Something to consider when choosing a child sponsorship charity?

As a Project Mala child sponsor, I read with interest an article written by someone who sponsors a child though another charity. In her article, published in The Guardian, the author describes what happened when she was introduced as the child’s sponsor to the child and her family. This is not an experience I would ever have because the Project Mala arrangements for child sponsorship do not include any personal contact from the sponsor to the child or his/her family, although the project provides a sponsor with information about the child s/he sponsors and encourages sponsors to visit Project Mala schools where they can see their sponsored child. This is a boundary I have always appreciated, respecting the explanation given on the Project Mala website for this stance. At the same time I realise that some people may feel they want to be more involved with the child they sponsor.
I have concluded that it is good there is a choice for potential sponsors when deciding which charity to support to sponsor a child and that an important factor for potential sponsors to consider may be a desire to write to the sponsored child. I am therefore surprised to read the following statistic in this article: “only 10% of all those who sign up to sponsor children with ActionAid ever get round to writing to them, let alone meeting them”.  
I am interested to know the views and experiences of other people about this aspect of child sponsorship. Please post any comments below.