10 Questions With Scott Todd, Special Operations Director

This week we continue our 10 Questions series on Compassion’s holistic child development model with Brandy’s interview with Dr. Scott Todd, Special Operations Director for Compassion.

Holistic child development model chart

Compassion’s Complementary Interventions (CIV) activities, which include the AIDS Initiative, are headed by Scott Todd. Scott, a pediatric AIDS expert, is passionate about meeting each and every need of the children served by Compassion. Recently, he shared how he sees CIV accomplishing that goal.

1. What is CIV?

CIV is Compassion’s Complementary Interventions program. To be honest, we played around with a lot of titles for this program. Complementary seems like a weak word for such a strong program. But it really does describe what CIV does — it complements, completes our core mission of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. In essence, CIV ensures that we are able to go the distance, to provide everything that’s necessary for children registered in our program. While $32 a month goes a very long way in developing countries, there are still unexpected needs. Homes are destroyed in floods. Children need expensive AIDS treatment. All things that exceed that $32 a month. That’s where Complementary Interventions come in.

2. What are some of the specific ways CIV complements Compassion’s core ministries?

Complementary Interventions are woven throughout Compassion’s Child Development Model. In the Child Survival Program, for example, Complementary Inventions provide medication for HIV-positive mothers that decrease their chances of passing the virus on to their unborn children. In the Child Sponsorship Program, I have seen CIV cover the medical costs of a child’s open-heart surgery, as well as covering his travel to a state-of-the-art hospital in another country. Because of the AIDS Initiative, an arm of CIV, church partners can put on training events in their communities, teaching families about awareness. Complementary Interventions exist to strengthen our other programs, and I’ve seen it work. Literally thousands of kids would not be alive were it not for CIV.

Scott with sponsored children in Honduras

3. Does CIV target different donors than our other programs?

First of all, a lot of people who give to CIV are already sponsors. But, I also believe that CIV is reaching a different group as well. Let’s say you have someone who feels very passionate about the AIDS crisis or about eradicating malaria. That person may never feel led to be a sponsor — that doesn’t connect with them. But through Complementary Interventions, they can give to what they’re passionate about. Not only can they give, but once they do, we can show them how it’s working. It’s a new, exciting point of initiation for Compassion.

4. How do Complementary Interventions differ from a community development program?

In each of our programs, including CIV, Compassion focuses on child development — not community development. By focusing on early childhood, we are often able to change a child’s life before fatalism, before he or she experiences stunted growth from disease, before that child gets behind in school. We believe that a changed child will transform his or her community.

5. Does sponsorship ever cover things like building wells, etc.?

Sponsorship funds directly benefit a specific child. We believe a sponsor’s money should benefit that individual child in a way we can document. But as I said before, sometimes that sponsorship amount of $32 a month isn’t enough, especially for children suffering from AIDS or other medical problems. But Complementary Interventions are also used to indirectly help children. If children are dying from lack of clean water, a church can ask for CIV funds to dig a well. This clean water will absolutely help the children at that center — but since it is indirect, that funding will come from CIV, rather than sponsorship.

Come back tomorrow for the rest of Brandy’s interview with Scott.

Read all the posts in the 10 Questions series.


Brandy Campbell is a feature writer at Compassion International. When she’s not chatting with Compassion execs, Brandy writes newsletter and web stories about Compassion’s ministry to children in poverty.

Continue Reading ›

When the Sneetch Children Cry

What would it have been like if Dr. Seuss wrote some stories about children in poverty?

Continue Reading ›

Ready, Set, Run!

In Junior High School, I adopted 1 Corinthians 9:24 as my favorite Bible verse.  Want to know what it says?

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”  (NIV)

I think I took it out of context to fit my needs as an ambitious track runner, but nonetheless, it’s something I’ve held on to for many years and often recite in my head. 

Want to know why I’m sharing this with you, my friends?  Well, a group of Compassion employees are getting ready to run a 10K Race called the Bolder Boulder. It takes place annually on Memorial Day in the city of Boulder. Last year there were nearly 50,000 registered runners! This year the race will be on May 26 and we are hoping to get 100 Compassion employees registered for the race.

So, while the scripture is a little out of context, we are still running with a prized goal in mind. As Compassion employees, our goal for this Memorial Day race is to run in memory of the 28,000 children who die daily from preventable causes due to poverty.  

If you live in Colorado, or plan to be in the area that weekend, please come and run with us! We would love to have your support in sharing the advocacy message of Compassion.

Continue Reading ›

10 Questions With Mike Hinckfoot (Part II)

Yesterday, Mike gave us a lesson on what Compassion’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) is about. Today, he talks about his vision for LDP.

Mike with Ben, a Compassion Kenya LDP student


6. What are the goals of the LDP for each student who graduates?

The LDP is an outcome-driven ministry. Everything we do focuses on our goal of seeing students graduate and serve their communities and the world at large. A young person who graduates from Compassion’s Leadership Development Program demonstrates:

  • Personal commitment to the lordship of Christ
  • Good health practices
  • Personal and professional skills to be economically self-supporting
  • Positive self-worth and healthy relationships
  • Servant leadership

7. Can you tell me about an LDP student who you believe embodies the goals and spirit of the LDP?

Lillian grew up in the care of an aged peasant father and two brothers. They lived each day as it came, knowing that a day to day existence was the best way they could live. As a young child her home was trees, made up of old limbs, cardboard, and scrap metal. She was brought up in a small tribal community based on a patriarchal model, which does not place a premium on educating girls. Women in her village do not dream. They are viewed as insignificant, with little hope for the future than to live in poverty and to raise their children in the same conditions.

But with the help of the Child Sponsorship Program and her sponsor, Lillian saw the first seeds of hope flourish. She became the first in the family to graduate from high school. Now, through the LDP, she has become the first and only girl in her village who has achieved the distinction of being accepted into a university.

With the knowledge Lillian is gaining from the LDP program and her studies, we believe, and with her determination, she will become a school teacher and instill these same dreams and hopes into other young children. In spite of all the hurdles, Lillian breaths life and energy and hope. Lillian has a “can do!” heart. She truly believes God will provide all.

8. Tell me what the LDP graduates are doing now.

Since 1996, more than 600 students have graduated from the program. Based on our most recent contact with our graduates, we know that:

  • More than 80 percent are employed.
  • About 72 percent of graduates are employed within their field of study within six months after graduation.
  • Approximately 99 percent are actively involved in a leadership role within their church.
  • Around 65 percent are currently mentors themselves.
  • About five percent are Child Sponsorship Program sponsors, and more are sponsoring siblings to attend school.
  • More than ten are missionaries to other countries.

9. What is your vision for the LDP?

Our vision is that one day, the country offices that we work in become partner countries. That one day, Compassion Uganda will raise up sponsors, where they are a part of our ministry just like Compassion Italia, Compassion Canada or Compassion Netherlands. And we envision that our leadership development students, that one day a student could be the president of his or her country. An awesome parent, a man or woman of God… a loving spouse. A young person who could be a teacher or a lawyer, walking with the Lord — a leader in the church; an elder, maybe a pastor, impacting family, church, community, nation, and in so being, transforming our world for Jesus Christ. That is the Leadership Development Program.

10. What is your favorite LDP memory?

It was 2 a.m. at a LDP retreat, and I was packed into a small room with 20 LDP guys (no ladies), laughing at goofy jokes, making fun of one another, engrossed in stupid guy humor, singing Christmas carols loud and off-key, praying for miracles — to release the captives and rebuild nations — and not superficial wants. And I knew without a doubt these young men will transform their nation for God’s glory.

Read all of the posts in the 10 Questions series.

Continue Reading ›

10 Questions With Mike Hinckfoot, Leadership Development Ministry Director

This week we continue our 10 Questions series on Compassion’s holistic child development model with Brandy’s interview with Mike Hinckfoot, Compassion’s Leadership Development Ministry Director.

Holistic child development model chart


Compassion’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) uniquely equips hundreds of outstanding young leaders to transform their communities, their countries and their world. Mike Hinckfoot, Compassion’s Leadership Development Ministry director since 2004, recently shared with me his passion for young adults and his vision for the Leadership Development Program.

1. What is the Leadership Development Program?

The Leadership Development Program identifies and provides opportunities for outstanding Christian young men and women who are graduates of our Child Sponsorship Program. The tagline is “Educating, training, discipling servant leaders.” It’s about college students, who, when they came into Compassion’s program maybe 18 years ago, had no dreams, but now they do.

2. What does “Educating, training and discipling servant leaders” look like?

Well, the education part is pretty simple. Each LDP student enrolls in college in their home country, where they will receive a bachelor’s degree, thanks to the support of their LDP sponsor. As far as training, each LDP student takes part in a holistic curriculum based on Compassion’s leadership principles. It’s a three to four year training program. And for discipleship, we connect every LDP student with a local church, where they are actively involved in getting to know their pastor, maybe teaching Sunday school. Discipleship also comes through mentoring. Every LDP student has a mentor, someone of the same gender, hopefully in the same career path that they are to walk with them side by side. They also have an LDP specialist, kind of a guidance counselor, someone who is helping them develop in their plans for the future.

Mike with several LDP students attending the University of Guatemala

3. What is the LDP sponsor’s role in their sponsored student’s life, beyond covering the cost for their education?

The sponsor is essential to the success of the program. Our students are linked to a sponsor and our hope is that to take a sponsor from being an encourager to being a distant mentor, to being a coach for them — for now and for the future. I can say without question that I know of no other program like LDP in the world. Sponsors are touching the future by being a champion for these bright, talented students. They are, quite literally, changing the future through their sponsorship.

4. The Bible is full of verses about helping children, the orphaned and those who are alone. What do you think the Bible says about the young adults who apply for LDP?

One key passage for LDP is 1 Timothy 4:12, a verse that declares the value of young adults from God’s perspective. Paul, a mentor to Timothy, encourages him, saying, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” In other words, God is calling young adults to assume great roles of leadership. They should pursue this confidently. And the Leadership Development Program is one way the Church can see that it happens.

5. Many developing countries offer very little support for women seeking an education — and some are, in fact, hostile towards these women. What is LDP doing to help women enrolled in the program?

I’ve done a lot of research on women and education in developing countries, and the more I learn, the sicker this situation makes me. For example, we learned that young ladies enrolled in LDP in Nairobi were being harassed by young men in the computer lab. Even worse, young ladies were failing university because they would not have an affair with their professors. We do everything we can to support these young women. We are giving them a chance for an education, yes. But our support doesn’t end there. We fight for them, against injustice. We give them a voice. We give them power. We give them hope.

Come back tomorrow for the rest of Brandy’s interview with Mike.

Read all the posts in the 10 Questions series.


Brandy Campbell is a feature writer at Compassion International. When she’s not chatting with Compassion execs, Brandy writes newsletter and web stories about Compassion’s ministry to children in poverty.

Continue Reading ›

Child Proofing

Child-proofing your home is actually a backwards way of looking at it. You’re not protecting your house from children…you’re protecting children from your house.

Continue Reading ›

True Community

Leaving Uganda will be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I’ve fallen in love with the people here. They are the most welcoming, generous and humble people I’ve ever met.

One lady I visited gave me a beautiful hand-made basket as a gift. It took her several months to make it. She filled it with eggs and avocados. Why does this stand out so much? She is a single mom, HIV-positive and struggling to raise two sons on about 80 cents a day. And yet she insisted that I take the gift. It will be one of my prize possessions.

The people of Uganda are also the most joyful people I’ve ever met, which is interesting considering most of them live on less than a dollar a day. One man I met told me, “In Uganda, you may not be able to afford dinner, but you’ll still wake up with a smile on your face the next morning.”

I asked our guide, Ezra, how people here remain so full of hope. He explained that everyone in Uganda takes care of each other. “People know their neighbors and look out for one another,” he said. “If someone is going through a hard time or grieving, he will be surrounded. No one goes through anything alone.”

In the U.S., we might have material possessions, but it seems they have something many of us don’t — true community.


Robyn Spencer, a full-time writer for Compassion International, is currently on her first Compassion trip to Uganda. Robyn is experiencing Compassion’s life-changing work first-hand, so she can educate sponsors and donors when she returns home.

Continue Reading ›

10 Questions With Mark Peters (Part II)

Yesterday, Mark shared about what child sponsorship is through Compassion and how it has evolved over the past 55 years. Today, Mark answers the question “Why Compassion?”


6. There are a lot organizations who use child sponsorship to fight poverty. What makes Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program unique?

Compassion is Christ centered, child focused, church based, and committed to integrity. All of our core programs are holistic. We also value the dignity of all people and endeavor to uphold high standards of stewardship and excellence. The Child Sponsorship Program focuses on the long-term spiritual, physical, socio-emotional development of children from age 3 up to 22. It is during those years that children develop their self-image, acquire knowledge and skills that can help them become financially self-sufficient, and develop good health habits. It is also during the childhood and adolescent years that the majority of Christians come to know Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

7. So, why Compassion? Why should someone choose Compassion instead of another ministry that helps children?

Compassion sponsors often tell me that they chose to partner with Compassion after researching several different organizations. They want to work with an organization that shares their Christian values and convictions.

8. Compassion focuses on development, not relief. Why? What is the difference?

Providing relief to victims of natural and man-made disasters is necessary, and several organizations do that well. However, Compassion’s area of expertise is long-term child development. We believe that children need sustained nurture and instruction to develop into the men and women God desires them to be. Additionally, our Complementary Inventions activities assist children with any special needs they may have along the way including disaster relief.

9. Most sponsorship organizations place less emphasis on the one-to-one connection and more on the physical resources provided through monthly gifts. Why does Compassion focus on that relationship, specifically through letter-writing?

After 55 years, we have begun placing a greater emphasis on the role sponsors can play in encouraging their sponsored child through letters, gifts and visits. Sponsors have a unique opportunity to speak into the lives of the children they sponsor. They have the special opportunity to bring children to Jesus through their words of encouragement and by sharing their testimony of God’s faithfulness in their own lives. They can speak words of life, love and hope into the lives of children.

I have seen firsthand how this relationship can be transformational for children and sponsors.

Mark with his sponsored child Karen

10. What’s your favorite Child Sponsorship Program success story?

Lillian is a wonderful example of a young person whose life was dramatically changed as a result of being in Compassion’s program. Lillian’s mother died when she was 3 months old, and her father died just two years later. Then, her guardians abused her. But one day Lillian was spotted by Patrick, the director of a Compassion-assisted center near her uncle’s house, and she was registered in the Child Sponsorship Program. This was a critical turning point in Lillian’s young life. She went on to attend college through the Leadership Development Program, and now she is a full-time staff member in the Compassion Uganda office.

As I think about all the twists and turns in Lillian’s life and her amazing story, it is impressed upon me that she is a product of her participation in Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program. Lillian tells me, “I am a living testimony. I would have never seen my value in life if it were not for Compassion.”

Read all the posts in the 10 Questions series.

Continue Reading ›

Saving Lives and Offering Hope

Late last week, I interviewed three families affected by AIDS. One was headed by a father raising three children on his own — he is HIV-positive and lost his wife to AIDS. Another was a 13-year-old girl who lives with her aunt — both are HIV-positive. And the third was a 12-year-old girl who lost both of her parents to AIDS.

Most of my days here have been full of positive, encouraging stories, but there are still a few that make me cry. But I’m so thankful Compassion is providing these families with medical treatment, food and counseling. The father I mentioned above is in a Compassion support group. “It makes me feel happy to have a place I can go and feel accepted,” he said.

We also talked with Patience, who heads up the health program at one of Compassion’s Uganda child development centers. “HIV is still on the rise in Uganda,” she explained. “More people are getting infected every day,” she said. “The other problem is that when caregivers are infected, the children are affected. We make sure that children in our program who are vulnerable to HIV are tested. We also make sure that the child is loved.”

Say no to AIDSOne woman told us that she is alive today because of Compassion. “They found me on my deathbed,” she said. “They took me to the hospital and had me tested. I found out that I’m HIV-positive.” Compassion is currently providing her with antiretroviral therapy. I asked her what she would like to say to those who give to Compassion’s AIDS Initiative. “Please tell them thank you,” she said. “Without you, I wouldn’t be here.”

If you’ve given to Compassion’s AIDS Initiative, thank you for your support. You are saving lives and offering hope to those who need it most.


Robyn Spencer, a full-time writer for Compassion International, is currently on her first Compassion trip to Uganda. Robyn is experiencing Compassion’s life-changing work first-hand, so she can educate sponsors and donors when she returns home.

Continue Reading ›

10 Questions With Mark Peters, Vice President of Ministry Integration & Innovation

This week we continue our 10 Questions series on Compassion’s holistic child development model with Brandy’s interview with Mark Peters, Compassion’s Vice President of Ministry Intergration & Innovation.

Holistic child development model chart


The Child Sponsorship Program (CDSP) is Compassion’s flagship program. For more than 55 years, Compassion has paired children in poverty with loving, supportive sponsors who provide for their physical needs. But in those 55-plus years, the Child Sponsorship Program has evolved into a holistic program — one that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty. Mark Peters, who oversees the work of the Child Sponsorship Program, shares how Compassion has evolved — and where it is heading.

1. What is child sponsorship through Compassion?

The goal of child sponsorship is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. We do this by linking one child with one sponsor for the purpose of enriching both lives. For children, this involves the opportunity to participate in a program designed to address their spiritual, physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development. For sponsors, this involves the opportunity to be a blessing to a child in need. Sponsors and children also have the opportunity to write letters to each other and learn more about one another.

2. How has God uniquely equipped you to work with Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program?

Ministry to children has always been a part of my life. Even as a child, I was involved in our church’s bus ministry, inviting children to ride the bus to church every week. This passion for ministry to children continued when I spent time in California, overseeing a Nazarene sponsorship program, as well as throughout my 16 years of service with Compassion.

Mark with sponsored children in Ecuador
3. What first attracted you to Compassion?

As a former pastor, I strongly believe that God has established and commissioned the Church to minister to the poor and suffering in our world. Compassion partners with more than 4,500 local churches in 25 developing countries to help children become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults. This partnership with the Church is what drew me to Compassion.

4. Tell me more about this partnership with churches. How does this relationship benefit the church? How does it benefit Compassion?

The churches we partner with have a passion to change their communities for Christ. They understand that children are not only the Church of tomorrow but they are also the Church of today. Compassion plays an important role in providing local churches in developing countries with a significant share of the resources (financial and training) they need to realize the vision God has given them. Our church partners also play an important role in providing the information Compassion needs to acquire and engage sponsors in their ministry to sponsored children.

5. What new things is the Child Sponsorship Program doing that we weren’t doing 55 years ago?

Compassion’s program models have changed over the years. We have transitioned from “family helper” type projects to church school projects to child development centers that are focused on children. We are very intentional about the program being holistic. Wess often says, “An empty stomach has no ears.” We work with our church partners to address the needs of the whole child — physical, social, spiritual and economic.

We are working to challenge and equip sponsors to be advocates not only for their sponsored children but for children in general.

We have also implemented new technologies, such as digital cameras and a system to capture child information in field offices, in order to increase efficiency and minimize administrative costs.

Come back tomorrow for the rest of Brandy’s interview with Mark.

Read all the posts in the 10 Questions series.


Brandy Campbell is a feature writer at Compassion International. When she’s not chatting with Compassion execs, Brandy writes newsletter and web stories about Compassion’s ministry to children in poverty.

Continue Reading ›

Budget, Schmudget

Numbered out! When you’re an arts and letters person like me, waking up to figures, budget targets and terms like “capital depreciation” are like, well…an alarm clock that just makes you want to keep hitting the snooze button.

But face reality I must. Waking up helps, too.

Truth is, there’s some very exciting stuff going on at Compassion. Growth, regrouping, a fresh look at what ministry looks like when the Church is mobilized. We’ve just got to be poised and ready…ready to listen, hear, obey. And act. Act boldly, because we’re given a bold mission that will succeed even in the face of a brazen enemy.

This is how you know you’re onto something, and that — perfect or not — you are in the midst of God’s divine purpose. Things don’t come easy, but they come. It’s not because we’re so good or smart or driven, but because of who God is and what He wants to accomplish through us…and through you. We’re just mobilizers.

Several years ago, I took a life-changing course called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement that gave me a view into the history of Christianity — its ebbs and flows; rises and falls; the good, the bad and the ugly; and the blessing and persecution. What became very clear to me was this: When God wants to move, He moves. He’d rather move through His people rather than in spite of us, but He will move.

The key part for us is finding our place in the movement called the Great Commission. Mine, I learned, is mobilizing — promoting a cause and encouraging others to find their place in it. Yours might be sending others to the mission field (here or “there”). It could be going yourself (mission field, short-term missions or visiting your child). Or it might be praying and supporting. It could be working here or at another NGO that serves those in need. Point is, we each have a part.

Just after I finished Perspectives, God gave me the faith to offer what I thought was a resumé a mile wide and an inch deep. And after that, it was clear He was making my life deeper and wider than I could hope or imagine.

I’m no saint (ask around), but like anyone, if I’m willing I can be a tool of impact in the right Hands. By God’s grace, that even includes crunching numbers.


Nydia Teter works as Compassion’s Field Communications Director, her job is to get the great stories from our country offices to our global partners so they can share the good news about what God’s doing through sponsors and donors around the world.

Continue Reading ›

Photos, Comments and A Promise for More

The Internet connection wasn’t the best in Ethiopia. In fact, it was non-existent. It’s not like it was a blog trip to Uganda or anything.

The Internet connection wasn’t a priority for the sponsors that went to Ethiopia to meet their sponsored children. However, once everyone got back home … yesterday, Chris Harp, one of the Compassion employees leading the trip, did get us some photos, along with a couple of sponsor comments and a promise for “more to come,” once he wakes up from his transcontinental coma.

(He also brought back a lot of commas, by the look of that last sentence, and you may now be in a coma yourself – a comma coma.)

 

Brace yourself for the beauty below.

Ethiopian child - March 2008 Ethiopia sponsor tour

Laura 3/5/08
Greetings from Ethiopia!
Over the past few days, the group has experienced so much: new sights, smells, tastes, and sounds. The stories I could tell from the last few days could make your heads spin! The greatest privilege of this trip so far has undoubtedly been the time spent with the children in the centers and here at the Ghion hotel. They have such beautiful smiles of contentment and peace; though the have nothing, they consider themselves blessed.

Today, I met up with a little girl from here in Addis whose sponsor was unable to make the trip. I was one of the fortunate ones who could step in for the day and play with her. Her precious little smile, independent and quick nature, and her hilarious facial expressions will stay near to my heart for a very long time.

Relatively unfamiliar with Compassion before this trip, I have been so encouraged and inspired by the selfless work and love of each of the staff persons; Compassion is and will continue to make a difference in the lives of many. What an honor to play such a small part in this ministry that gives hope, worth, and love to so many.

Friday, March 7th 2008 – John Michael
I awoke this morning in Awassa, Ethiopia, thinking of my Ethiopian daughter, Tezeta, and I am feeling so very blessed by God. We have shared so many wonderful letters these past few years, sharing so much of each of our lives and our hopes and dreams for each other.

On Wednesday we were able to finally look into each other’s eyes and see each other’s souls, as God placed his hands on both of us. She has so much love in her heart, and because of Compassion, so much hope for her future. Her faith in God is so strong and she helps me in my faith. Tezeta is truly a blessing in my life.

Continue Reading ›