Once upon a time, in a small West African village, there was a young prince named Poubila. Providence and birth had given the boy riches no other boy his age could ever dream of.

He had a dozen servants who were busy night and day, anticipating his every desire and responding as devotedly as servants ever could. His birth in itself had been a royal event that gathered kings, queens and merchants from neighboring kingdoms. As his parents’ only begotten son, he enjoyed great love and care from the whole kingdom.

However, as months and years passed, the boy showed very little physical development. Despite all the medical care and nutritious food he was given, the child remained frail and visibly malnourished.

The prince’s condition brought much confusion among his servants because anytime they came to collect dirty dishes and the remainders of the boy’s meals, they found nothing left. How could a young boy eat that much and remain so frail?

The reality was that every time Prince Poubila was served a meal and was left alone to savor it, there appeared villainous creatures who deprived him of all his food. The boy was so scared that he never resisted them and never dared to tell anyone of what he was enduring.

One day, one of the child’s nurses stayed behind the door after the boy was served his dinner. The nurse was surprised to see wicked, ugly creatures appear from nowhere and devour the prince’s food in no time. She rushed to the king’s doctor and to the army chief, who gave her a powerful weapon for the prince to fight off his assailants.

The next day, when the creatures appeared again at lunchtime, the boy took his new weapon and won victory over them. Since then, he has never been attacked again and has begun to thrive and grow into a strong and handsome youth.

A happy ending, no doubt. And it applies even to our world.

Recently, Lucienne, the health and social worker at the Saksida Child Development Center in Burkina Faso, said to the 300 children who attend the center,

“Each of you here today is this young prince. Many times there are little creatures that try to steal the food that should go into your stomachs. What would you do to prevent them from doing so? Here is the solution.”

Lucienne held up a pill and continued,

“Just chew this tablet and you’ll be healthy, handsome and strong princes like Poubila! Who wants one of them?”

Suddenly, a crowd of jumping children formed around Lucienne, their mouths wide open to receive the deworming tablets.

In addition to the deworming, the children are taught how to keep their environment clean and the basics of washing their hands before eating. This initiative to deworm children was successful and our staff hope to do it on a regular basis.

As soon as she returned home from her day at the development center, one of the children, Yasmina, ran to her mother and told her the story of Prince Poubila and about the tablet she chewed at the center. It didn’t taste sweet, she said, but she took it to be able to fight against the ugly, wicked worms that want to deprive her of food.

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HIV/AIDS remains one of the world’s most significant public health challenges, particularly in low and middle-income countries.

The World Health Organization reports that the African region is the most affected, where 1.8 million people acquired the virus in 2009 alone.

This means African nations must intensify their campaign against the disease, and Ghana is no exception. As part of the activities to mark this year’s World AIDS Day, we launched a three-month HIV/AIDS education and awareness campaign in Mankessim.

The campaign is designed to reach as many people as possible with the message of “Getting To Zero,” the international theme for 2012.

The Kormantse Central and Mankessim Ebenezer Child Development Centers teamed up to conduct HIV/AIDS education for caregivers and children. They also targeted three senior high schools in the Mfantseman Municipality.

Their campaign will educate 465 registered children, 511 caregivers and 7,200 high school students about the meaning of HIV/AIDS and its causes and prevention, as well as how to care for those who are infected.

Issues emphasized in the awareness campaign include marginalization, discrimination and stigmatization.

The first part of the campaign featured a procession through the streets of Mankessim. Some 1,300 participants wore T-shirts bearing HIV/AIDS awareness inscriptions.

The procession included a brass band and dancing. Participants also distributed flyers and wristbands with information about HIV/AIDS.

For the second part of the program various dignitaries addressed the gathering, and children from the two host development centers thrilled the audience with drama, poem recitals and singing.

The queen mother of Mankessim’s traditional area and her entourage also graced the occasion with their presence. Speeches were presented by our Country Director, Padmore Baffour Agyapong, the Municipal HIV/AIDS focal person, the HIV/AIDS focal person from Mfantseman Municipal Hospital and the queen mother.

Padmore emphasized that targeting children and teens represents a sustained effort to reduce HIV infection.

He made three important recommendations as benchmarks in the fight against HIV/AIDS and its antecedent issues: intensification of HIV/AIDS studies in school curriculum, adoption of youth-friendly healthcare services by the Ministry of Health and increased public health campaigns to reach a large proportion of young people.

Caregivers were asked to get tested and told not to despair if they are HIV-positive, but to visit clinics for antiretroviral therapy drugs. We cover the cost of the drugs.

HIV cases in this region of Ghana reveal an increasing trend from 229 in 2008, to 320 in 2009, to 337 in 2010 and currently 393 in 2011.

Key factors leading to this high incidence include lack of income-generating enterprises, broken family structure and attitudes and behavior. Additionally, very few infected individuals are receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Though the new campaign has just been set in motion, about half the community has already been enlightened about HIV/AIDS and its related issues.

Many in the community have been made aware of how we support the fight against HIV/AIDS and, most importantly, about the support offered to children and caregivers living with HIV/AIDS.

One participant shares,

“I do not have a child in Compassion, but I have heard about the things that Compassion has been doing for children.

I never knew that the parents also benefit directly from Compassion. All the things I heard here today make me really envy the families with Compassion. I am praying that some day one of my four children would become part of Compassion, too.”

And another participant tells us,

“I am very happy to have been here today. I have heard so many things about HIV/AIDS that I did not know before. Today I have learned that being HIV-positive does not mean death.

I am thankful for Compassion coming to do this work here today. From today I shall keep my ears open. Anytime I hear that the Compassion people are doing something somewhere, I shall make sure to be there, because I am sure to learn something new.”

Finally, one HIV-positive mother, whose child is registered with our program wants us to know,

“I have been so touched by what happened here. I now know that I am not alone. I also know that other people care about those of us with HIV. If more organizations would do what Compassion has done today, people with HIV would not hide.”

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Janvier is a tall, dark and handsome 15-year-old who dreams of becoming an international football player. He lives in Rwanda, a small but densely-populated country in central Africa.

“I did not know I was sick. Mum used to give me drugs and tell me to take them in order to be healed of my skin disease.”

When Janvier turned 8, his mother thought it was time he knew the truth about his condition.

“She took me to the hospital and the doctor explained to me why I had to always take the tablets. He told me I had HIV and that I was born with it.

Then I joined a group of children and their parents in a counseling session and asked them what HIV was, and they explained to me.”

For the next two years, Janvier spent most days lying in the hospital. When he wasn’t a patient there, he still had to go to the hospital every morning, afternoon and evening for injections.

Several times, he was put on an oxygen pump and had an IV needle in his right hand. This needle allowed medicine to be given without more needle pricks.

“I had constant headaches, was dizzy most of the time and had red eyes. You cannot tell now, but you should see my registration photo.

I could not eat but would throw up instead. They used to take me to hospital to eat. They used to feed me, dress me and wash me. I was like a dead body. The hospital was my home.”

Janvier weighed only 17 kilograms (about 38 pounds) by the age of 11, and he was plagued with a persistent cough and continuous skin diseases.

One day, Janvier’s mother was given some money by her family and told that she and her sons could no longer live with them. When they moved, and Janvier transferred to his current child development center, his mother received 100,000 Rwandan francs (about $8 U.S.) from Compassion’s HIV fund.

She used this money to rent a place for her family to live and rent a shop in the market where she sells bananas. She later bought a piece of land on which she constructed her own house. She used her market profits to pay school fees for Janvier’s younger brother.

Compassion continues to supply Janvier’s family with nutritious food supplements such as rice, beans, sugar, milk, eggs, vegetables, cooking oil, fish and fruit. His mother tells us,

“There was a time when Janvier was always weak and sleepy because of the effects of his drugs. Then he started getting better.

He now weighs 50 kilograms (110 pounds). When people see him, they wonder whether he is the same child they knew. When I see him, I get so pleased and I know that it is because of Compassion.”

Janvier adds,

“I feel like am having the same life as everyone else. I know what these drugs have made me – I know I need them to survive. Before, I used to fall sick all the time. Mum used to tell me it was malaria.

Before, I used to throw away my drugs because I did not know their use. I would not spend three months without going to hospital. Now I have spent almost four years without being admitted.

I am very grateful to Compassion. If they had not helped me, I would have died! But, by the will of God through Compassion, I am still alive.”

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In a few months, Fatao will celebrate his seventh birthday.

Fatao’s story is one of a shy boy who used to spend most of his time away from other children because of the heart disease he suffered from. Today he is fully active and uses every single minute of the day doing things he could not do for many years.

Living a few blocks from the child development center, Fatao can often be found at the center office asking questions, insisting on touching the computers and pretending to read our staff’s books.

On Thursdays, when all the registered children meet, the church’s compound turns into a merry community of children. Some play hide-and-seek or hopscotch; some play marbles or football, some skip rope or slide and others swing. Fatao is found doing many of these activities too.

From the shy and lonely boy that he used to be, Fatao now is involved in group games. He also loves to eat and his mother no longer has to insist at lunch or dinner that Fatao eats just a few handfuls of sagabo (a local pastry).

Together we have won a great victory over illness.

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In our holistic child development model, spiritual development carries a high priority. Fostering a child’s relationship with God by teaching biblical ethics and worldview is one of our foremost objectives.

Such programs are important in Bangladesh because this nation is predominantly Muslim; 87 percent of people in Bangladesh practice Islam. Hinduism is the second-largest religion in the country, and Christianity is practiced by less than 1 percent of the population.

Approximately 70 percent of the children attending child development programs in Bangladesh are from non-Christian families, and our centers are the only places where many will hear about Jesus Christ.

Age-appropriate Christian books and study materials are very rare in Bangladesh. Therefore, regular spiritual activities and learning at the development centers are of great support to the churches for reaching the children who live in their communities.

As children in our program become teenagers, the development centers recognize the need for age-appropriate Bible courses. Mail Box Club is a favorite Bible program that is adding fresh flavor and a new dimension to our spiritual development activities.

Child development centers with a large group of teenagers have the option to start a Mail Box Club. We support these groups through its Complementary Interventions fund.

Mail Box Club is a special Bible club in which children age 12 and older participate in Bible learning through materials they receive each month by mail. A Christian ministry — Generation Bangladesh — receives, translates and manages the children’s correspondence for the club.

Children in the club must go through course books and answer specific questions based on the study materials. Then they return the completed course books by mail.

After completion of a certain number of course books, children receive a certificate as recognition of their efforts. The study materials are completely Bible based, and the children then teach others about the importance of Christ in their lives.

Alpona, for example, is from a Hindu family and has been coming to a child development center since her childhood. She is an active member of this Bible group.

“I really like Mail Box Club. It is interesting to learn through correspondence. When I first received the mail, I was a little confused but our teacher helped us to understand what we are supposed to do. Now it is easier for me.”

This course has helped Alpona learn about Christ and Christlike behavior. She says she has shared her learning at home and with other friends at the development center.

“From the course books I have learned that Jesus is in me. He is my Savior and He can forgive all my sins. I tell these things at home and to other friends.”

Moni, Alpona’s classmate, is also from a Hindu family. Moni learned about Christ at the child development center, and the additional Bible course enhanced her learning.

“When our teacher explained to us our Bible lesson, I learned that God is always with us and He will never forsake us. I tell this to all my friends in school who do not know about Christ.”

For Joy, this course is special because it ensures that he has a great friend in Jesus Christ. He lives with his mother now, after his father left them. In his times of struggle he recollects his learning from Mail Box Club.

“I learned that Jesus is my best friend, because He knows me, loves me, and will always be with me. Whenever I have problems or I am struggling, I tell myself that Jesus is my best friend, and that helps.”

Mail Box Club is not just a club to improve children’s writing or reading skills. It helps prepare children to enter adulthood with a biblical worldview and intimate knowledge of their Savior.

Perhaps the best thing about this course is that it makes children think about and realize God’s plan. Well-written study materials and simple, clear lessons are wonderful resources that help their spiritual growth.

Mail Box Club has added a new dimension to our approach to child development in Bangladesh.

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Marion (not her real name) was only 5 when she and her father became ill.  Marion’s father tells us,

“When we visited the local health center for treatment, the doctor used the same needle on both Marion and myself due to a shortage of supplies.”

Marion’s father was unaware of the danger this posed to his daughter. He was involved in an extramarital affair at the time, but it soon ended when the woman passed away.

“My girlfriend died after she succumbed to illness. I learned from her brother that she had died of AIDS. I was shocked.”

He did not get tested, but he did tell his wife about his girlfriend’s death. They agreed to abstain from physical intimacy.

“It became very difficult for me to have sexual relations with my wife. In any case, she went to stay upcountry.”

He was left to care for the family by himself. Before long, he became very ill.

“I had a headache, diarrhea and my joints were very weak. A painful rash ran along the length of my back to my stomach and itched relentlessly.”

Tests showed he was HIV-positive. He feared the worst for his family.

Months later, Marion was diagnosed with tuberculosis, a common infection for people with HIV. The workers at Marion’s Compassion-assisted child development center recommended a visit to the hospital, where the doctors performed several tests including one for HIV. The results were devastating.

Marion’s father came back to the child development center and broke the news to us. He also told his wife.

“Marion’s mother was angry with me, and she cried a lot for our daughter.”

We have helped both Marion and her father receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) from a city hospital at no cost. ART is a treatment that maximally suppresses the HIV virus.

A cobbler by day and a security guard by night, Marion’s father works two jobs to meet the needs of his family. Initially, he could earn about 300 shillings (a little more than $3 U.S.) a day. But a raid during the post-election violence in 2008 left him with nothing.

“All my materials were stolen from my shop. I was chased away and I lost my customers. I had to start all over again. I could no longer afford to feed my family.”

He worried that his family’s health would deteriorate and was afraid that lack of food would cause Marion to succumb to the side-effects of the HIV therapy. He needed help.

“The development center supplied us with enriched porridge, flour and beans, detergent and clothes. From then on, we never went to bed hungry. And I do not remember having to buy clothes for Marion as she had enough.”

His family also received a special gift from Marion’s sponsor.

“Marion’s sponsor bought us a cow that has now given birth to four calves.”

His wife takes care of the cows back at the village. The milk they provide boosts the family’s income.

Recently, Marion’s father almost stopped taking his ART drugs due to kidney complications. But one of the development center staff helped him get back on track.

“I did not drink enough water with the drugs. When I followed the center worker’s advice, the problem went away.

“I now take about eight to 10 glasses of water every day and I have not skipped my drugs.”

This experience helped Marion’s father gather enough courage to talk to his daughter, who did not understand why she had to take the ART drugs.

The drugs would sometimes cause her to vomit, feel dizzy and miss school.

“When she was 11, I told Marion about the disease she suffered from and why she felt the way she did.

“I asked her never to skip the drugs, which she takes twice a day, because they will prolong her life.

“I told her to take responsibility over her life and, hopefully, live long enough to witness a cure for the disease.”

Marion and her father have every reason to push on and fight for health every day. But for the 2 million Kenyans living with HIV/AIDS, it is a challenge to find basic care, nutrition and safe drinking water and to develop necessary living skills.

Philegona, director of Marion’s child development center, says there have been improvements in the community.

“Through counseling, our registered children living with HIV/AIDs, together with their caregivers, have greatly improved their lifestyles. More people have opened up and [the] stigma is on a downward shift.”

As Philegona observes Marion and her father, she sees how positive they are.

“Marion’s father is a funny man. He cracks jokes and tells us about his triumphs. Marion, too, is a happy child. She likes to play with other children and to spend time in the child development center’s computer room.”

Marion has just completed her primary school exams. She is looking forward to beginning secondary school soon. Her dream of becoming a nurse is alive and well.

“I want to be a nurse so I can help patients when doctors are not around.”

Marion has a lovely smile on her face and a deep assurance in her eyes that everything will be all right.

While the ART drugs are very helpful, their side-effects are evident on her father’s thin, towering frame. His lips look scorched and his eyes are sunken under his brow. But he is thankful to all who have made it possible for him to see another day.

“I want to thank everyone who has been of help and I urge them to continue. Without them, my survival and that of my daughter would be very difficult.”

As Marion’s father holds his daughter’s reassuring hand, he is hopeful.

“God has opened a way through prayer, and I have faith that we will continue to live.”

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There was finally hope for release from the waterborne diseases their children had been exposed to all these years.

Ekwamkrom is a farming community west of the capital, Accra. It is a community blessed with a natural water body, the Akora River, which serves as the major source of water for all household needs.

But the river is a mixed blessing. Although there is a water pipeline in town, the people of Ekwamkrom rely largely on the contaminated river because the water taps do not work well.

Samuel, coordinator at the Ebenezer Methodist Child Development Center, shares,

“We have pipeborne water here in Ekwamkrom, but it is never adequate. Sometimes it is cut off for many days. So we have to turn to the Akora River. We drink it, wash clothes with it, bathe with it and even cook our food with it.”

Compassion’s Complementary Interventions program was established four years ago in Ekwamkrom and has been a life saver. A few months later, all children at the child development center received health screenings.

Of the 200 children registered in the program, 96 were found to be suffering from bilharzia — a disease caused by parasitic worms and spread through water contaminated with infected snails.

The sick children were treated, but over time they became re-infected. Research showed that the Akora was the source of the disease.

We provided training to parents and caregivers on the health hazards of using water from the river and what to do if they have to use it anyway. This helped a bit, but cases of bilharzia were still prevalent among children.

We decided something more was needed to protect the children and their caregivers from this serious threat.

The people of Ekwamkrom had never associated disease with consumption of water from the river. It is true that, without River Akora, Ekwamkrom would have suffered a great deal, but the river also posed serious danger. Its water had to be made safe.

So on this Wednesday morning, more than 250 families were equipped with our Water of Life safe water systems. The system transforms contaminated water to pure, safe water within seconds.

The beneficiaries are grateful and testify how helpful the safe water systems are.

Eugenia is 11 years old and was among the children diagnosed with bilharzia at the first health screening.

“Before, I was urinating blood because I used to drink water direct from the river. Compassion took me to the hospital and I was treated and they gave us the water filters. We put our water into it and it becomes good water so I am not urinating blood again.

“I thank Compassion and the donors who gave money for the water filters. God richly bless them.”

One parent also tells us,

“The water filters have benefited the community as a whole. We were advised, during the distribution of the [systems] by the Compassion workers, not to be selfish but that we can filter water for our neighbors who are not privileged to be part of Compassion.

“I have been doing that and some other Compassion families have also been filtering water for their friends. We have realized the bilharzias disease is fast dying down.

“Because of Compassion, people travel from the neighboring towns to Ekwamkrom just to see things for themselves.

“They come to ask questions about the [safe water systems] because they have heard that Ekwamkrom is getting rid of bilharzia by using some powerful water filters. So I plead that the Almighty God continues to bless the donors who provided money for this intervention so that in the future some more communities would also get opportunity to benefit from what Ekwamkrom is enjoying.”

Ransford, father of two of the children at the child development center, knew the Akora River water was not safe to drink. He made a conscious effort to prevent his family from using the river water.

Ransford tells us that when the pipe water stopped flowing for a considerable period of time, he bought water for his family. This took a toll on the little money he had for other basic needs. Immediately after other child development center parents were trained to use the safe water system in their homes, he started using the one given to him.

“I was the first person to start using my filter because I know what I have to go through to get clean water for my family. There was no time for me to waste at all. It has helped me a lot. Now that money I used to spend on buying sachet water can be used for something else.”

The most-recent health screening at Ebenezer Methodist Child Development Center recorded only two cases of bilharzia – down from the 96 cases found at the initial screening. All thanks to the generous donors who gave funds to provide our safe water systems for the families of registered children in the area. 

Many in Ekwamkrom now enjoy safe water!

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Ecuador is known as a country with adequate water supplies, and in fact has four times more superficial water than the world’s per capita average. But Ecuador also has a huge problem. Water isn’t well distributed, and large groups of people in the rural areas have no access to it.

The main issue here, though, is access to safe drinkable water.

Year after year, almost 90 percent of the illnesses that affect the inhabitants of developing countries are caused by poor water quality. Out of the 6 million deaths that this problem causes each year, a quarter of them are children.

Water pollution is the origin of millions of cases of diarrhea, malaria, blindness, hepatitis A and parasites each year.

Colta Monjas Alto is an indigenous community located in the central northern zone of Ecuador. A year ago, this community was included in these dark statistics, but now looks into a brighter future.

Everything in Colta Monjas Alto began to change with the restoration of an old water purification plant.

Pastor Pedro of Implementing Church Partner, Divine Promise Evangelical Church tells us,

“The plant was built about 20 years ago and worked for only three or four years. The authorities neglected the plant, which caused its gradual decline until it eventually stopped working.”

When the plant stopped working everybody in the community started to drink piped water that wasn’t treated at all.

“It arrived to the houses of our families just like it came from the páramo. When it rained it was absolutely black because of the dirt, and we had to keep it in buckets for a while so that the dirt would go to the bottom and we could consume the water.”

Another common thing was the unpleasant taste and smell of the water, but residents here had to use and consume it because they had no other option.

Little by little, the Colta Monjas Alto inhabitants, especially the children, started to get ill. There was an increase of cases of digestive disorders, stomach aches, diarrhea and parasites. Even skin problems showed up, and both adults and children had cavities and yellowish teeth.

The search for a solution to this serious problem began when the health issues that affected children became unbearable. Pastor Pedro shares,

“I knew that I wanted to help, but I didn’t know the aid was going to come through water. I felt the need to do something about water purification, but I didn’t know what to do or who to make an alliance with.”

When Pastor Pedro learned about the possibilities that Compassion’s Complementary Interventions could give, he designed (with the help of some professionals) a rehabilitation project for the water plant in ruins.

Thanks to Complementary Interventions funds, the project was approved and became a reality.

The filtration materials were completely changed, the pipes and the regulation valves were replaced, and the collection tanks were repaired, made waterproof and painted.

A safer, metal gate was installed in the chlorination room in order to better preserve this process. And a new fence was built around the entire water purification plant.

Now the plant is fully working and spreading health through its pipes. The water that comes from the springs of the páramo is collected in the filtration tanks where all the solid materials are decanted. Then the water goes right to the chlorine area.

The health disorders that affected the youngest population have quickly been reduced. Mariano, Director of Project Mas Que Vencedores Student Center, shares,

“The number of cases of health problems diminished only a couple of months after the plant started working again. People didn’t suffer from diarrhea and we stopped hearing about teeth problems.”

Francisca, mother of a sponsored child, also shares,

“We are doing better, thanks to God and the child development center. Now we have clean water treated with chlorine. We can wash our hands and teach our children to do so before having their meals and after going to the bathroom.

“We also tell them to wash the fruits. The health problems have diminished a lot. My daughters are happy because their teeth are whiter. Before, they had that blackish color. They brush their teeth more often these days.”

Cases of previous health problems have been cut in half, but the community wants to go even further and carrying out a continuing education plan for the community.

Today, nearly 600 children and their parents have been trained on topics regarding hygiene and water care.

Through printed information, lectures and radio shows we are providing holistic training for the inhabitants of Colta Monjas Alto and the other communities nearby, enabling them to develop good hygiene habits and become responsible consumers of the water resources in their area.

No dream can come true without the necessary funding to do specific work and produce safe drinking water. This is why the inhabitants of Colta Monjas Alto acknowledge the role donors had in making a significant, positive change.

Mariano affirms,

“Such charitable and generous people felt compassion for our children, families and the community. I want to thank all the brothers and sisters who gave their donations because we would have never been able to do any of this without them.”

Pastor Pedro adds,

“As a church, we pray for them all the time. We can’t see them physically and we don’t know who those people are, but they helped us and God knows it.”

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UPDATE: April 10 at 4:00 p.m. MT – Fatao returned to Burkina Faso and is doing very well. His homecoming was celebrated by both family and friends. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Abdoul Fatao Kone is a 6-year-old boy living with his father, mother and five siblings in Bobo Dioulasso (southwest Burkina Faso).

Fatao’s father is a part-time security guard who struggles to make ends meet for his family. And Fatao’s mother sells fritters (steamed bean cakes) at the local market to help support the family.

When Fatao turned 1, his parents learned that he has a heart problem: a ventricular septal defect (VSD)—a hole in his heart.

Although his parents have known about Fatao’s condition for years, they’ve never been able to afford the necessary medical care. Instead, they tried traditional medicines and methods. Traditional methods include scarring the skin with small holes and placing herbs in the holes then washing the body with a mixture of boiled leaves. When these didn’t work, they had no other options until Fatao was registered in our sponsorship program in December 2010.

At his first medical checkup the following April, the doctor, Tamboura Hassane, prescribed numerous medications for Fatao: Furosemide, Captopril, aspirin and Corvasal—and placed him on a salt-free diet. He also recommended that Fatao see a cardiologist.

“In Fatao’s case, his heart has to work double or triple than [what] it would work normally, so if Fatao is growing up and the heart is working faster, it will have to stop someday because it won’t be able to respond to this.”

The cardiologist confirmed the diagnosis of ventricular septal defect in August and recommended surgery. For the surgery to take place, Fatao needs to travel to India. Dr. Hassane explains,

“We have to stop the heart working during the surgery and find means to get blood and oxygen to other parts of the body, but we don’t have the equipment to do that here.”

The total cost of Fatao’s surgery, including passport, visa, travel, the surgery itself and follow-up care, is $23,000.

When it comes to additional medical assistance like this, for things beyond normal preventative care (e.g., heart surgery, cancer, prosthetic limbs, traumatic injury, vision and hearing issues, etc.), our church partners have immediate access to $5,000 via our Medical Assistance Fund.

However, when the expenses associated with these special medical needs cost more than $5,000 the child development center pays for the additional expense by borrowing money from other areas of its budget and submits a proposal requesting more money be made available to them—money which at some point needs to be raised.

As our Child Sponsorship Program grows, we are serving more and more children and families who struggle to survive in extreme poverty; many of them have special medical needs. As a result, more of our partner churches are relying on the Medical Assistance Fund. In the past few years, requests for medical assistance have tripled.

As we did a few years ago with Alexander, we’re asking you for help. Please make a donation to help pay for Fatao’s heart surgery.

And if you prefer not to, please spread the word about Fatao’s situation. Pull out all the stops. And please keep Fatao in your prayers.

Thank you for loving this child.

Any money raised in addition to the $23,000 for Fatao’s surgery will be used to pay for similar surgeries for other children in our sponsorship program. Children like Alexander, Rossy and Victoria.

UPDATES AND VIDEO/PHOTO RESOURCES:

• Fatao’s parents will not be traveling to India with him. They are trusting God that everything will turn out well.
  

  I am not worried . . . All for me is about having hope and prayer. I pray for him to recover and come back to us. This is a matter of distance. If he were here, I would be there, but it’s too far. I will keep praying here so that he comes back to us. – Kone Lassina, Fatao’s father

  I know that I cannot be there, so I am just praying that my son returns home well, and I am praying that we are all well, too. – Sanaou Pauline, Fatao’s mother

• Fatao’s journey begins

• While waiting for his heart surgery, Fatao plays with toy cars and dreams about using his new running shoes after heart surgery. He says that one day he is going to be the fastest athlete in Burkina Faso.

• Get acquainted with Chennai, India, where Fatao is having his surgery, and meet the doctor performing the surgery.

• This 5 minute video explains how Fatao’s heart was repaired.

• And this 7 minute video is an interview with Fatao’s doctor, Dr. Robert Coelho.

• Here’s a glimpse at how Fatao was doing immediately after his surgery.
  Donate now to help other children like Fatao

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Children grow up answering the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” over and over.

Theresa always wanted to be a lawyer, and it was at the child development center that she learned to dream about her future. When she was younger, one of her favorite activities at the center was pretending to argue with other children in a debate.

“During our time to debate, I was really very happy. I enjoy being able to express my opinions and being given the chance to fight for them.”

Today, Theresa is 17 years old and in college. Although her childhood dream was to be a lawyer, she is taking a course in computer animation.

Theresa took the course because it was offered to her on scholarship at the AMG Skilled Hands Technical College in the faraway province of Bulacan. At first, she didn’t like the idea of moving away from home to live in a dormitory.

“I didn’t want to go to Bulacan, but when I learned that it was for a scholarship, I took the chance. I told myself I’d take this course just so I could finish college, but it was in that school where I discovered God’s real plan for me.”

Theresa was a student at the Malabon Child Development Center. Currently, her father is out of work and her mother works in a factory earning less than P100 (US$2.40) a day. Theresa has two sisters. At the center, Theresa actively participated in youth group and has been a member of the praise and worship team.

In the Philippines, it is not typical for children to leave for college. Usually, Filipino children live with their parents throughout college and even after college until they can afford to live on their own.

“Separating from my family and my ministry at church was my first challenge in moving to Bulacan. But the Lord is teaching me now to depend on Him alone. Now, I enjoy being away from my family so that I could totally depend on God.”

Theresa is one of the 28 sponsored youth who are studying at the AMG Skilled Hands Technical College through our ministry’s Complementary Intervention’s Non-Formal Education funds.

Ten more students are studying in the same college as scholars of AMG. They come from 13 child development centers located on the island of Luzon, where Bulacan is also located.

AMG stands for “Ang Manggagawang Gumagawa,” which is Filipino for “the worker who works.” It is a private school that operates based on Christian and biblical principles.

According to Alexander, a school supervisor,

“AMG instills in our students the fear of the Lord, because this school believes that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

According to Anne, another sponsored youth studying at AMG and one of Theresa’s newest friends,

“I experienced in this school the Lord working in my life. He showed me once again that He is truly alive.

“God’s provision in my life is truly amazing and I really don’t feel that I deserve it. It is really a blessing that I passed the Computer Hardware Services course, and now I have a certificate that I can use to find work later on.”

AMG offers job placement. All of its students are guaranteed to find work after college. These 38 students are taking two-year courses in Computer Programming, Computer Animation and Electronics.

Four other students have already finished a one-year course in welding and now they are all employed and earning an income.

Tricia is studying Computer Animation, just like Theresa. She also misses her family back in the province of Albay. She misses them because she knows that there are days when her family doesn’t have food on the table.

Tricia’s father is out of work and her mother tries to earn a little money by cooking and selling local rice snacks. Tricia has nine siblings and she shares with us,

“There was no way for my parents to send me to college. Often we can’t even buy food to eat. This is why I am very thankful for being able to study here, get a college education, and eat three meals a day while I’m in school.”

Anne speaks for the other 38 students when she says that her main goal is to finish college, land a good job, and be able to help her family.

“I also want to help children in our student center in whatever simple ways that I can. I would like to share all that I learned here in Bulacan, not only in the technical skills but also in the spiritual aspects of life.”

Today, Theresa has dreams of attending Bible school.

“If God wills, I would like to study in Bible school. But for now, I will continue to pray and seek God’s direction in my life. As I continue to study here I can see that God is changing me little by little, and I can see how good our God is.”

On behalf of the students studying at that technical college through Complementary Intervention funds, Theresa wants sponsors to know,

“We are so grateful for all the people who have allowed us to study here. Otherwise, our parents could not send us to college.

“We are very thankful to have been chosen to enter a good college for free. We are truly growing spiritually and skillfully. I think we are growing in all aspects of life here. We are so thankful.”

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