Compassion International - Christian Blog on Child Poverty

From the Archives

Web Team — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:07:49 PDT

Tomorrow is Independence Day in the U.S., and we’ve got just the post in our archives for you to read. Consider it the ketchup on your hot dog, the perfect accompaniment for any Fourth of July BBQ.

A Child in the Midst

What if a child had been in the room during the penning of the Declaration of Independence?

Do you think our founding fathers would have addressed the importance of children by adding a line stating they were seeking independence “for the future of our children?”

Read the entire post

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10 Questions With Kenia Servellon

Nestor Reynoza — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:43:25 PDT

1. How long have you been in your current position with Compassion El Salvador, and what is your job?

Two years. I am a supervisor within the Sponsor Donor Services department.

2. What are the main responsibilities of your position?

I make sure the sponsors have up-to-date information about the children. Not just the letters, but also new cases. I keep the biannual report updated. I make sure that pictures and information are high quality and are sent on time.

3. What is an average day like for you?

I start at 8 in the morning by reading. I like to read a proverb every day. I think it helps me for the rest of the day.

Then I read the mail; this takes about two hours.

Then I see the pending tasks with the associates, pending letters, the letters package we have to send [for the week], see if the departures were sent.

On Mondays we spend part of the morning in devotions. Then we have a meeting. And then we check the performance of each associate.

4. What is the most challenging part of your job?

We work on a weekly basis. The reception of the letters from the sponsors, we receive those on Monday, process them on Tuesday, send them to translation, and deliver them the next week.

All the information has to be sent weekly.

5. Why did you choose this particular area of work? And why did you choose to work for Compassion?

I think it just happened. I started as a translator, translating the letters from the children.

Then I had the opportunity to apply as an associate. I spent three years as an associate and have been a supervisor for two years.

It has been a great blessing. I have grown as a person. I have grown as a Christian. I have grown professionally, too.

I have received advice. I receive advice at church, too, but here I receive advice specific to my work.

I feel that being in this position is a challenge because I am a leader. Not a leader from the world, but a leader like the Bible says.

6. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your job?

A big challenge is delayed information about the children. Regrettably, sometimes that happens.

Not to solve those as fast as I want, it makes me … we cannot just rush the children to write a letter, it is not something we can get overnight. I would like to have a faster response. That is what overwhelms me.

7. You used to work in a factory. How was it different from Compassion?

In the factory, they are outcome oriented; so is Compassion. However, Compassion emphasizes the way you care for people.

We care for people according to the Bible. Caring by being stewards, but also showing excellence, integrity and dignity. They all go together.

In a factory, it does not matter how you ask for things. The important thing it to get it done. Here, it matters. It is complete, holistic.

You realize that it is the Lord Who teaches you how to do the job. In that way, you grow as a person, as a leader and as a Christian.

Here you can see changes in the children, you see their development. Not only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually, you are helping in all areas.

In a factory you produce 3,000 sweaters a day, and it makes $3,000 or $4,000 of earnings. Here you see a complete growth, holistic development. You cannot get a monetary compensation for that.

Even though I, unfortunately, do not get to have much contact with the children because I am busy dealing with papers and photos, I am motivated when I see a letter that says, “I am growing, thanks to your prayers, I am getting involved at church, I study hard, I am being more obedient.” These are the things that motivate me to go the extra mile, because I do this for God and for the children of your country.

And this is also a motivation: I want our children to be presidents one day, to be in the senate, to become Josephs and change, truly change our country. And the only way I can do that is by working hard and keeping my commitments with the biannual reports, the letters, the pictures … it is what links the children to their sponsors. I think it is important.

8. What have you learned as a result of your job (about yourself, the plight of children or the way that God works)?

As a person, I have grown, [she looks at her belly, since she is pregnant, and laughs].

No, really, I have grown, I am more patient now. Compassion has helped me think about those values I did not have before.

Before, I knew I had to practice them, but I did not have as much motivation as I do now.

Professionally, Compassion has also helped me grow, through workshops, through Bible teachings. Willow Creek has been a blessing.

Like Paul says, I have not reached it yet, but I have a goal, and I am getting there.

9. Will you share a situation or incident you have experienced through your job that has touched your heart?

I have two children in mind, two cases.

One is Wendy. When I met her three years ago, she was a child. Now, she is a young lady. She is 16 years old.

When I met her, she played the guitar and lived with her grandparents. Her grandparents are not Christians, so you can imagine the challenges that face her.

She has grown as a Christian. When she sings, everything around her changes. I can see she wants to praise the Lord.

Where once I saw a child who was not close to the gospel, now I see a firm Christian. She wants to be a musician. Her vision is great, and her faith makes me believe she will accomplish her dream.

The other child had a skin disease, and nobody could tell what it was. The child received medical treatment. His mom is a Christian, his father was not. The child passed away because of the disease. He wanted to be a missionary.

It was hard. You cannot imagine how damaged his face and his body were. But to hear that child talk about God, he talked with faith and conviction.

After he passed away, his father came to Jesus because of his son.

10. Do you have a message for sponsors who support the children?

Thank you for dedicating your money, your time and your love to children you do not know. I thank you for that. I know God is using you to change this world, and leave a mark on the life of each child.

What you say to the children changes their lives, makes an impact and gives them vision.

You are transforming, from far away, the life of a child. An “I love you” or a “keep working hard” changes the lives of these children.

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A Peek Into Poverty

Meredith Dunn — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:38:36 PDT

By the grace of God, the “Twinkie Project” has wrapped up a successful phase in its development. Morgan arrived back in the U.S. earlier this week. And I feel like I have caught a glimpse of what this thing could be. I’m pretty excited.

Did you have a chance to read some of her latest work? Here are some excerpts. Read and pass along. Please. Share her stories.

The Unexpected Picture

In today’s culture it is almost a fad to put money into charities, or to buy brands that support a cause, which is great … but I wonder if that is numbing us to the reality of the world that is beyond our safe and comfortable walls.

I wonder if we have been overexposed to the idea of poverty to the point of forgetting that it is not simply about a continent, a country or a group of people … it is about a life. It is one heart, one mind, one prisoner, one child and one future.

We must narrow our focus, we have to look through the feel-good hype and let our hearts truly feel for the people, not just the feeling of donating.

If we maintain such a broad focus of poverty, it is almost impossible to do anything to put a dent in it … but if we can hone in on one life, think of the difference we can make.

Through Dessiray’s Eyes

Most people would agree, at least to some extent, that “The eyes are the window to the soul.” Somehow eyes manage to tell more about a person than could be said by words, stories or descriptions.

Perhaps it’s because eyes display emotion: They light up when we are happy, look exhausted when we are tired, display fear and worry, and are the gateway for tears when we are sad.

Maybe they say so much because for most of us, they capture our experiences and paint the pictures of our memories. It is through them that some of the most beautiful and also some of the most horrific things become a part of us as we make our way through life.

What we see, who we see and where we see it colors our “window” and leaves a mark on how we will view the world and how we view our own souls. This is why we often wish we could see things through the “eyes of others,” or we attempt to see the world through “rose-colored lenses.” We are aware that things appear different depending on the eyes through which we are looking.

A window is a piece of glass that goes two ways, so if it is true that the eyes are the window INTO the soul, that means they are also the window OUT of the soul. This makes me wonder, as I stare into the eyes of the children, what they see when they look out.

Please pray for the hearts of children that Morgan loved and touched with the grace of God while she was there.

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How Important is Prayer?

Amber Van Schooneveld — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:13:48 PDT

When I visited the boy I sponsor in India, Sarath, he didn’t talk so much. We instead communicated with the toss of a Frisbee. But at the end of the visit as he walked me back to the bus, this little boy who had said little else, said over and over, “Please pray for me. Please pray for me. Please pray for me.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could tell you that faithfully every morning now I have kneeled to lift up Sarath and his two teenage sisters and unemployed mother? Too many mornings (and nights for that matter), I’m rushing and distracted and have forgotten the one plea Sarath made of me. Not “send more money.” Not “send more gifts.” Pray for me.

“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” - Ephesians 6:18, emphasis added (NIV).

How seriously do we take prayer? I know I certainly don’t take it seriously enough. It’s the Sunday school answer to the issues we hear of plaguing the children we minister to.

How quickly and easily does the phrase, “I’ll pray for that” run off our tongues? But do we see prayer for what it is — crying out to the omnipotent God for His incomparable power to work in the lives of these children?

For we don’t just throw money at a problem. Our weapon against poverty isn’t cash. Our weapons “have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4, NIV).

As Eric Alexander says, “The great business of the church is prayer. And the greatest need of a needy world is a praying church.”

“In all our thinking about Christian service, prayer needs to become fundamental instead of supplemental … Prayer is the work; it is the essence of the task to which we are called, and apart from it, all other work, and I mean Christian work, is a sheer waste of time and energy divorced from the basic work of prayer. Everything else is insignificant.” - Eric Alexander

Oh my soul, when will I take prayer as seriously as I ought?

My husband and I just wrote a small group study that is all about learning about the issues in this world and responding to them in prayer. But I still fall so short in this ministry of prayer to the children we sponsor.

So tell me — what do you do to be alert and stay alert as Ephesians 6 says?

How do you keep on praying for all the saints?

What stories do you have of the power of God through prayer in your sponsored children’s lives, or your own life?

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Holding Hope

Tim Glenn — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:10:54 PDT

I will never forget something a dear friend said to me years ago. I was struggling in my Christian walk. I had hit what I presumed to be rock bottom. I told him that I had lost all hope for happiness.

“Then I will hope for you,” he said, matter-of-factly.

What? Is it possible to carry someone else’s hope? What a beautiful, selfless sentiment.

I eventually pulled through my situation. Peace came. And I wonder how much of it was because of my friend’s odd but wonderful offer.

Over the years, this concept of holding on to hope for someone else has stuck with me. To be honest, it still sounds impossible. But I hope not. Because I recently heard a heartbreaking story from Bangladesh. A story about lost hope.

There was a young family living in extreme poverty in a small village in Bangladesh. They were surviving — not much more.

Hope was the most priceless commodity to be found in their tiny thatch-and-mud hut. Hope for a future. Hope for a better life. Hope for education for their two daughters. Hope for jobs that would put food on the table.

Last summer, a terrible storm raged through the village. A cyclone. Massive. Powerful enough to blow hope right out of their lives.

The storm killed the father, leaving the mother to raise the two little girls on her own. She spent the last year struggling to rebuild her home of scraps and mud bricks. She struggled to feed her children. She struggled with loneliness and depression.

And then, it got worse.

Earlier this month — one year later — another cyclone tore through the same village. And it proved just as merciless.

The makeshift home was destroyed yet again, leaving this woman and her children homeless. What little hope survived the first storm was washed away with the debris.

In her depression, the mother took her own life. Now, her children are orphans in a dirty, ravaged, poverty-stricken village. How terrified they must be. What must they think about every dark cloud that rolls in?

I wonder if those little girls have any hope left in them?

I wonder if I can carry their hope for them. I wonder if we can.

I think it’s a beautiful sentiment that just might be beyond our full comprehension. But holding hope for someone else is — well, pure. And I am hoping that God will take those two precious girls from this horrible tragedy and bring them peace. Happiness.

I will hold on to hope for them when their hope is gone. I will cling to hope that the God who brings hope will protect them. I will hope that these girls may have a future. And I pray that you will do the same.

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From The Archives

Web Team — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:18:25 PDT

Last week, we published a short post about a recent sponsor tour to India. It was written by our India communications manager for the India country office’s internal newsletter, and it reminded us about this old post on sponsor tours:

A Field Perspective on Sponsor Tours

This e-mail from Samuel Llanes, our field communication specialist in Guatemala, about his recent experience accompanying a sponsor tour gave me a new perspective on sponsor visits.

We’ve talked a lot about how a sponsor tour impacts the sponsor and how it impacts the child, but this e-mail made me realize a whole other aspect: how it impacts the universal Body of Christ.

Read the entire post

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God’s Little Girl Strives for Excellence

Bianka Costa — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:39:33 PDT

Excellence is answering God’s call to the best of our abilities with the gifts and resources He has given us. It is carrying out God’s work with an attitude of enjoyment.

Thanks to the Leadership Development Program (LDP), Talita is living in the best moment of her life, not only professionally, but also spiritually. Her life story is about striving for excellence. Her dedication makes her an example to be followed by others and a reference of struggle and Christian character.

Petite and delicate, 20-year-old Talita teaches the 5- and 6-year-olds at her former child development center. God, the Father, has made her a great woman.

The public system of education in Brazil is full of contrast. The best universities are public, and to be accepted in to one, the student has to have a good and strong education during high school. But when talking about a young person who’s attended a public school, the odds are small.

Public schools are the worst ones and rarely prepare for the next step. Besides all the hardship and risks children in poverty have to face, their academic and professional path can be compromised due to the lack of good education.

Talita attended a public school in her town, Tauá, a small city about 330 kilometers from Fortaleza – the capital of Ceará state. But different from most of the students of lower class who barely finish their studies in order to get a job and help their families, she devoted herself – and still does – to study. She overcame the statistics and got a vacancy in a public university - the “Universidade Estadual do Ceará” (University of Ceará State).

“The challenges in my life are still many, but smaller in comparison to my childhood. I hadn’t even been born when my mother had to ask my drunken father to choose between us and ‘the bottles.’

“At a certain time in our lives, she was pretty concerned over me and my brother. Then my father decided to leave us and never came back. I have never accepted growing up without him.

“But despite all the feelings my mother could have had at that moment, she had to be strong for us, working hard and trying to teach some good principles to me and my brother Tiago.”

At the age of 10, Talita had a decisive moment in her life, at her child development center. She finally understood all the teachings she had been learning about Jesus Christ and discovered that she had a real Father who gave His own life in order to save hers, and would never abandon His little girl.

“The educational support, the investment on my self-esteem and hope I have received through Compassion contributed to make me feel loved and protected. This is what I want to teach to my students. God has been transforming my difficulties into victory.”

Talita also recognizes the blessing of being sponsored from 3 until she turned 18 years old.

“This relationship was fundamental in my personal development … someone who just stopped, looked at you and cared about your life was very edifying. Without such a thing I am sure I would have taken a different path. Maybe I would be a single mother, or would be working as a cleaning woman instead of teaching my children.”

After her graduation from the Child Sponsorship Program, Talita could not accept just being seated at the church. She was willing to make the difference, and the LDP was the answer.

“I prayed a lot, asking God a way to be used by Him and that what is happening know. For a moment I did not believe that I could be accepted in Compassion LDP, and my approval was a surprise; but I had never lost faith. I think I was chosen due to my commitment with Christ and my great desire to serve people.”

Besides attending college at night, Talita spends her whole day at her former development center.

“Talita is an inspiration,” says Sélia, the director of the center. “We saw how much she grew and how blessed she is. We hired her as a teacher due her life testimony and dedication. She used to be a volunteer, but her love and commitment impressed us.”

Talita’s time to study is only after 11 or on weekends, when she reads and does research. She suffers with the distance from her LDP friends. In order to take part in the LDP meetings, Talita has to travel from Tauá to Fortaleza, which takes about 4 1/2 hours - but she knows she has friends whom she can count on.

“He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). - Mark 5:41, NIV

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10 Questions With Jeimy Reyes

Yuri Fortin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:11:55 PDT

1. How long have you been in your current position with Compassion Honduras, and what is your job?

Seventeen months. I am an auditor.

2. What are the main responsibilities of being an auditor?

Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the partner church as well as the challenges it faces.

We look for strengths so that these can be used as a support for other churches. We look for weaknesses and challenges so we can suggest solutions and give the appropriate follow-up in order to correct and solve problems in the churches.

In other words, we hope to provide necessary and timely support to the church.

3. What does an average day look like for you?

Well, first of all I put each day in God’s hands. If there is a day with a scheduled visit to any child development center, I would have previously informed the center through the partnership facilitator.

Once I arrive at the center I gather the staff together and share in devotions before collecting information about different areas of child development.

I have a time in which I clarify any doubts about the information-gathering process. Prior to this, I have a special meeting with the administrative staff in order to evaluate them and the center documentation.

I also interview some children in order to understand their concerns and measure the results of the program objectives.

At the end of the auditing process I have a time to share the results of the visit. I make some suggestions and take into consideration the pastor’s opinion as well as those of the members of the support committee and administrative staff. This is known as the “exit meeting,” and we go through everything in the center activities log.

When there is no scheduled visit, I usually work on auditing reports at the office, revising center follow-ups and attending to any doubts or problems the church partners might have about the process.

4. What is the best part of your job?

Talking with the children and finding in each of them the fruit that each of us as Compassion staff have passed on to them.

5. What is the most challenging part of your job?

Not having enough time.

Sometimes a single day is not enough to evaluate objectively each center in all its areas, especially when I have to answer any questions and concerns of the staff.

Sometimes there is not enough time for the home visits, and besides that we are still working with the auditing concept because there are churches that have a wrong idea of the auditing objectives. In some cases we have a hostile environment as a result.

But God is in control of everything, and He just sets up every piece in its right place.

6. Why did you choose this particular area of work?

I think that God called me to this ministry. I feel privileged that the Lord has considered me useful, and I have tried to give my best to honor Him.

Professionally, I have had experience in the auditing field, and I’m prepared academically for the job.

Everything that I have been through with Compassion has been a unique experience with a remarkable objective - giving better support to churches.

Before working for Compassion, I used to work in a bank.

My work at the bank absorbed all my time and kept me from serving God. I felt burdened because of this. I prayed to the Lord for a new job that would not infringe upon my service at church.

During that week, I was told about a job opportunity in Compassion. I sent my resume, and I was called the following week for an interview. That same week I was hired.

Four months later I was promoted to project auditor. I know this was a response from God.

7. What motivates you about your job?

Knowing that this is not just another job. This is the place that God has given me here. Here I have the honor to serve the Owner of the kingdom.

8. What have you learned as a result of your job (about yourself, the plight of children or the way that God works)?

I have learned to value each thing that God has given to me. I have seen God moving in a powerful way. God has used different people from this ministry to help me to grow in His word and also as a person.

I have learned to see hope, love and humility in the eyes of the children. I feel pleased about what I’m doing in this place.

9. Will you share a situation or incident you have experienced through your job that has touched your heart?

I remember one day I was visiting a church at around 1:30 in the afternoon. As the many children began to come into the center, I noticed three children between between the ages of 4 and 7 years old who looked like brothers. They looked sad, and the youngest one was crying.

I talked to them, and they told me that they were very hungry because they had not had anything to eat since noon of the last day. Their mother was looking for a job in order to feed her children. The children were waiting anxiously for the lunch at the center.

On another occasion, I visit a center located in Santa Bárbara, and had the opportunity to talk to a young man.

He told about some surgeries that he had gone through in order to correct some problems that he had in his internal organs.

He said to me, “I’m alive because of the grace of God and thanks to the support of Compassion and my sponsor.” He told me his family would not have been able to cover all of his medical expenses.

10. Do you have a message for sponsors who support the children?

I think it is important that every sponsor know that their support changes the lives of many children. The sponsors are very important in the lives of these little ones. Not just because of the financial support, but also because of the communication and relationships they build. The letters let the children know that there is somebody out there in other place that loves them even without knowing them.

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Disaster Relief Kit: What’s Inside?

Becky Tschamler — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:18 PDT

After a disaster occurs in one of our countries, we often raise money to help those affected. We do this to help provide things such as food and water, shelter, bedding, trauma counseling or medical treatment, among other needs. Many times we also send disaster relief kits.

Let me tell you what we mean when we say “disaster relief kit.”*

A couple of weeks ago there was an earthquake off the northern coast of Honduras. Buildings and homes were damaged, including some homes of Compassion-assisted children. (Don’t worry … if your child is affected, we will let you know individually.)

In response to the earthquake, the Compassion Honduras office provided disaster relief kits to the affected families and our communications guy sent me a picture. (Thanks, Yuri!) Anyway, I thought you might like to see it …

*This is just an example of one disaster relief kit we recently provided. Contents of other kits may vary.

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Finding Excellence in the Little Things

Wess Stafford — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:24:52 PDT

You can also view Strive for Excellence, along with all of our other videos, on YouTube.