left:calc(50% - 50vw);margin-right:calc(50% - 50vw);\">\n&#8239; <script src=\"https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/news-and-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-the-globe\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After years of exchanging letters, an American teenager traveled to Sri Lanka with her family to meet her World Vision sponsored child, who shared the same birthday as her. While there, she learned that even with an ocean between them, the two girls are more similar than she thought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":576,"featured_media":123704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[188],"country":[129],"filter":[172],"leader":[],"class_list":["post-123703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sponsorship-news-stories","country-sri-lanka","filter-change-makers","tags-sponsorship","tags-generosity","tags-winter-2026-magazine","tags-magazine"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.6 (Yoast SEO v28.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How sponsorship united two teens across the globe | World Vision<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An American teenager traveled to Sri Lanka with her family to meet her World Vision sponsored child, who shared a birthday with her.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An American teenager traveled to Sri Lanka with her family to meet her World Vision sponsored child, who shared a birthday with her.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Vision\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/worldvision\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-02T18:20:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-02T18:20:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/11\/02100810\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adelaide Clark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@worldvisionusa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@worldvisionusa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adelaide Clark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Adelaide Clark\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a0be26246178fb4c69aea6e0c140c60c\"},\"headline\":\"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-02T18:20:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-02T18:20:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe\"},\"wordCount\":8,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wvusstatic.com\\\/www\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/02100810\\\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Child Sponsorship\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe\",\"name\":\"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe | World Vision\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wvusstatic.com\\\/www\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/02100810\\\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-02T18:20:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-02T18:20:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"An American teenager traveled to Sri Lanka with her family to meet her World Vision sponsored child, who shared a birthday with her.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wvusstatic.com\\\/www\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/02100810\\\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wvusstatic.com\\\/www\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/02100810\\\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1440,\"caption\":\"Adelaide Clark, right, meets her sponsored child Athika, left, and Athika's baby cousin in Sri Lanka. Adelaide and Athika were born the same day. (Photo courtesy of the Clark family)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/sponsorship-news-stories\\\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"World Vision\",\"description\":\"Building a better world for children\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"World Vision\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/world_vision_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/world_vision_logo.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":396,\"caption\":\"World Vision\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/worldvision\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/worldvisionusa\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/worldvisionusa\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/WorldVisionUSA\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@worldvisionusa\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a0be26246178fb4c69aea6e0c140c60c\",\"name\":\"Adelaide Clark\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=wp_user_avatar&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=wp_user_avatar&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=wp_user_avatar&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adelaide Clark\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/author\\\/adelaide_clark\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe | World Vision","description":"An American teenager traveled to Sri Lanka with her family to meet her World Vision sponsored child, who shared a birthday with her.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe","og_description":"An American teenager traveled to Sri Lanka with her family to meet her World Vision sponsored child, who shared a birthday with her.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe","og_site_name":"World Vision","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/worldvision","article_published_time":"2026-11-02T18:20:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-11-02T18:20:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/11\/02100810\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Adelaide Clark","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@worldvisionusa","twitter_site":"@worldvisionusa","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adelaide Clark","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe"},"author":{"name":"Adelaide Clark","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a0be26246178fb4c69aea6e0c140c60c"},"headline":"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe","datePublished":"2026-11-02T18:20:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-02T18:20:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe"},"wordCount":8,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/11\/02100810\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg","articleSection":["Child Sponsorship"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe","url":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe","name":"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe | World Vision","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/11\/02100810\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg","datePublished":"2026-11-02T18:20:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-02T18:20:08+00:00","description":"An American teenager traveled to Sri Lanka with her family to meet her World Vision sponsored child, who shared a birthday with her.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/11\/02100810\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/11\/02100810\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"caption":"Adelaide Clark, right, meets her sponsored child Athika, left, and Athika's baby cousin in Sri Lanka. Adelaide and Athika were born the same day. (Photo courtesy of the Clark family)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/how-sponsorship-united-two-teens-across-globe#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How sponsorship united two teens across the globe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/","name":"World Vision","description":"Building a better world for children","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/#organization","name":"World Vision","url":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/world_vision_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/world_vision_logo.png","width":1920,"height":396,"caption":"World Vision"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/worldvision","https:\/\/x.com\/worldvisionusa","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/worldvisionusa","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/WorldVisionUSA","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@worldvisionusa"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a0be26246178fb4c69aea6e0c140c60c","name":"Adelaide Clark","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=wp_user_avatar&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=wp_user_avatar&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=wp_user_avatar&r=g","caption":"Adelaide Clark"},"url":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/author\/adelaide_clark"}]}},"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":188,"label":"Child Sponsorship"}],"country":[{"value":129,"label":"Sri Lanka"}],"filter":[{"value":172,"label":"Change Makers"}],"tags":[{"value":350,"label":"Child Sponsorship"},{"value":465,"label":"Generosity"},{"value":16011,"label":"Winter 2026 Magazine"},{"value":688,"label":"World Vision Magazine"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/11\/02100810\/Adelaide-Athika-and-cousin-cropped.jpg",1200,900,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Adelaide Clark","author_link":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/author\/adelaide_clark"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":188,"name":"Child Sponsorship","slug":"sponsorship-news-stories","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":188,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Find the latest news articles and stories from World Vision about child sponsorship, and story archives of older articles.","parent":0,"count":178,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":188,"category_count":178,"category_description":"Find the latest news articles and stories from World Vision about child sponsorship, and story archives of older articles.","cat_name":"Child Sponsorship","category_nicename":"sponsorship-news-stories","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/576"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123703"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123708,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123703\/revisions\/123708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/123704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123703"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/country?post=123703"},{"taxonomy":"filter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/filter?post=123703"},{"taxonomy":"leader","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/leader?post=123703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}