As the sun fades away, I rest with a million thoughts and concerns for that one child who once lacked a safe place to lay his head for the night, a full stomach, and the ability to overcome hopelessness.

In the quest to share my times and moments as a sponsored child, I’ve come across amazing men and women of faith with hearts of gold on a mission to serve wholly.

I must admit, it is precious to hear their expectations, including how they can motivate and have great impact on their sponsored child.

Twenty-plus years down the line, Compassion International is the benchmark of hope in the heart of Africa’s second-largest slum in addition to many other communities under similar conditions. Compassion offers cutting-edge opportunities to lay a foundation of Christian faith, set a meal, and provide quality medical attention.

There are many of us who pose as a testimony to such a journey worth patience and trust.

Age 6 marked the genesis to my relationship with a young sponsor from thousands of miles away who shaped me into the husband, brother and scholar that I am today.

Without Compassion at the scene, I wonder who and where would I be and what my relationship with Christ would look like.

No doubt, education would have been a tale to a little poor kid engraved in a community of crime, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, illiteracy and poverty. Still, I go strong.

Without Christ, I would be nowhere and nobody.

For many years I saw unsponsored children clinging on the child development center’s fence around mealtimes in hopes of getting food just like those of us who were sure of a nutritious meal.

This image has always been part of my driving force for speaking at Compassion events: I believe every child sponsored is equivalent to at least one waiting for food on the other side of the fence.

As the world keeps changing faces — be it politically or socially — many seem to overlook poverty and turn to social stratification. This raises attention to the widespread poverty in developing countries.

As a person who lived through such poverty, I believe it is the individual who is able to make a difference — one child at a time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Godfrey Miheso graduated from Sterling College with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication in 2011. He currently resides in Orlando, Florida, with his wife, Kate, where he coaches soccer at Orlando City Youth Soccer and The Master’s Academy.

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Abandonment is one of the hardest feelings a person can ever experience; it is even harder when that person is only a 5-year-old child. This is how I felt while growing up without a father and knowing that he passed away when he was 25 years old.

My father, Orlando, was a pastor in a small town in the Dominican Republic and my mother became a widow at the age of 23. I was only 6 months old.

I remember I started calling my uncle “Dad”; however, my cousins told me not to call him “Dad.” They told me he was only their dad and that I did not have a dad.

At that time I experienced the feeling of abandonment and thought my father had left me. As a child I didn’t understand why he wasn’t there for me.

My heart became bitter at my family and friends and then I started blaming God. Yes, I felt God abandoned my mom and me.

At 5 years old I became the provider of the house, working on the streets selling corn bread. I experienced not having healthy meals, a lack of clothing, and no school supplies. I experienced the lack of hope and no more desired to accomplish my dream of becoming a recording engineer, singer and musician.

I thought that my father’s death was the worst thing in life, but later learned the worst thing in life is living without a purpose, without a dream or hope.

I am sure I am not the only person that had felt abandoned. I know I am not the only person who questioned God.

As you read this, you may feel the same way. I want to tell you that God never abandons His children. He is never late, but He is never early either. Rather, He is ALWAYS there.

God will use even the abandonment feeling to make us stronger and to show us His love by using people and ministries like Compassion.

My sponsor read my story at one of the Compassion events and sponsored me. After this, I was able to believe, dream and hope again in Jesus’s name. I became a recording engineer, musician and singer.

Now, I proclaim Jesus’s gospel through music. Compassion was the tool God used to teach me that He never abandoned me and that He was only waiting for the perfect time to show me His love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Samuel Orlando is a Leadership Development Program graduate and Compassion International speaker. Samuel recorded his first music album “Luz Verde” in 2011. For more information about Samuel, visit www.samuelorlando.com.

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Carlo is 19 years old and he just lost his sponsor — again.

“I just learned that my sponsor cancelled, but I am told that I’m getting a new one.”

Only two years from completing the Leadership Development Program, Carlo has gotten used to not having a regular sponsor.

He had three different sponsors in the Child Sponsorship Program and welcomed a new one when he transitioned to the Leadership Development Program.

A number of sponsored children would be discouraged to lose a sponsor several times. Losing old relationships and building new ones through letter writing is not an easy task for a child.

“As a little boy, I was one of the quiet ones at the student center, but I confess that I didn’t really enjoy writing letters, especially when I knew that I wouldn’t get any replies.”

But despite the constant change in the name of sponsor he would be praying for and writing to, Carlo did well and went on to become a Leadership Development Program student. He has always been an overachiever.

His parents knew right away that he was meant for greatness since he was born with two healthy legs. Both Carlo’s mother and father have polio. Carlo’s father, Peter, shares,

“I am just thankful that none of my six children have polio. Carlo is the middle child and the youngest of my boys.”

Now older, Peter has retired from work as clerk at the local government office.

“As I grew older, my body got weaker and suffered from more back pains. Maybe it’s from the years of walking on crutches.”

Corazon, Carlo’s mother, does not rely on crutches but walks with a limp. Her left leg is smaller than the right. She remains very active in organizing community events for the local government where she offers her services as a volunteer.

She heads the local women’s organization, as well as the people with disabilities organization that she herself established. She recently led a sporting event that was participated in by a number of disabled persons coming from different parts of Cebu City, Philippines.

With overachieving parents, Carlo felt the pressure to excel growing up. He studied hard and got good grades, except in math. In his second year of high school, he was challenged by one of his teachers to face his fears and pursue the one subject where he did not excel, and that’s exactly what Carlo did.

“I studied math so hard until I became one of the top math students in high school. Since then, I found greater joy in my studies.”

He was admitted into the Leadership Development Program and chose to take engineering as his course of study. Today, he is a fourth year student in electronics and communication engineering at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City. This school consistently ranks as the top university in Cebu.

“But the reason why I chose electronics and communication engineering is not because of my love for math but because of my love for music. As a communications engineer, I would get to work on amplifiers, music-related programs, and other exciting multimedia technology.

“I dream of someday working in a huge office and of being in charge of people, gadgets and technology.”

Despite studying to become an engineer, Carlo has not forgotten his first passion in life:

“…to teach people and help them succeed in life. When I look back at what I’ve written in ‘My Plan for Tomorrow’ while I was still in the Child Sponsorship Program, I said I wanted to be a pastor someday so that I can teach and lead people.”

Although he is not a pastor today and did not decide to pursue theology, Carlo is very much involved in the work of the church. Apart from being a youth representative at the church board, he is the youth president, a member of the praise and worship team, and one of the young speakers at church.

He laughed when he realized,

“I am very busy organizing people and events just like my mother.”

When asked whether he considers himself a leader or not, Carlo told us,

“Not yet. Although I am handling people and events at church, I still have a lot to learn and a lot of growing to do. I want to see lives changing, and that means I still need to change many things in my life.”

When Carlo’s recent Leadership Development Program sponsor cancelled, he realized an important lesson in life.

“When I look back, I can see God’s faithfulness. Despite not having a regular sponsor through the years, God had sustained me and even let me join the Leadership Development Program.

“Now that I am about to get a new sponsor, I know that it is God who is supporting me all the way. I am encouraged to not quit.”

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Service opportunities are one of the five pillars of our Leadership Development strategy in Uganda. Every year, teams of students in our Leadership Development Program (LDP) spend at least 10 days in remote villages of Uganda, serving the local people in those communities.

The students participate in projects such as home shelter construction for parents and caregivers of children in our Child Sponsorship Program; they also construct churches, build latrines for child development centers, rehabilitate roads, or clean village water sources.

In addition, these young leaders visit schools to speak to other young people about life skills necessary for a successful life, the challenge of HIV/AIDS and how to overcome it, and academic and career guidance, among other subjects.

LDP students also share their testimonies and the gospel of Jesus Christ with children and families through house-to-house visits and open-air evangelistic meetings.

In the following paragraphs, I would like to share four ways through which service opportunities are equipping and empowering these young emerging leaders.

First and foremost, service opportunities expose Leadership Development Program students to various needs in the communities around them. While the needs of a particular community might not be new to the students given their backgrounds, constant exposure leads to more critical thinking about these and similar needs elsewhere, and how they might be addressed.

Exposure to need always breeds new ways of thinking about why things are the way they are and what can be done to change the situation.

The students, both during service activities and upon returning to their campuses, also pray and seek God for direction on how to respond.

It is said that “the pain that somebody feels is the pain they can heal.”

Secondly, students discover their gifts and passions while they are engaged in service activities. Many of the students surprise themselves when they discover that they can perform certain tasks, that they can take charge of a group to accomplish a task, and that they can share the gospel with someone and lead him to Christ.

Moreover, these small and big discoveries made during service time will be built upon and be maximized in the days ahead, both while the students are still in the program and when they have long graduated from the program. For some, these opportunities become the bedrock of their career development that eventually lead to their life mission.

Thirdly, LDP students realize the potential of the local church during service opportunities.

Most of our service opportunities’ teams are hosted by the local church in the communities where the activities are conducted. Everything that the students accomplish is facilitated through partnership with the local church.

The students’ leadership potential, and all the knowledge and skills they acquire, represent the gifts that the local church has. Personal and community transformation will come when these emerging leaders begin to exercise what they have experienced through service projects.

Last but not least, Leadership Development Program students observe firsthand how God mobilizes His church to carry out His mission in His world, and how they are a part of that mission. Students learn that service opportunities are a story of two groups – the hosts and the visitors – both members of God’s Church, coming together to accomplish all the outlined tasks in a specified period of time.

Both have different resources to bring to the table for the same mission and purpose.

Reflecting on this fact, the emerging leaders must ask themselves,

“Where am I in God’s missionary plan? What has God given me to bring to the table, in response to the problems around me?”

These are questions that we encourage them to ask while they are still in the program, but much more when they leave the program.

We are convinced that the students who participate in service opportunities cannot longer remain the same as they were prior to participating.

Their view of the world and their view of themselves change after such serving experiences. This is one of the ways through which we work to raise leaders who will be recognized for their godly character and influence, will mobilize to end the cycle of poverty that undermines their nations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nicholas Kalyebara serves as a Leadership Development Program Specialist at our Ugandan Field Office. You can read more from Nicholas on his blog, Nicholas Kalyebara.

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Sao-Hin is a group of villages 20 kilometers from the Thai border. Of the 590 families living there, the majority are Karen, a tribal group originally from Burma.

It is estimated the Karen people have inhabited the land for more than 60 years, relocating there soon after the Burmese government started persecuting minorities.

In order to reach Sao-Hin, one must drive through all kinds of conditions including rocks, mud, sand and sometimes rivers. In the rainy season, it is impossible to enter or leave.

Mr. Charoensak, director of the Sampaan Rak Student Center shares,

“Last year, a young mother died because she attempted to cross the rapid current in rainy season. She was very sick. And the only way to survive was to risk the river. She didn’t reach the hospital.”

Three main problems in these villages are documentation, education and health. For more than half a century, the quality of life for children and adults in Sao-Hin has remained low.

Without citizenship, parents do not have legal land to work on because the land belongs to the government. Hence, they have no income. They cannot acquire ownership rights from the government and they cannot travel to other districts, or they will be deported.

With no education and no access to quality medical treatment, children are cut off from the future.

But, 17 Leadership Development Program students entered a deep jungle near the Thailand-Burma border to minister to the children and adults living in Sao-Hin.

Dust billowed from the ground as boys and girls ran toward the river, followed closely by the Leadership Development Program students towing bags of shampoo and soap on their shoulders.

After a long, hot day studying the Thai alphabet and listening to a village elder teach about Karen cultural wisdom, the kids were ecstatic to reach the water. There were shrieks of laughter and big splashes.

Leadership Development Program student Krisada shares,

“It was a chaotic moment. But it was so fun!

I had to pull lice out of some kids’ hair. They mustn’t have washed it for a long time.”

The students gently washed the children.

They rubbed the children’s hair with shampoo, soaped their gangly bodies that were covered with dust and soot, and towel-dried them.

They also dressed them in new clothes.

While the Leadership Development Program education students looked after the kids, the Leadership Development Program medical students took care of the adults.

Equipped with stethoscopes, thermometers, measuring tapes, scales and first-aid medicine, they visited every home in the village to provide health check-ups and gather baseline information for the child development center’s future health reinforcement plans.

Mr. Charoensak tells us,

“I am very happy that the Leadership Development Program students are here. We are thankful for their services. The villagers said that they wish the students would stay for a month.

To me, these students are a fruit of compassion. They are evidence of our program that works.”

The students tirelessly served the Karen people from sunrise to sunset. They obediently followed Jesus’ footsteps – to love and to serve the poor – because, when they look into the children’s eyes, they see themselves.

They were the ones running half-naked in the fields, crying at the thought of venturing out to school and fighting hard to cling to hope when all they heard was “just give up.”

But now, they are transformed people. They have come out of poverty.

At this time, we are seeing great clouds hovering over the horizon. We are “smelling the rain,” as Wess Stafford puts it.

The Leadership Development Program students will shower the parched land with their God-given talents, the humbleness to serve and a fierce love for the Lord and His people.

We can expect poverty to end because the evidence is here – the students are agents of change. One generation is being released and already liberating the next generation.

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Growing up, Rowel was the butt of neighborhood jokes. He was bullied and ridiculed simply because he wore tattered clothes, walked around barefoot, and had to peek into other people’s windows to watch TV.

His family was desperately poor and often didn’t have enough food to eat. But at the time, Rowel was a young man who did not have it in him to fight back.

He was used to being laughed at, shushed, and physically hurt even inside his own home — and by his own father, who would to hit him with sticks and a whip. One time his dad almost killed him with a machete.

“I was helpless. I didn’t fight back, but in my heart I kept telling myself, I’m going to be rich someday, and when I grow up I am going to show everyone in my neighborhood, especially my father, that I am good for something.”

When Rowel’s mother got sick from cancer, his family sold all of their possessions to pay for her treatment. They were left destitute.

Rowel is the youngest of eight siblings, and his older brothers and sisters cared for him and did their best to keep their family going despite their father’s drinking habits and violent ways.

“I saw my older siblings leaving one by one. Some stayed with relatives in another province, while some just ran away until there were only three of us left living with our father.”

It was at this time that Rowel started attending the Kabulig Child Development Center.

“It was only at the center that I got a sense of having a complete family.”

Milagros, the center director, remembers Rowel:

“Rowel is very close to my heart. He used to be very shy and would just stay in one corner. He didn’t want to be with people. He was bullied as a small child. It was only at the center where he gained self confidence.”

Eventually, Rowel became very active at church. He joined the praise and worship team as a back-up singer and spent much more of his time at church than at home.

Suddenly, not only did he enjoy talking with people, he began talking in front of people by teaching younger children and becoming a Sunday school teacher.

Milagros shares,

“I was surprised to see that he had become a devotional leader as well. His being a sponsored child really helped him. His father didn’t buy his school supplies; sponsorship did. Our center also took him to the doctor and dentist, and gave him the attention he needed as a young man.”

Thanks to this attention, Rowel was at the top of his high school class and earned a scholarship to college. He tells us,

“It was at the child development center where I realized that I can do something, and that I am intelligent.”

He was well on his way to achieving his dream of becoming a rich man when he enrolled in accountancy courses at one of the leading universities in the region and was, again, at the top of his class.

“I excelled in academics and began representing my school in several regional events when I was only a freshman.”

Rowel studied hard to become a wealthy, successful accountant. But he was motivated by a disheartening goal: to avenge those who looked down on him and hurt him when he was little.

“I didn’t tell anyone. But the anger and the pain were my driving forces. I really wanted to become rich.”

Thankfully, something happened that stopped him in his tracks.

During one of the youth camps at the student center, Rowel committed his life to the Lord.

“I wanted to serve Him full-time in a Christian ministry.”

Rowel then left the university and became the first Leadership Development Program student to take pastoral courses at a Bible seminary.

Today, he is a third-year student studying Christian ministries at the Febias College of Bible, one of the biggest seminaries in Metro Manila. He is vice president of the student council and a member of the pastoral staff at San Francisco Christian Church in the province of Bulacan.

When asked why he left his studies toward becoming a successful accountant and chose Christian ministries instead, Rowel explained,

“I want to help the church and communities. The Christian Ministries course is like social work, but is slanted toward ministry, and that is what I like to do.”

Over time, Rowel abandoned his desire to become a wealthy man because,

“The anger and desire to avenge myself disappeared.”

In 2009, while he was living on campus at Febias, Rowel received news that his father had died of pancreatic cancer. But by the grace of God, Rowel was able to say,

“My anger towards my father had also disappeared. I just wished he’d had the chance to become a better Christian.”

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Leadership Development Program student Lia Anggraeny is working on a degree in economics. Through all of her studies however, the greatest thing Lia has learned is that God is more than a friend or a counselor. He is her Father.

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 To finish well in life, it makes an enormous difference if you are given opportunities that allow you to begin well. Our Child Survival Program and Leadership Development Program help children living in extreme poverty to begin and finish well.

The Beginning – Rwanda

Recently, 35 mothers and their babies, and a group of church partners, pastors, representatives from other child development organizations, government officials from throughout East Africa, and ministry staff in Rwanda gathered to launch the Child Survival Program. This event created increased awareness of the need to honor unborn children and highlighted the work of our ministry.

At this special event, Uwingeneye shared her testimony. The 29-year-old mother of four explained how her own mother wanted to abort her and later almost died while delivering her. As a result, she was named ‘Uwingeneye’ which means “the one whom God gave me,” since her mother did not want her.

Uwingeneye’s first two children are 5-year-old twins; her third child is a 3-year-old boy whom she picked up from the roadside and cared for as her very own.

Her second pregnancy, bringing her fourth child, was totally undesired.

She had no job except washing clothes for her neighbors to earn 1,000 Rwandan francs [$1.67] once in a while. Her husband left her. She could not afford rent. She too wanted to abort her child.

“I knew what it meant to have a baby without means. When I was desperate and had tried to abort and failed, the Lord spoke to me in a dream. From Revelation 2:5 God told me to remember the height from which I had fallen, to repent and do the works I did at first, and that if I did not repent, He would remove my lampstand from its place.

God told me the child I was carrying would save my life, but I did not understand how.”

When we came to take her picture for registration into the Child Survival Program, Uwingeneye first thought we were the kind of people who take advantage of the poor and vulnerable by pretending to be an organization that offers aid while using their photos to make money.

Uwingeneye soon discovered she was wrong when our ministry became a blessing to her.

“After the Child Survival Program staff discovered how I was always sent out of houses because I could not afford rent, they paid my rent for a whole year. Because of my sickness, I thought I would deliver from home, but a Child Survival Program worker came and picked me up from home with much respect in a special hired vehicle.

The ministry paid all my medical bills. I would have never gotten money to pay them myself. I may have died had Compassion not been there for me. The ministry gave me all the necessary things for my baby.

The Child Survival Program staff also brought me congratulatory gifts (a custom in the Rwandese culture when a woman gives birth). I thank them because, in the three months after giving birth, I did not lack any foods such as sugar, porridge and other foods husbands give to their wives when they’ve given birth. My husband was not there, but God was there, and the Child Survival Program did it for me.”

 Uwingeneye went on to explain how she was helped to start an income-generating activity of plaiting hair. She also considered the scarcity of water in her home area and bought enough jerry cans and buckets to fetch a lot of water and collect rain water to sell at a profit in the days of scarcity. She testified how she got enough profit to return borrowed items and buy her own, to feed her children, send them to school, and dress her family.

The launching of the Child Survival Program in Rwanda was a celebration of hope. A hope that allows more women like Uwingeneye the opportunity to leave extreme poverty behind. A hope that allows moms to offer their children necessities like clean water, food and an education.

Halfway around the world we had a different kind of celebration. One that launched four young men from our Leadership Development Program into finishing their degrees and entering the world as educated adults.

The Finish and a New Beginning – Guatemala

The most recent Leadership Development Program graduation took place in Guatemala City where family members, ministry staff and special guests were able to share this important moment with four outstanding students who completed the Leadership Development Program and made a new life transition.

The Leadership Development Program graduation ceremony is a special event prepared for the students. Ivonne, Leadership Development Program Team Lead, explains,

“It is a ceremony where we want to celebrate their accomplishment and show them how much they have achieved.”

The ceremony is a celebration of the beginning of a new life season, and planning for the graduation begins a year in advance. Plans include finding an appropriate location, choosing a guest speaker, sending invitations, and preparing awards.

This year’s guest speaker was Julie Weller, a member of our ministry’s board. Julie also sponsored one of the graduating Leadership Development Program students, Florencio. In her speech, she encouraged graduates to use their gifts and experiences for God’s kingdom and glory. She advised them to stay close to the Lord.

Julie encouraged and challenged the Leadership Development Program graduates as she read Ephesians 3:16-20,

“As you commit your lives to him, his mighty power is at work within you to make a difference.”

In the midst of this celebration there was a bittersweet feeling because four of the best students, Jonathan, Dujardin, Florencio and Alvaro, were concluding the program.

Jonathan

Jonathan, a theology major, was given special recognition for his outstanding academic performance. He was also involved in the Leadership Development Academy. The Academy is a two-week program where semifinalists for the Leadership Development Program learn about and prepare for college. During this program, the Leadership Development Program students choose new students for the Leadership Development Program.

Jonathan later participated as an Academy group leader, influencing the lives of the next Leadership Development Program generation.

Dujardin

Dujardin pursued a civil engineering degree. Ivonne shares,

“Dujardin is a very determined young man. He has a very humble spirit and works really hard to achieve his goals. He acknowledges all the hard work his parents, sponsors and Leadership Development Program specialists have done to support him.”

Florencio

Florencio decided to go to law school. He likes to be involved in church and has a heart of service for God. He is currently working as Program Coordinator at the Compassion student center he once attended.

His plans for the future include running a law office, so he can earn profits and still have time to donate his services to people who cannot afford to pay him.

Florencio was blessed with the visit of his sponsors for graduation. They have been his sponsors since he was in the Child Sponsorship Program, and they flew to Guatemala especially to share this important day.

“Having a sponsor has been really special, a special blessing. It has impacted my life.”

For Florencio his sponsors are like his second family.

“In them I found the support of another family. Even from far away they always asked me how I was doing in school, in church and in life. They asked about my needs.”

Florencio’s sponsor had visited him three times before, and this time she came with her husband and two children. The support of Florencio’s sponsors has transformed him and helped him achieve this major milestone.

Alvaro

Alvaro majored in industrial engineering. Ivonne expresses about Alvaro,

“He is an extraordinary young man. He has a very noble heart. One of the characteristics that make Alvaro so outstanding is that he looks for opportunities to grow in the Lord and serve Him.”

Alvaro entered the Child Sponsorship Program when he was 9 and has been a part of our ministry for 16 years now. Through his time with us, he has come to know the Lord in a more personal way. The application process for the Leadership Development Program program made him depend completely on God. Every person on our staff who knows Alvaro mentions his relationship with God as one of his greatest characteristics.

Alvaro has also contributed in the Leadership Development Academy as a tutor for students who attend the program.

“Being asked to help with The Academy is the best memory I have from the Leadership Development Program. I was honored to be included in the selection process of the new students.”

Alvaro’s plan for the future is to start his own business in few years.

“The university gave me the tools that will help me achieve my goals.”

In the meantime, Alvaro will work to provide for his family and save money to start his business. He is interested in projects like recycling, exporting vegetables and food processing. He is an entrepreneur, thanks to his college education and to the Leadership Development Program.

All four students are beginning new journeys in their lives, which is why the Leadership Development specialists make sure graduation is an encouragement to them.

Higher education in Guatemala is different from higher education in other countries. The process of graduation begins when students finish all required courses. Completing course work can take five to six years. Once they have completed their courses, students are authorized to take a private exam or general test. If they pass that test, they can present their dissertation.

Next, an internship may be required, which could take an additional six to eight months. The students take a year and a half to three years to finally graduate after they have finished all their courses.

Dujardin, Florencio and Alvaro celebrated the Leadership Development Program graduation and are now working hard on  their university graduation. Jonathan has already obtained his theology degree.

Thanks to the support of the Leadership Development Program, these four students will be able to achieve their dreams of higher education very soon. And thanks to the Child Survival Program, Uwingeneye is no longer homeless and is able to provide a future for her children, one that may even include attending the Leadership Development Program someday.

Photos and content for this post were provided by Rosette Mutoni, Field Communications Specialist, Rwanda and Nadia Soberanis, Field Communications Specialist, Guatemala.

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Tomorrow, June 4, at 9 a.m. MDT, you can watch a live video feed of a Leadership Development Program graduation ceremony in Bolivia.

These are young people who grew up in poverty, were sponsored as little children and have overcome tremendous obstacles. They were enrolled in the Leadership Development Program, which enabled them to attend a university and receive intensive Christian leadership training.

Now they are graduating. And we thought you might like to watch.

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Our President and CEO Wess Stafford understands both the purpose and the aspiration of the Leadership Development Program — to select the best and brightest Christian students from our Child Sponsorship Program and position them for major impact in their communities and nations.

“To overcome the plagues of our world today — poverty, disease, injustice — we need leaders who are fully equipped with a quality education, yet walk the path of Christ.”

A former Leadership Development Program student is, in fact, on track to do just that in Uganda.

Margaret Makhoha, a 2003 Leadership Development Program graduate, was recently elected as a member of the Ugandan Parliament and will serve a six-year term, representing her home district of Namayingo in the nation’s legislature.

Senator Makhoha won with 50 percent of the vote in a four-candidate race. Her campaign theme of “It is possible!” was born out of her personal experience of growing up in poverty. She saw the suffering of the women in her village and determined as a girl to someday make a difference in their lives.

Margaret’s vision is to bring services closer to the people of her rural district, where most make their living as subsistence farmers or fishermen.

“Few can understand the worsening plight of families in developing countries more than those who are rising above it,” says Wess Stafford.

“And who better to defeat these societal ills than those who have lived through it?”

The freshman legislator plans to work with the Ugandan government to improve roads, education and health services for her district.

She also is an advocate for the economic empowerment of her people, desiring to network with nongovernmental organizations to serve needy children and orphans so that they might be helped as she was through Compassion.

While she was an LDP student, Margaret received a bachelor’s degree in education from Makerere University, located in the capital city of Kampala. On her own, she later pursued a master’s degree at the same university.

Community service was a way of life before moving into politics, and Margaret served her community as Director of the Butema Child Development Center, run by the Butema Baptist Church on the rural plains west of Kampala.

Margaret stepped down from that position in order to enter the race for senator. A mother of three children, she is married to a pastor. Her strong Christian roots began in her childhood home, growing up with her pastor-father and mother.

The now Senator Makhoha sees challenges ahead for Uganda, including insufficient and poor quality social services. But she looks forward to the work with optimism.

She joins her colleagues next month, when the newly elected class of legislators will be sworn in.

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