Meningitis is an infectious disease that causes hearing loss and brain damage. Burkina Faso is one of the hardest hit countries in the meningitis belt and is the first African country committing itself to a nationwide campaign to vaccinate all of its children against the disease.

To help children in this land-locked African nation to fight this illness, Compassion beneficiaries are receiving an enhanced version of the vaccine.

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My first exposure to the issue of food security in Africa was during an extreme drought in 1985. The stories were heartbreaking and people died in both Ethiopia and Somalia that year.

You’ve heard in the news that the current drought is much worse in Somalia than anything in the past 60 years. I can’t imagine.

I have spent the past week traveling with our very capable Ugandan staff, following up on our Complementary Interventions food security activities implemented in 2009 to see if those investments are now allowing caregivers of our registered children to weather the storm of low food availability and high food prices.

The answer is that our Complementary Interventions food security programs work!

Food security is always a complex situation. Drought is not the only factor. Typically, harvests are sold at low prices because farmers have limited ability to safely store their harvest and because other family needs require cash.

It is not uncommon for a family to sell their grain at harvest time at a low price, knowing they will need to find a way to buy some back in a few months.

This year the United Nations put additional pressure on the market price by purchasing large amounts of maize for relief programs in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As a result, families in Uganda are shocked to find prices through the roof now that the time has come to buy back some grain.

There are definitely areas of Uganda where people are suffering greatly, but the situation is nothing like those across the borders in Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The Compassion Uganda office is planning a response to the present drought crisis, but it will be a very targeted one.

My joy this week has come from interviewing families who participated in our 2009 food security programs. Those families have now built up adequate reserves to survive two or three years of poor harvest.

The difference between these families and the ones we plan to help in the coming months lies not so much in how severe the current drought is or how high the prices are, but rather in how prepared the families are. If our 2009 program could have included other parts of the country, those families also would be better equipped to manage the situation without outside assistance.

One example of our food security program is in the community of Tubur, near the town of Soroti. Gloria is a sponsored child at the Tubur Child Development Center.

Gloria’s mother is still using the seed from the maize she received in 2009.

She also received orange seedlings at that time and they are now blooming. She will soon have her first orange harvest! And she is on the third round of replanting the cassava cuttings she received.

Each season, the harvest increases. She is currently eating cassava and awaiting next month’s maize harvest.

Gloria’s mother filled two basins with beans from her first harvest after seed distribution. Her most recent harvest filled two very large bags with beans.

Very excited about her current living conditions, she was not satisfied with showing us just one field. She insisted we come with her to see more. While others might be saying,

“Give me more!”

Gloria’s mother was saying,

“Let me show you more!”

An additional component of the 2009 Compassion Uganda food security sustainability plan was that the families who received seeds and cassava cuttings would share some of their harvest with their neighbors and also store food for hard times. Gloria’s mother and many others we met in Tubur have done this.

Another community where the Complementary Interventions food security activities made a significant difference was Ngora, near Kumi town. In one home, the small amount of green gram and cowpeas received has now become more than 45 pounds of beans stored for family consumption.

Another sponsored child, Martin, lives with his widowed mother and his six siblings and attends the Ngora Child Development Center. His mother said that she is very secure with food now and can survive a drought.

In the past, she used to work in other people’s gardens for income to purchase food. Since receiving the cassava cuttings, peas, and other seeds, she no longer needs to work for others. And she has even given cuttings away to her neighbors.

The current high food prices and low food availability is a highly talked-about issue in Uganda at the moment.

It warranted a large district-by-district map of current conditions in the newspaper this week and was the major topic of prayer in churches countrywide.

In spite of these realities, our ministry in Uganda should be encouraged by these Complementary Interventions efforts, because for those caregivers and their families the food situation this year is secure.

Praise God for the privilege we have of complementing the ongoing Child Survival, Child Sponsorship and Leadership Development programs in ways that make such significant long-term impact.

Complementary Interventions works!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Greg Keen works in our International Program Group as the Complementary Interventions Director.

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We cannot live without water. It cleanses and nourishes our bodies. Every living creature needs water to survive.

In Matthew 10:42 (NIV) Jesus recognizes how precious and life-giving water is:

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

Today, thousands of little ones around the world are severely ill and many will die due to the lack of safe drinking water. But that doesn’t have to continue.

Our Water of Life filtration system will provide at least one million gallons of clean drinking water – more than enough to last the lifetime of a child. This new filtration system is simple for anyone to use and can be set up in under five minutes.

How Does the Water of Life Filter Provide Safe Drinking Water?

A Water of Life filter is based on the same technology developed for kidney dialysis.

Each filter is made up of tiny microtubes with pores hundreds of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. These pores remove deadly bacteria and allow only clean water to pass through for drinking. The Water of Life system effectively eliminates parasites and bacterial contaminants that cause cholera, typhoid, E. coli, amoebic dysentery and many other devastating diseases.

Dirty water from sources such as lakes, rivers, ponds or puddles is poured into the system’s bucket. As the water flows through the filter, it comes out completely safe to drink.

When the flow rate begins to slow after multiple uses, the user simply disconnects the primary filter unit and rinses it with clear water. Depending on the level of contaminants in the dirty water, some systems may require more-frequent rinsing. Unlike typical water filters, the Water of Life filter will remain highly effective over time while purifying at least one million gallons.

One of the greatest gifts you can give to a child is safe, healthy drinking water. Will you give a child a “cup of cold water”?

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This is Emilda Soriano. She’s 18 years old and attends Salem Student Center in Iloilo City, Philippines.

The student center she attends serves a community in which many of our families scavenge here.

Child development specialists say that Emilda has the mental capacity of a 3-year-old. But this, and her environment, haven’t prevented her from qualifying to represent the Philippines in track and field at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

Regrettably, qualifying and going to Athens are two different things.

Emilda is currently training … hoping that something can be done so she can join the other 7,500 athletes who will be competing in the games.

She’s not able to make plans because activities like this can’t be funded by our Child Sponsorship Program. However, Compassion Philippines has submitted a proposal requesting additional assistance for Emilda.

This is where you come in. Let’s raise the money to send Emilda to Greece. The amount is just shy of $20,000.

Make a donation to allow Emilda to compete in the International Special Olympics. (UPDATE: Mar. 8, 2011 – 100 percent of the money has been raised.)

Assuming we can raise the money for Emilda, I plan to have at least one follow-up blog post about Emilda before the games begin and one after she’s raced. Depending on what the Philippines Country Office can support, there could be more, including video. That’s what I’m pushing for.

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It starts with a mosquito bite. Then there’s an itch. And for us, it’s just an annoyance. But for children in poverty, the bite is just the beginning, and the itch isn’t the problem. The real problem is the malaria.

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The eyes of hundreds of thousands of people are glued to the field. A commentator narrates the last seconds of the game: “… and there comes Landaverde with a pass from Valdez … Landaverde surpasses the defense quite easily; he aims at the goal … shoots … AND SCORES!!!” El Salvador wins. The people in the stadium shout and celebrate; the national team has won the World Cup.

For now this scene is just a dream, since Walter Landaverde is just 13 years old. But it is a dream that we at Compassion El Salvador hold onto tightly.

In El Salvador, our children are being saved from a country where the crime rate is out of control, where every day 12 or 13 people are murdered, where — according to numbers cited in the LA Times – El Salvador has about 15,000 gang members perpetuating violence, vice and broken families.

Walter lives in the Iberia community, which is one of the most feared places in San Salvador. It is divided into sectors A, B and C, but unofficially divided in two zones, the one for the MS-13 Gang, and the one for the 18th Street Gang. The community has become one of the headquarters for the gangs in the metropolitan area of San Salvador.

“Walter is a boy of few words,” says Sister Glenda, sponsorship coordinator at the Growing Up in Jesus Student Center. “We never know whether he will show up with a good mood or not. I think that his behavior is like that because of his family. Sometimes when we are on our way to his soccer school he cries, because his mother does not believe in him … but I tell him that I believe in him, and that is why Compassion supports him.”

Walter lives with six people: his mom, three brothers, an uncle and his grandmother. The only one sustaining the home is his mother, who is a seamstress. Walter’s father abandoned the family, and even though he and Walter have contact from time to time, the father does not provide for the family at all.

Walter’s family receives help from his participation in our sponsorship program. He is one of more than 35,000 children in the country that are receiving material and spiritual nourishment, and educational, social and emotional support through the love and lessons that our local churches share with them each day. But he is a sober young man.

To run the day-to-day operations at our child development centers and to meet the basic four components of our sponsorship program, your monthly sponsorship funds are used to help your children. To implement additional benefits, such as entrepreneurship workshops or to rebuild after a disaster, the Complementary Interventions program is the tool we use.

Complementary Interventions are additional funds that are obtained through specific proposals written by our country office with input from our church partners. The soccer school that Walter attends was funded by a Complementary Interventions proposal and it benefits 100 children.

The children attend the school Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. The desired outcome is to help develop their kinesthetic intelligence, just as other initiatives at the center work to develop the children through music, art and other skills.

After a few months of attending the soccer school, Walter was chosen to go to the national federation and compete to become part of the U-13 national team. This is a team that represents El Salvador in the Olympic Games, in the age category of 13 and under.

Walter was not only accepted, but he was promoted to the U-15 division; he will train with older teenagers. He will get focused attention to further develop his skills and represent his country.

The difference with this soccer school is that at the beginning of every practice the Word of God is shared. God is part of the exercises and strategy that are taught. The children read the Bible, pray, and share before and after every session. This has moved Walter to become more involved at church and in the worship team.

Through this program, God is repeating to Walter what He says in His Word: “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me” (Psalm 27:10, NIV).

“If I was not part of this program, I would be sad, feeling like I am worth less than other people,” says Walter.

This soccer opportunity has been given by God to His loved Walter to tell Walter that he is very precious and capable of amazing things through Him, no matter what his family or other people say or think. We are sure that he will not become another gang member.

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São Paulo is the capital of Brazil’s São Paulo state. It is richer than the other 25 Brazilian capitals and the most populous – more than 11 million inhabitants. The state is known as the “Brazilian economic motor” because it has the country’s largest industrial park, the most skilled labor, the best infrastructure and the greatest economic production, not to mention the biggest consumer market.

São Paulo also has the best evangelical seminaries and is the headquarters of many evangelical denomination conventions. Because of all these characteristics, it seems impossible for anyone who doesn’t know the Brazilian reality to imagine that in this same city people starve and some have never heard about God.

This is São Paulo. This is the contrast.

Unlike the grandiosity that São Paulo displays, Projeto Casa Criança Viva operates in a small, two-story house on a dirty street – dirty because of the pollution and graffiti on the walls. This child development center serves 150 children in the area.

Food is one of the needs that the center is working to supply to the children, but there is another crucial need that may come as a surprise: most children haven’t heard about God until they enroll at the center.

In a group of 12-to-14-year-olds, most of the children said they previously didn’t have any idea about the Bible or salvation in Christ. This is surprising because São Paulo’s population is about 15 percent evangelical, according to Ministry Information Support, and this number is growing each year. Yet most children who live in the neighborhood this center serves have never learned about Christian values.

Our Complementary Interventions Program for Christian Education is helping to change that.

Because of the efforts of donors, we were able purchase Christian material for 150 child development centers to use in their Christian education classes. The books were distributed among 35,000 children enrolled.

Projeto Casa Criança Viva uses these books not only in its Christian education classes, but also as a compass to direct the other activities of the center. Christian education is offered one hour a week, and all center activities are planned to serve this class.

The teacher prepares the children’s hearts to receive the message during the week, according to the theme that the book gives. If the Christian education theme of the week is “obedience,” the center incorporates that theme in the other subjects taught to the children.

For example, in the physical area, children are taught to obey the game rules; in the cognitive area, children are taught what “obeying” means in language and how to apply it in their vocabulary; and in the socio-emotional area, children are taught the importance of obeying authority, such as parents, teachers and governments.

Many children enrolled at the child development center got their first contact with the Word of God at the center. They had never heard about God, Christ or stories such as the Garden of Eden, Noah’s Ark or Joseph in Egypt.

Transformation is the best word to define what happens with the children during the class. Parents recognize the difference in the way their children behave.

“It’s very good for Karla to have this class,” says Marta, mother of 11-year-old Karla. “She used to be a rebel and use bad language!”

Before enrolling in the project, Karla didn’t help her mother at home and when she did, Karla became angry. Because of it, Marta had several problems with the rebellion of her daughter.

“Karla’s temper got better after learning about God’s values!” Marta says. Karla now helps her mother washing dishes and taking care of her little brother, Mateus.

Center staff have witnessed the transformation, not just of children, but also of entire families.

Izael is 7 years old and lives with his parents in a small house. Izael’s family life used to be very hard until the conversion of his parents. They weren’t married and Izael’s father drank too much. The parents used to dance forró, a kind of sensual dance very famous in the northeast of Brazil.

The center staff provided Izael with biblical counseling about it. One day, in the Christian education class, Izael received Jesus. A few days later, his parents and his little sister decided to follow Jesus, so the whole family stopped with the forró.

“Our family relationship improved. Antonio and I decided to get married officially and he stopped drinking,” says Izael’s mother with happiness.

Izael’s mother believes the Christian education lessons were decisive for Izael’s conversion. This transformation was so strong in Izael’s life that he has a plan for his future:

“I’d like to be a pastor and teach people about God!”

São Paulo’s most impoverished children live in a reality that only Jesus can save them from, giving them dreams and hope for a better future. The Christian education materials equip our church partners to share God’s Word, often for the first time, with children in need of hope.

“They come here without knowing God and the main difference God makes in their little lives is to put hope in their hearts. They believe God can open doors. They believe in victory.” – Luciana, the director of Projeto Casa Criança Viva

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Prices in general have increased, reducing the buying power of the average Salvadoran. On average, people are spending twice as much money on staples for the same amount of goods.

But Juan Carlos looks at his crops that extend over the mountains of the El Capulin community about 45 minutes north of San Salvador and says, “What crisis?”

He explains that he has received help with his crops from Compassion through the child development center his children attend. The help came through a Complementary Intervention (CIV) developed by Salem Bible Church with the advice from Compassion El Salvador.

Complementary Interventions are additional funds that are obtained through proposals written by the Compassion country office as a team with the implementing church partners.

Since sponsorship funds are strictly used to run the day-to-day operations at the child development centers – to meet the basic four components of child development (spiritual, physical, educational and socio-emotional areas) – additional funds obtained through CIV are necessary to implement additional benefits, such as entrepreneurship workshops, or to provide equipment for the centers (computers, water sanitation units, etc), or to offer crisis response and relief.

The CIV proposal Juan Carlos benefited from is called “Fertile Soil.” It has blessed a total of 19 families who had no resources to plant and who depend on agriculture for a living.

Brother Juan Carlos received approximately $400, which was the amount he needed to get the seeds, pesticides and fertilizers he would need to grow his crops. The other families received similar amounts of money, depending on the size of their crops. Each family is expected to pay back their loan once they have sold their crops.

Brother Juan Carlos has been able to plant about two and a half acres with maize, beans and pipian, a kind of white little pumpkin very common in the Salvadoran diet. He will have corn and beans, the base of the average Salvadoran diet, secure for his family for the year.

He has also calculated that from the sale of the pipian, he will be able to give back the money he received from the church so other families’ needs can be fulfilled, too.

The faith that these families put in God shows not only in the provision to get what they needed. The faithfulness of the Lord also shows in the abundance that these crops have produced, even in the middle of a scarcity.

Brother Juan Carlos is a witness that God provided exactly what was needed for the crops to grow up and produce a good harvest. “It is because we plant with faith,” he says.

Along with his crops, brother Juan Carlos has seen hope grow, too.

It is solely because of the mercy of God that brother Juan Carlos has been able to face this crisis with a smile and hopes for a better future. But to get to this point, there were other elements that helped make a difference. The love and hard work from the church staff was key.

Pastor Mena shares about the beginning of this vision, with an expression in his eyes that communicates the passion that he and his team have for this ministry.

“We realized that the time for sowing was close, and we are in the middle of a world crisis … many parents have portions of land, land that was not going to be planted.”

This is when the church started its job, not only praying and crying to the Lord for blessing, but also knocking on doors and looking for a way to help these families.

One of the tools that God put in their path was the ministry of Compassion. Through Compassion, the church was able to get the funds needed to make the loans to the parents so they would be able to harvest.

“We do not charge interest. What we have is a covenant between gentlemen,” says Pastor Mena.

The pastor continues that families will not only fulfill their needs, but also bless other families with the abundance they will receive by giving back. Brother Juan Carlos in an example of this.

Next to the church, there is a portion of about 1,600 square feet; there is a plantation of corn and beans where the children learn from Brother Juan Carlos the basics about agriculture.

“It is beautiful. I can´t help it when I see the children excited to learn and take care of the plants. My eyes get wet.”

For next year, the church staff, pastor and parents are planning on expanding the financing of productive activities to chicken, rabbit and fish farms for the families that are willing to do so. The church is also making arrangements to get a bigger space to keep implementing the agriculture workshops, and implement the learning about animal farms as well.

There are other CIV programs in place to help church partners throughout El Salvador, including programs to help parents grow maize and beans by providing seeds to them at low costs and programs to teach children and parents to make dried fruits and jelly, then sell them as a sustainable activity.

“The cry of a child cannot be comforted when the father is lost because he stole to give food to his family. The call to the church is to do something before this happens, to prevent.” – Pastor Mena

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But not anymore. The food crisis in Guatemala has become so severe that the president has declared a state of calamity, and the rate of undernutrition in children under 5 has reached 49 percent.

Many remember the famines in China in the 1950s and 60s. Or in Ethiopia in the 1980s. But famine is just not a problem of the past. It still happens in countries that have economies prosperous enough so that no child should have to suffer chronic or severe malnutrition. This is the case in Guatemala.

In Guatemala, the face of poverty and hunger is young, indigenous and rural. Guatemala, with the fourth-highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world and the highest in Central America and the Caribbean, faces a serious challenge in reducing the rate of chronic undernutrition.

One of the causes fueling the current food crisis is the state of education in Guatemala.

Based on a 2002 census, nearly 24 percent of Guatemala’s population is illiterate because, for example, children desert education in order to help their parents work. This is especially common in rural indigenous areas.

Another reason is a lack of knowledge of the Spanish language, as many of the rural indigenous population speak Mayan languages. Guatemala has 22 officially recognized Mayan languages.

Besides education, culture also fuels malnutrition. Nutritionist Jacobo Jiménez works for a government institution in Zapaca, and has seen the damage some cultural traditions can do:

“We daily fight the taboos that screw up sound ways of having a healthy intake and make things utterly hazardous for the inhabitants in this area.

“A young mother with a baby … she refused to eat eggs because of the town’s belief that [eating eggs] will make the milk she gives to her baby rotten.

“The lack of education of many Guatemalan mothers prevents them from having the right habits and nutritional knowledge in their first months of pregnancy and the baby’s first months.”

Another cultural problem adding to the crisis is sexism.

“Women decide to feed their husbands instead of the children, and I think this is not fair. Girls are forced to stay at home and do chores or take care of their youngest siblings while boys are encouraged to attend school.”

The girls are fed less at home, furthering their undernutrition, and they also do not have the opportunity to learn about health and how to care for themselves and their family as they are denied access to education.

Government decisions have contributed to the crisis as well.

Guatemala has lost the capacity of producing what it consumes (nutritional sovereignty) as a result of economic policies that slant towards a particular market, oriented to reduce the costs of the most dynamic industries, which obtain the majority of their raw material from foreign countries.

Between 2007 and 2008, the area dedicated to corn and beans, the base of the country’s economy, was reduced 40 percent. This lower production drove an increase of importation, which is now happening with five main products coffee, sugar, cardamom, bananas and African palms.

The climate has led to the food crisis, too.

Guatemala, as well as other countries, has been battered by the weather phenomenon called “El Niño.” Effects on weather vary with each event, but ENSO (El Niño) is associated with floods, droughts and other weather disturbances in many regions of the world.

In the Atlantic Ocean, effects lag behind those in the Pacific by 12 to 18 months. Developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly bordering the Pacific Ocean, are especially affected.

Throughout the duration of this devastating weather phenomenon, and just when the crops in Guatemalan soil needed rain the most, there was no rain at all.

Attacking the Global Food Crisis

Living in the small town of San Cristobal Verapaz, Freddy attends the Rayitos De Esperanza Student Center. Surrounded by beautiful green mountains, Freddy and his family have gained hope.

“During the last medical checkup, Freddy [had] gained 10 pounds, thanks to the Complementary Intervention activity we have been hosting,” states Lucía Jom, general coordinator of the student center.

This Complementary Intervention activity was made possible with the funds that were raised in the Global Food Crisis Day held March 11, 2009. Forty student centers have been assisted by this activity, benefiting 2,500 children diagnosed with malnutrition [slight or chronic].

“When a disease is detected, we give assistance” states Erick Castillo, Compassion Guatemala’s Health Specialist.

“The children are diagnosed with the standards that the World Health Organization gives related to weight, size and malnutrition.

“Our health intervention consists in giving the children diagnosed with malnutrition balanced meals. This can be breakfast, lunch or dinner that has been cooked by persons who have been previously trained.

“This training consists in giving knowledge to the cooks of each student center on how to prepare nutritious meals. Mothers of sponsored children are trained as well on how to take advantage of local crops in order to give them the most nutritious meals they can with the family budget they have.

“What we want to do next is strive to find funds to keep educating and training on how to harvest hydroponic crops, such as celery, cucumber, beans, spinach, tomato, turnip amongst many. These crops are rich in minerals and vitamins that can complement the meals prepared at home.”

“The community approves this way of helping children” states Lucía, ”and they are interested in sending their children to have this kind of assistance.”

One of the expected outcomes we wish to reach with the children is that they may choose good health practices and are physically healthy.

Compassion Guatemala has made an intentional effort for all children registered in our sponsorship program to experience reduced nutritional deficiencies and know how to prevent nutritional deficiencies.

The curriculum includes such topics as:

• “What is a lunch?” — with an objective of describing and defining the ingredients of a nutritiouslunch
• “Making a group of healthy food” — with an objective of identifying the five basic groups of food and their value to keep the body healthy
• “Breakfasts are very important” — with the objective of describing and identifying the ingredients for a nutritious breakfast and its importance for good health
• “Make a healthy meal” — with an objective of dramatizing potential scenarios related with different food options
• “Favorite recipes” — with the objective of making a book that contains recipes of food used in their communities

In the midst of the worst of the famine to befall Guatemala in the last 30 years, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs from the United Nations as well as other institutions have predicted that this famine can turn even worse if the second harvest at the end 2009 is destroyed by the lack of rains and low temperatures. This is especially possible in the northwestern part of Guatemala.

The government is already trying to take some actions to assist the families that may be affected by this famine, but this won’t be enough.

We have proven our leadership by currently encouraging people to become involved and donate for the sake of this noble cause. It is thanks to the money raised on our last Global Food Crisis Day more than 4,000 children in different student centers nationwide are being assisted to reach a better physical state.

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” – Matthew 25:40, NIV

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And in those five years, we have made some incredible strides, taken some risks, and as a result have sustained the lives of more than 20,000 of our beneficiaries, caregivers and siblings.

We began the AIDS Initiative because of an increasing awareness of the impact of HIV and AIDS, specifically in Africa. The virus had already done plenty of damage, and as our programs in Africa grew stronger, we were ready to embark on a new challenge — one that would have an enduring impact, give hope and save countless lives.

As Christians, we felt we had a mandate to do something more to impact the kingdom.

When we first began, the scientific community was still skeptical that Africans with AIDS could take the medicine that would keep them alive. While the sense of urgency was growing, commitments to fund the provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were not.

Aware of this tension, and the great need within our own programs, we sought the Lord and felt a confirmation that thrust the AIDS program ahead like never before.

We committed to the provision of the antiretroviral therapy before we really knew the extent of the impact. We just knew that we could not wait any longer, and by providing the highly sought-after ART for those with AIDS, we gave hope to those who prior to this, would not even think about getting tested.

Getting tested was risky, and finding out you were HIV-positive was pretty much suicide, because once that was known to others, a paralyzing stigma and discrimination flourished within communities and ART medicine was unlikely to be acquired.

But with your support we were able to do what few non-government organizations could. As a result, more and more children and their parents have been tested for HIV, as the hope of treatment and support gives them the confidence to do so.

For the first few years, we continued to provide the ART and other essentials, including nutritional support, medical care and testing as well as support for income generation. Our health workers made visiting HIV-positive children and caregivers part of their daily routine.

These were exciting days for the ministry, as we saw the impact of the decision to move this initiative forward. Lives were being sustained. Hope was being given. We went the last mile and that last mile was the difference between life and death.

In just the past few years, a blessing came to the international community. The commitment to providing ART through the Global Fund, PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief), President Bush’s lasting legacy, and other multi-lateral organizations has changed the face of this pandemic.

Though the need is still great, and more than 33 million people worldwide are estimated to have HIV, the international commitment to the pandemic has been encouraging.

Following President Bush’s last term, his efforts to contribute to this fight through PEPFAR have been highly lauded. But despite all the commitments, the funds to continue the support are at risk due to the current global economic crisis. As a result, Compassion may once again be in the position of having to provide for ART.

But as Christians with a strong faith in the Lord, we know that if this day comes again, we will do what we did before, and step out in faith to meet the most critical needs of this vulnerable group.

In the meantime, we’ll continue to walk The Last Mile.

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