Here’s a little more from the heart of Edwin Estioko, our Field Communications Specialist in the Philippines.

We arrived half an hour earlier than scheduled and did not expect for our sponsored child to be there. “Edwin!” I heard a project staff howl, and from the tone of her voice I knew right away that our child was already there waiting. She came an hour early. I looked to where the voice came from and there she was, smiling, walking towards me with a card in her hand. I walked to get the card and knelt before her. My wife followed closely behind.

“Are you Shan?” I asked.

She nodded and gave the cutest smile.

My wife approached her and gave her a big hug. We opened her card together and read her carefully written message, “Welcome! I love you Daddy Edwin and Mommy Daisy.”

Later we found out, that every day for a week before we came, Shan has been asking her center director when we would arrive.

After she warmed up a bit and began to communicate freely with us, I asked her a few questions not many sponsors can ask. “Shan, is it OK that we are Filipinos?” (more…)

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Recently, we gave you the chance to ask Edwin Estioko, our Field Communication Specialist in the Philippines all your burning questions about himself, the Philippines and Compassion in the Philippines. Here are his answers …

1. Can you tell about the time when you first decided to work for Compassion? (Catherine)

Before Compassion I was production manager for OMF Literature (the biggest Christian publisher in the Philippines) and a writer of children’s books. I grew up at church serving and teaching little children; playing with them and just enjoying their company. When I saw the ad for a Communications Specialist for Compassion International in the Philippines, I was literally drawn in. Feeling a strong sense of peace and confidence that the Lord was calling me to this beautiful ministry for children, I applied for the post and on the same week filed for resignation from OMF despite not knowing for sure whether Compassion would hire me or not. Thank God they did.

2. What goals do you hope to accomplish in your area? (Jason)

I hope that through the photographs I take and stories I write about Filipino children I could reach as many readers as I can around the world so that more and more people would stand up for children and advocate for them, so that more and more could see that thousands of children and families here in the Philippines truly lack opportunities for a better life (or simply for a livable minimum) despite the fact that they are hard working and full of faith.

What drives me is Proverbs 31:8, “to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

3. What have been the toughest times of your life, and what have you learned from these trials? (Juli Jarvis) (more…)

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Today, we’re beginning a four part series to introduce you to Togo, the newest country Compassion works in. The Compassion office is now open, and the staff are working to begin registering children in the fall.

An Overview of the Country

Located in West Africa, Togo has a southern coastline that borders the Bight of Benin. Togo’s western neighbor is Ghana, eastern neighbor is Benin and northern neighbor is Burkina Faso.

Slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia, Togo is home to 5.7 million people — 42 percent of whom are under the age of 15. Located on the coast, just across the border with Ghana, the capital city of Lome has a population of approximately 850,000.

French is the official language of Togo and also the language of commerce. There are four other main languages of the country: Ewe and Mina in the south and Kabye and Dagomba in the north.

An individual from Togo is called a Togolese. There are 37 tribes within the country. Approximately 51 percent of the population practices indigenous religious beliefs, while 29 percent are Christian (either Protestant or Catholic) and another 20 percent are Muslim.

Environmental issues include deforestation, water contamination and, increasingly, air pollution. Major diseases include diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, malaria, yellow fever and meningitis. Malnutrition is also prevalent especially during the dry season. A shortage of water during the dry season leaves many people traveling several miles to access clean water. Any sort of sanitation infrastructure is practically nonexistent. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among adults is estimated to be 4.1 percent.

Commercial and subsistence agriculture provide employment for about 65 percent of Togo’s population. Many families turn to “petty trading” — street vending — in an attempt to support themselves. Due to the economic instability of the country, there are numerous stories of civil employees only being paid for one out of three or four months of work. This includes teachers, many of whom are trying to oversee classrooms of more than 100 students. As a result, there are also stories of teachers requiring students to pay a small bribe in order for the teacher to actually teach lessons.

Political and economic troubles have led a growing number of the rural population to migrate to the urban areas, which in turn has led to a growing number of social problems within the cities. As is often the case, children seem to be the most negatively affected by these trends.

TOMORROW: The State of the Children

The famous and multi-talented Phoebe Rogers lives in Kigali, Rwanda. She is the regional trainer for Africa, wrote these Togo posts, took the photos and has the longest title know to humankind. It’s something like: Africa Regional Communication, Tours and Visits Learning and Support Specialist. Basically, she trains and supports the Africa region’s communication specialists and tour and visits specialists.

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Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live in the country where your sponsored child lives? What it’s like to work for Compassion? What gets the people going who do this work each day? If so, now’s your chance to “Ask the Field!”

Ask your burning questions of our staff from around the world about their country, their work — whatever you want to know. I’ll choose 10 of your questions for them to answer. (Being the protective mother bear that I am, I’ll make sure to choose culturally appropriate questions. What’s polite dinner conversation in the U.S. may not be appropriate in their country, so keep this in mind as you ask.)

I’d like to introduce to you Dennis Tumusiime and Edwin Estioko.

Dennis is a native of Uganda and works as a tours and visits specialist for Compassion International Uganda. (Did you know that Compassion doesn’t send a bunch of Americans over to other countries to minister to the children, but works through natives of that country so they can culturally contextualize the ministry? That’s pretty cool.) Anyway, Dennis has been working for two years with Compassion to coordinate and plan visits from sponsors and donors to Uganda. (So, if you visit Uganda, you’ll probably get to see that smiling face!) Coordinating all these trips means he’s quite an adventurous man.

Edwin Estioko began working for Compassion six years ago and is originally from Quezon City, Philippines. He is Compassion’s Field Communication Specialist in the Philippines and writes stories about and takes pictures of the ministry that is happening through Compassion International Philippines. He is married with no kids, so he and his wife can easily consider all the Compassion children as their own.

Dennis and Edwin are excited to answer your questions, so ask away!

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Story and photos by Vera Mensah-Bediako, Compassion Ghana Field Communications Specialist

When these letters are received they are sorted out and entered into the computer system to track that they were received. They are then distributed into pigeon hole mailboxes created for every church partner at the country office.

The next step is for the child development workers from the child development centers to come to the country office to collect the letters, get them to the children, make sure that the letters are replied to and then bring the replies to the country office in good time to be sent to the sponsors.

Compassion Ghana started its Child Sponsorship Program barely three years ago. The majority of the children who were registered into the program were not in school. They only got the opportunity to go to school once they were enrolled into Compassion.

As such, even though some of our children are 12 years old, you find them yet in kindergarten or in the first grade. The best children in these grades can say the alphabet and read two- or three-letter words.

So in Ghana, just a few of our children are able to read and write their own letters. It is therefore the responsibility of the child development workers at the centers, and when possible, some volunteers who help at the centers, to read letters to the children and reply to these letters.

Nana Kojo Sekyi-Arthur is the social worker at the Mount Zion Methodist Church Child Development Center. He has been with the center since it started almost three years ago. Nana Kogo, just like all the other child development workers, visits the country office once every week, if there is no emergency.

Each time he visits, he checks the center’s pigeon hole for any mail or other materials placed there by the office. If there happens to be any correspondence from sponsors to children, Nana Kojo collects them and brings them back to his office. As soon as he gets there, he makes photo copies of all the letters. The original is given to the child to take home, and the copied one is kept on file for reference purposes.

In the community where Nana Kojo works, the people are mostly fisher folks with very little or no formal education at all. They are unable to assist their children with responding to sponsor letters.

For unscheduled letters, which are not too many, when Nana Kojo collects the letters from the country office he makes sure to read all of them before meeting the children again.

The next time the children come to the center the letters are distributed. The older children who can read and write are encouraged to read their own letters and try to write replies to them. There are a number of volunteers who help.

Georgina and Enoch are volunteers who give a lot of assistance with the letters. They correct the older children’s letters. They also read through to see if the sponsor has asked any questions and whether they have been answered. If everything is done well, Nana Kojo copies all the letters into an exercise book.

Every child has an exercise book specially set aside for letters. Each letter the child writes to his sponsor is copied into these exercise books. When writing the next letter, the previous ones are read again so as not to keep repeating the same things over and over again. The children then copy their letters onto the appropriate sheets designed for letter writing by the country office.

The next letters to be written belong to the children who cannot read or write. For this group, Nana Kojo likes to work on the letters personally. He reads the letter to the child. If there is some information the sponsor asks that Nana Kojo cannot provide and the child cannot help with, Nana Kojo goes to the child’s house or invites the parents to the office to help in providing the information needed to complete the letter. (more…)

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Story and letter translation by Briton Kamugisha, Compassion Rwanda Field Communication Specialist

The below translated letter was composed from an interview we held with a caregiver of a sponsored child named Kudra.

Kudra is now taken care of by his grandmother. After the death of his father, Kudra’s mother remarried another man and left Kudra with his grandmother.

The grandmother of Kudra, Miriam, is now 53 years old, a widow taking care of seven grandchildren, of whom five are AIDS orphans. Miriam is a subsistence farmer and became a widow as the result of the 1994 genocide. She is a Muslim woman but also believes in the healing power of Jesus Christ.

“I have been blessed to know more about Christianity during my encounter with Compassion student’s center at the Presbyterian Church.” —Miriam

Dear Good Samaritans,

I am very proud that I am alive so that I can witness and testify to the love of God through Compassion’s ministry in our area. Dear Compassion, you picked up my grandson in the valley of poverty and enlightened him with knowledge and exposure to the better world of knowing God. It’s such an amazing act that only God’s true servants can do.

Three of my children died of rampant AIDS and left me with young children who seemed a burden to me due to my age and lack of resources to sustain them. As I watched my children die one by one in my hands, I was helpless — with no one to turn to and no one to comfort me — and was in a total dilemma. But finally I saw God’s hand through Compassion’s ministry that sponsored my grandchild Kudra, and my hope was restored. I can guarantee you that every single day I live I will always say a prayer for Compassion that wiped away my tears through sponsorship.

It was such joy to see Kudra being registered by a Christian organization; it immediately revealed the love of God to me. Kudra received all the required support needed for a better start of a new life.This included scholastic materials, medical care, physical support and awareness of the true God. Kudra was given a Bible, which he considers as a great gift, and it is always placed in the house for everyone to read, because it was the first Bible in our house.

In reality AIDS folded both my hands after I lost my children who were helping feed me and whom I saw as my future. It only left me with a burden of children always needing from me. Look at me. I cannot do any business or search for a job because I never attended school, not even having any skill that could sustain me.

In the recent earthquake that struck our area, the rented house fell down and we had to request temporary shelter from a neighbor. What really touched my heart is the way God revealed Himself to me once again when Kudra told me that Compassion had come for relief support and was ready to construct and rehabilitate all the demolished houses. I was speechless by the love of God to a poor Muslim widow supported by Christians through Kudra’s sponsorship.

I was really happy to see the saving hand of God through Compassion. We were given kitchen utensils, blankets, mats, a basin and a promise for house construction for us. God, thank you for restoring my joy, hope and meaningful life.

Dear Compassion, AIDS has left no stone unturned in our community, but we thank Compassion for supporting us in different ways. I have seen Compassion widows of AIDS running business, rearing domestic animals, forming tailoring associations, and creating awareness to the entire community, and all the credit goes to Compassion’s ministry and praise to the most high God.

Furthermore I have seen Muslim mothers celebrating with Christians as a sign of togetherness that Compassion has brought to our community and making a difference in the world.

Thank you Compassion, for taking care of AIDS orphans, they have no one to turn to but only you Compassion — a mother, a father, a sister and a friend.

God bless you,

Miriam

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Story by Charles Ngowi, Compassion Tanzania Field Communications Specialist

• Some thought there is no genuine organization that can offer the benefits CI claims to offer to children.
• Some were not comfortable that CI wants different evangelical denominations to come together and have a common objective in releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

The church history in Tanzania shows that for quite a long time, the church identified itself along denominational lines and had closed the door on the possibility of cooperating together as the body of Christ.

The pastors from our pioneer partner churches had never sat together for the business of God’s kingdom. There had never been joint prayer sessions, and the idea of a one-week joint workshop, which we organized and conducted at Masoka Management College in Moshi, was unimagined. Therefore, establishing Compassion International Tanzania required great energy in order to share the vision. It was accompanied with much prayer and crying. (more…)

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Story and photos By Paul Henri Kabore, Compassion Burkina Faso Field Communications Specialist

It was noon when I reached the family’s house. There was too much sun. Rasmata and Aguirata were sitting with their mother, Fati, in the small living room because there was no shade outside. Only a small tree that was planted by Aguirata could be seen in the courtyard.

Because of the lack of services, life is very hard. People are obliged to walk kilometers to queue for hours to buy water. During the dry season, a barrel of water costs between $1 and $2. It often happens that people even fight to get some water.

The mother used to wash clothes to earn money but could not earn enough to feed the family. Then her husband passed away. It was such a shock to Fati that she almost went crazy. Because of her psychological problems, she could not work.

Fati was desperate to care for her children. It was a big relief when the Compassion child development center registered her daughter Rasmata, but it wasn’t enough — the need was still there. Rasmata’s little sister also needed help. A member of the center’s management committee who was aware of this family’s condition pleaded to the leadership team and was able to get Aguirata registered too.

Yet, all the effort was about to fail. The late husband’s brothers came from the village to take Rasmata and Aguirata. The reason: the mother was unstable psychologically and could not take good care of her daughters. But taking them to the village would mean putting an end to the opportunity they had to go to school and have free access to health care.

But God was in control. The child development center team leader met the men and told them about all the benefits the girls would have if they continued attending the center. After several days of negotiations, the men came to understand the wonderful opportunity the children had and decided to let them stay.

For Fati, there has been a great change since her two daughters joined Compassion.

“I am grateful and do not even know how to thank the Compassion project for the huge relief. In the past, it was hard to have even a meal a day. Today, thanks to the project, we are able to eat two to three times a day. Besides, my daughters’ school fees are paid for by the project. I could not believe that someone could help me raise my children freely, without asking anything.”

The center activities have brought so many changes in the lives of Rasmata and Aguirata. According to their mother, they used to be very intractable, but since their registration, they have been kind and obedient, and she believes that all this has been possible thanks to the biblical input.

In fact, when the girls started going to the center, they were Muslim, along with their mom. Whenever they came back from the program activities, they would start singing Christian songs, and would pray before eating or going to bed. Their mother was wondering what was happing to her daughters, but was very happy with the great change in their behavior.

“At that time I could not believe that I myself would be Christian,” Fati said, smiling.

What convinced her to give her life to Jesus was Compassion taking care of her daughters with no ulterior motives. “The woman came to the project office one day with tears and told me that she wanted to give her life to Jesus in whose name the project was bringing up her daughters,” the project team leader said.

Without Compassion this family would have fallen apart, but now Fati and her two little daughters have come to Christ.

Aguirata told us that she would like to become pastor to preach the gospel. As for Rasmata, she would like to become a nurse to treat the sick.

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Story and photos by Charles Ngowi, Compassion Tanzania Field Communications Specialist

Compassion International Tanzania (CIT) registered* its 50,000 child two months ago on Februray 16. This historic registration ushered in a new era for us. It was a moment to put down our tools, celebrate the Lord’s favor, and thank Him for what he has done and for His faithfulness. It was a milestone for the Tanzanian ministry, an achievement worth celebrating.

Now let’s see how we reached the 50,000 child mark and also learn about how our child registration process works.

The milestone occurred in Tabora, more than 650 kilometers from Arusha, where the head office of CIT is located. But the search actually began months earlier.

Finding Church Partners

Before going into a new area, CIT conducts country mapping to determine the level of poverty in one area as compared to another. Country mapping is necessary so we can determine where the greatest ministry need is.

After country mapping, we conduct a baseline survey to determine if the areas identified with a high degree of poverty have Christian churches whose mission matches ours. This is critical because we work through the local church — it is the local church that actually implements the program and cares for the children. If there is no church, our ministry model won’t work, regardless of the degree of poverty that exists there.

We ask questions, such as:

• Does the church have classrooms to accommodate the children?
• Do they have people who can teach and work with children or who can learn to assist children?
• Are there peopleand children who can help the program continue?

This baseline survey helps us decide which areas and churches are a good fit. Of course, in all the stages we keep praying and asking God to lead us in the right path and to bring people who will be willing to sponsor children and release the resources needed.

After the baseline survey, we gather all the potential church partners for vision casting. In this gathering we share the importance of ministry to children and call on the church to awaken to the call of Jesus Christ to fulfill the Greatest Commandment.

After this, we choose the potential church partners and invite them to a partnership meeting. At this one-day meeting, it is time to pray together and for us to give relevant partnership documents to the new church partners.

If the partners agree on the conditions, they sign a partnership agreement with us. These partnership agreements give room to church partners to start preparing environments to begin the ministry. They start recruiting project workers and create a child ministry committee formed from church members. The church has to find those able and qualified to work in the project as project coordinator, project accountant, project social worker, and project health worker.

Once all the project workers are chosen, they attend the “One-Month Child Ministry Foundation Course” that all project workers go through. In this course, the newly recruited project workers are trained on how to implement the ministry and how to minister to each child individually. They also learn what is expected of them and different ways and procedures of reporting and giving feedback to us. They get to know the organizational structure of CIT, the departments involved, and how each department works.

Screening and Registration

All this leads up to child screening and registration. (more…)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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