One of the most impactful things I observed during our trip to Uganda was the profound difference between the children in a Compassion child sponsorship program compared to other children. Compassion-assisted children are connected with a loving, church-based program that provides:

• educational opportunities
• health care and supplemental nutrition
• opportunities for safe recreation
• opportunities to learn about important life skills
• hope and a sense of confidence
• most important of all, the child has the opportunity to hear about Jesus and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God

I met this child in the slums of Kampala. He’s not part of our child sponsorship program.

I met these children at Compassion’s program. There’s a significant difference between the two photos. The children in our child development centers still lead difficult lives but they have a sense of hope and purpose.

Everywhere we went, people would tell us things like:

• Compassion is doing great work in our country.
• Do you know my sponsor?  If so, tell her I said thank you.
• I love my sponsor.
• I would not be the person I am today without Compassion.

All of the bloggers on the trip have arrived safely home, but you can still follow along since they’re still processing the experience and writing about it.

Check out the Uganda Blog Trip page and click through to the blogs to read what they’re saying.

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I have always had a desire to write, but if you ask me, never in my wildest dreams did those thoughts include blogging. In a way this feels like God’s way of preparing me for that special role of sharing my life with others and using my past and my present to build others as He builds me.

At first, when I read the e-mail telling me that I was selected to be a contributor to this blog I was excited, but it was not until later that evening, when I was thinking of what to write for my first post, did I start getting cold feet with the realization of what I was just about to do.

I sincerely don’t know where God is taking me with this but my prayer is that at the end of it all relationships will be developed and through the many authentic conversations shared, communities will be fostered, trust built, and that I will have effectively and knowledgably shared with you about Compassion International and what it means to me and to the other many sponsored children, not only here in Kenya, but around the world.

My name is Anthony Njoroge. I was born 24 years ago in one of the largest slums in Kenya, Kawangware, famously known for drug abuse, prostitution, crime and high levels of poverty.

I am the fifth-born in a typical family, typical being where the mother is the bread winner, head of the home and the pillar of the family. It’s a scenario in almost all the slums because all the men are either too drugged to take care of their families or in prison.

It’s in this slum that Compassion found me, enrolled me in the Child Sponsorship Program, gave me the chance to go to school, and provided me with the chance to enjoy three meals a day, something unheard of in the slum. Compassion also provided me with my very first pair of shoes, and, literally, my very first set of clothes, because most of the clothes I had were either handed down to me from my big brother or given to me by a close relative. Most importantly, I got the chance to know Christ.

Once your heart is changed, your mind changes, your body changes and definitely the environment around you changes, and that’s what it means to release a child from poverty in Jesus name, for poverty is not only a lack of basic necessities but more so a lack of hope. It’s times like this when I look back at my life and the places I have come from and thank God for having brought Compassion International into my life and the way God has used the relationship with my sponsors not only to show me that I can make it, but that where I came from doesn’t matter and that I am not defined by poverty.

I am about to graduate from Compassion’s Leadership Development Program, and I leave a better-fulfilled Christian adult with big dreams, a degree in information technology, and a servant leader. And that’s why it’s hard for me to truly tell you about my life and who I am without mentioning Compassion and my sponsors, for they have helped me be who I am today.

My life has had its ups and downs, and through the many conversations we will be having I will share these moments with you. Did I tell you how I joined Compassion? That’ll be my next post.

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There are a lot of things I love about working for Compassion. In fact, I’m going on eight years here, which is practically unheard of for my generation. (I’m a twenty-something.) But I’ve not stuck around this long by accident. 

I was reminded this morning of one of the reasons I love this ministry. Every Wednesday morning we meet together for chapel. It’s not something that’s required, but every week, it seems, the auditorium is packed out. It’s a great break from our desks, and more importantly, a chance to feel like a family – like the Church body. We sing together. We pray for our sponsors together. And we hear about how what we are doing as “work” every day is changing lives all around the world. It’s very motivating!

This week the room was especially full. Wess, our president, spoke. Anyone that’s been working here for any amount of time learns that when Wess speaks, it will be moving. He has a lifetime of stories. If you’ve read his book, you know that God allowed some pretty extraordinary circumstances in his life to bring him to where he is now. I love to hear Wess speak because every time he does, he shares straight from his heart. And once you hear him speak, you want to hear him again. Apparently employees here have figured this out because there wasn’t an empty seat in the room. 

The talk, of course, was great. But something that he said this morning really resonated with me. He said that what we as employees are doing here is exactly the same as what Jesus’ mission statement was while he was here: 

Wow. A job description literally right out of the Word of God! It doesn’t get much more motivating than that, huh?

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As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that it’s getting easier to set priorities in my life. Some of the things I used to deem important just don’t mean that much to me anymore. And some things that I never valued are priceless to me now. I guess that’s part of maturing.

20 years ago I didn’t know much about global poverty…and therefore I didn’t care about being part of the solution. It wasn’t a priority to me. Today, having witnessed firsthand the suffering of children in developing countries…having heard their tummies growl…and having seen the lack of hope in their sullen eyes, I do care. It’s a priority to me now.

So when I read an online article in the Denver Post from a college student trying to explain why he would rather spend $1,000 on his dog than $51 to feed a starving child on the other side of the world, I took it personally. It was an attack on one of my priorities, after all.  But then I’m reminded that I was in the same place when I was his age.

We’ve still got a long way to go, don’t we? There’s plenty of work to be done, teaching the world that caring for the poor is not an option–it’s an obligation. It’s a mandate from God himself.  

And one hurdle is convincing our neighbors, family and friends that they don’t have to choose between caring for their loved ones…and caring for those on the other side of the world. Those two are not mutually exclusive. We are called to do both.

So my message to the college student–and for those of you who are also struggling with where to set your priorities: do both. You can give hope to a child in poverty and take care of your dog–or your family–at the same time. You don’t have to choose between the two.  You can make both a priority.  Indeed, we are called to do just that.

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So when you think Compassion International, the first thing you think is “technology” right?

What?!? You don’t?

Me neither. When I think of Compassion, I think of the three wonderful children my wife and I sponsor. I think about the first time I met Ana Maria, our little girl from the Dominican Republic. I think about the thousands of professions of faith Compassion reports each quarter and the amazing leaders emerging from our Leadership Development Program. I think about impact. About lives changed. About the chance we all have to eliminate poverty in my lifetime.

So yeah, I’ll admit it, I don’t think “technology” when I think Compassion. Not at first, even though I work in Information Technology (IT).

And that makes sense. Compassion is about releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. The goal of Information Technology is to support that goal, not replace it. Compassion has always expressed a great commitment to using technology in ways that support our mission, and the IT organization has enabled Compassion to fulfill its mission in countless ways.

And while that will continue to be true for many years to come, technology today is about so much more than servers and software and applications built by IT shops. In my opinion, technology in the 21st century is about community. About giving people a global voice. About connecting people across the city and across the globe. About enabling people to experience life lived beyond their borders.

Community. Now that’s right up Compassion’s alley.

And what amazes and inspires me the most about modern technology is how it enables you to do amazing things for Compassion and other causes around the world.

I look at Facebook, where Roderick Pitts, a student from Tupelo, Miss., created a cause page for Compassion. As of today, that cause has nearly 27,000 members and has raised almost $2,700 for Compassion. The cost to Compassion was zero, because Roderick found a way to use technology to fight poverty.

I look at the Uganda Blogging trip, now drawing to a close. Fifteen popular bloggers given an opportunity to see our work firsthand. These 15 individuals were changed by the experience to be sure, but their posts, pictures and videos have resulted in a change for thousands of their readers as well. Many of their readers have sponsored a child. Many now see poverty in a new light. Many will join Compassion to stand up and fight, because these 15 individuals found a way to use technology to fight poverty.

Compassion is by no means alone. Programs like One Laptop per Child (OLPC), Kiva.org and sites like Freerice are not just raising our awareness of global poverty, they are doing something more. They are doing something about global poverty by providing you and me with opportunities to join the fight.

And that’s how I look at my job in Compassion IT: using technology to fight poverty.

It’s a theme I am passionate about and one I hope to visit often as a contributor to this blog. But I need your help. I want us to dialogue together about technology and poverty. I want to hear your ideas and experiences.

Basically, I am asking for feedback, either in the comments of this post, or on your own blogs. How do you see technology being used to fight poverty? What ideas do you have for how Compassion can use technology to fight poverty? How do you use technology in your mission?

It’s a great time to be at Compassion. I’m looking forward to our dialogue.

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If you’ve been following our 15 Christian bloggers on their trip to Uganda you’ve seen only a glimpse of what it’s like to live in extreme poverty. It’s an outside view of Compassion’s ministry.

Today we present part three in a series of blog posts from staffers of Compassion Uganda who will give you an inside look into how Compassion’s ministry operates among the poorest of the poor.

Each Compassion center has, as part of its staff, a health specialist. This person provides medical guidance for each child registered in the program and arranges for doctors’ visits, immunizations and preventive care.

Dr. Yona Kapere is the Senior Health Specialist for Uganda. Here, he shares his role within Compassion and the success he has seen.

As a health specialist, I am involved mainly in equipping the church partner staff to ensure that the supported children choose good health practices and are physically healthy. We mainly achieve the above through networking with other existing service providers. We use field reports and monitoring visits to identify disease trends, gaps and challenges at the implementation level, and support the field to make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable children.

The most energizing bit of my work is that I have the opportunity to witness the difference our interventions are making in the lives of children and caregivers.

During one of our project monitoring visits, we came across an adolescent who had given up on life because he was HIV-positive. But with the support from Compassion through the church partner, the life of this adolescent was restored and he is currently feeling much better because of the medicine we are able to provide for him. He is attending school and educating his peers on HIV/AIDS.

This youth had this to say: “I had given up on life because no one seemed to understand me, but with the support of the church staff I was taken through counseling, and I have hope that I will leave to complete my studies and become an engineer.”

To those who support us to implement these programs, thank you for restoring hope to the hopeless. Many are alive and will continue to live because of your support.

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If you’ve been following our 15 Christian bloggers on their trip to Uganda you’ve seen only a glimpse of what it’s like to live in extreme poverty. It’s an outside view of Compassion’s ministry.

Today we present part two in a series of blog posts from staffers of Compassion Uganda who will give you an inside look into how Compassion’s ministry operates among the poorest of the poor.

The Child Survival Program (CSP) serves caregivers, infants and toddlers in some of the world’s poorest communities. Caregivers enrolled in CSP are visited each week by dedicated staff, whose passion is to bring health and healing to homes affected by poverty. Patience Musiime, a CSP specialist in Uganda, shares her favorite stories of hope from the Child Survival Program.

In 2004, Uganda opened our first Child Survival Program. At the Bugongi CSP, we have seen so much happen in just four years. In the Bugongi CSP, all of our 20 pregnant mothers have given birth to bouncing, healthy babies. This is a miracle! In Uganda, 200,000 children under the age of 5 die every year. But the babies in CSP are living!

In Uganda’s CSPs, we first understand that a mother must be healthy if she is to take care of her children. So we make sure our mothers go to a licensed health care center for their medical care, both before and after the baby is born. Since hundreds of thousands of mothers and children in Uganda are infected with AIDS, we also make sure to teach our mothers about protecting themselves and their families from this disease. For mothers who have HIV, we arrange medical care and teach them income-generating activities. But CSP is not just about caring for a family’s physical needs. We believe spiritual poverty is just as deadly as physical poverty.

In the first year that the Bugongi CSP was open, two mothers made a commitment to Christ. Today, 75 of our mothers know Christ as their Savior. These mothers are able to attend Bible studies, discipleship classes and home fellowships. Also, when we visit the homes of these mothers, we pray with them and help them understand how much Jesus loves them.We believe that we can end poverty for the families in our Child Survival Programs. If we can teach our mothers income-generating activities, they can help support their families and gain confidence.

Bugongi CSP runs an adult literacy class, and 26 mothers who formerly could not read and write now write their names, do simple arithmetic. and read in the local languages. Five mothers have successfully graduated with certificates in fashion and design. Mothers are also given skills in crocheting and home baking.

If you could visit us at the Bugongi CSP, I would introduce you to so many of our mothers whose lives have been changed. You would meet Mary, mother to Doreen, who tells us, “CSP has helped me through parenting seminars to attain parenting skills. My child now looks healthy. I have learned to read and write. I now can write my name. I gave my life to Christ through evangelism sessions in CSP.”

And you could meet Anne, who is enrolled with her twins Angel and Andrew. She told me, “CSP has done a lot in my life. I have learned how to prepare a rich meal for my children, the importance of immunization and how to live peacefully with other people. I can now talk in public and I really love my children, play with them and teach them.”

CSP is changing lives. So far, we have witnessed 46 of our children transfer to the sponsorship program. These children are well developed physically, spiritually, socially and mentally. All because there are CSP partners who believe in releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

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If you’ve been following our 15 Christian bloggers on their trip to Uganda you’ve seen only a glimpse of what it’s like to live in extreme poverty. It’s an outside view of Compassion’s ministry.

Today we begin a series of blog posts from staffers of Compassion Uganda who will give you an inside look into how Compassion’s ministry operates among the poorest of the poor.

What happens if a sponsored child needs an expensive operation? Or if his home is destroyed by a natural disaster? That’s where Compassion’s Complementary Intervention (CIV) program comes in.

CIV seeks to strengthen the ministry’s core programs by providing for needs that go above and beyond child sponsorship. CIV includes a number of ministry areas, including the AIDS Initiative, the Medical Fund, and Disaster Relief.

Jessica Masanganzira is the CIV Administrator for Uganda, and she is able to daily provide for the needs of children and church partners in this poverty-stricken country.

I have seen many successes in the CIV program in Uganda. The water program, for one, has helped many communities here, and it has contributed a lot towards improving the health of the children and immediate families.

In the Mulatsi Child Development Center, for example, an average of 32 children each month had diarrhea infections and abdominal pains due to the consumption of contaminated water. After installation of the borehole (a kind of well), medical expenses reduced by 23 percent, distances children traveled to fetch water reduced from 5 to 2 kilometers, and their classroom grades improved by 13 percent to date.

Another CIV project that has had great success in Uganda has been the nutrition training we have provided for children and caregivers. As a result of poverty and low levels of education, inadequate feeding, and lack of knowledge on children’s nutritional requirements, there is a high rate of malnutrition among newly registered children.

On average, 28 percent of children are reported malnourished and yet Compassion cannot continually provide nutritional support for all. Some families can barely afford a single meal a day and only get a reasonable meal only on center days at the project. This was hindering health, social and emotional development.The practical nutrition trainings and demonstration projects have led to improved health among children.

In one of the benefiting projects, Kisoro Child Development Center, malnutrition has dropped to 12 from 68 cases in a period of one year. Children and caregivers learned the nutrition requirements for children, trained in modern farming and animal-rearing methods, food preservation and storage to cater for dry seasons; horticulture and fruit growing, too, have been promoted at the projects and in children’s families.

I pray that CIV will continue to eliminate key child development barriers for the families in our programs. As we are educating and helping children and families, I believe we are changing our whole country. CIV works!

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Yesterday, our Ugandan bloggers visited Mildmay, an international HIV/AIDS charity, specializing in care, training and service development. Spence spoke about it. And so did Brian and Shannon. But none of them mentioned that every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS.

Our AIDS Initiative helps fight that. It focuses on prevention, treatment and rehabilitative care for the affected.

• Prevention is the only cure. And it’s the only way to lessen the spread of the pandemic; therefore, prevention is our priority. The truth is that the majority of HIV infections are preventable; nearly all new infections result from bad decisions, so prevention strategies must influence those decisions and change behavior.
• Treatment refers to the medical and psychosocial care given to those infected by HIV. The greatest challenge is not to deliver pills, build clinics, or hire doctors. The challenge is identifying children and families in need, earning their trust, and motivating them to get care, which is difficult in light of the stigma often associated with infection.
• Rehabilitative care addresses the lives of uninfected Compassion-assisted children who are jeopardized by HIV infection within their families and communities. Therefore, our response includes care for those who are indirectly affected by the pandemic.

Learn how the AIDS Initiative works.

Get educated about the pandemic and then take the quiz below. Take it to see how much you’ve learned and take it to share with others.

The clock is ticking.

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You want to know what’s going on Uganda, and our intrepid bloggers have a few questions for you too.

1. How many pairs of shoes do you have?
2. What is Ugandan for toy?
3. What’s going on here?
4. When’s the last time you spent $9?
5. What day is it?
6. Do you know what it means to adopt?
7. What is your dream for your children?
8. Have you seen this?
9. Can you see the stars from where you live?
10. What is Celebration Hill?

Internet access is still acting up over there. So, if this was a post of 11 questions, which it’s not, the next obvious question would be “When’s the Internet going to cooperate?” But then the judge would direct the jury to, “Disregard counselor’s last question” because this post is 10 Questions From Uganda.

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