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Thank you to everyone who has made the commitment to fast and pray with us today. We’re nearly 6,000 strong.
Thank you to everyone who has helped spread the word about the day of fasting and prayer and about the global food crisis.
Thank you to everyone who has donated money to the Global Food Crisis fund.
Thank you to everyone who has shed a tear. We know your sorrow. We share it. For it is Christ’s sorrow.
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June 25 is a day of fasting and prayer at Compassion. We’re fasting and praying for the children we sponsor, for their families and for our local staff and church partners in the developing world. We’re fasting and praying because the global food crisis is devastating many of their lives.
The price for rice, beans, corn and other food staples throughout the world has risen exponentially in recent months, creating extreme hardship and suffering for families living on $1 or $2 a day.
Imagine if you had to spend 80 percent of what you earned on groceries. Can you imagine that?
I can’t. And even though I’ve traveled to Rwanda, Kenya and China and seen extreme poverty, I still have a hard time picturing a life where I would live on $2 a day.
80 percent of my income on groceries? If I was in that boat, I’d be selling it. And if I’m in that situation, I can’t afford … I can’t afford anything.
The global food crisis is affecting everyone in some way. But how it affects me is totally different than how it affects my sponsored child, Lerionga. It’s much more intimate for him.
I’m sure you’re well aware of the record high price of gas in the U.S. and the ridiculous price tag for a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. I’m usually oblivious to grocery prices, but $4.50 for a loaf of bread that used to be $2.50 got my attention.
My loaf of bread is more than two days salary for many families.
Have you noticed this?
I’m feeling the pinch of the global food crisis, but for the billions of people in extreme poverty my pinch is a bear hug crushing the life out of them. There is no margin.
So in addition to what you’ve already done and the caring and generosity you’ve displayed already, we’re asking for more.
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You decided. The Global Food Crisis Fund ’tis.
Thank you for voting. Thank you for caring. And an extra special thanks to:
for making additional contributions to the Malaria Intervention Fund ($350) and the Global Food Crisis Fund ($50).
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Shaun Groves wrote this post. It’s been approved by the powers-that-be.
About a year ago, I think it was, I started talking to the folks at Compassion about a crazy new idea. I wondered if they could spread the word about their ministry to children through bloggers the way the Compassion message has been spread through artists and speakers for decades. I proposed Compassion take bloggers on a trip to see the ministry for themselves and, of course, ask them to blog about what they see.
When the powers-that-be decided the idea was worth trying out, a small team went to work finding the right bloggers to travel to Uganda. Then we took a very long flight to Africa together back in February, deplaned and played with children, and learned about the needs of Ugandans and how Compassion and sponsors are partnering to meet them. And we blogged. With very slow connection speeds, we blogged.
We posted pictures, stories, videos and lots of links to compassion.com. Thousands read along daily. Hundreds of children were released from poverty and hundreds of Americans were released from wealth as a result. And the Web lit up with applause.
My favorite online compliment came from a fund-raising expert who wrote:
“Looked at with old economy eyes, Compassion is taking a huge risk, letting go of its marketing to 15 different near-strangers who might do anything. Looked at with modern eyes, Compassion is smart: willing to give up control in favor of being talked about by real people.”
In other words, some institutions would call this kind of idea crazy but it worked: People are talking about children, about loving them, about perspective and grace and kindness and Jesus.
Now, when I’m not singing or speaking (or blogging), I’m working part time these days for Compassion – developing more and better relationships with bloggers.
We just launched CompassionBloggers.com where anyone can read the best posts from our blogging trips, and where bloggers can go to grab widgets and banners, apply to go on a blogging trip with us, or sign up to receive a monthly blogging assignment from Compassion.
Our ranks are growing. There are now a few hundred bloggers scattered around the world blogging on behalf of Compassion every month.
What’s next? We’re taking a bunch of bloggers to the Dominican Republic Nov. 2-7, so read along that week and pray that we assemble the right gifted team for the trip, that we’re safe and healthy while overseas, that readers are inspired and mobilized to act, and that the blogosphere is filled with talk of children and Jesus once again.
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You helped us earn it. Now, help us spend it.
Where should the $817.40 donation from Search Kindly be applied?
Global Food Crisis Fund
The global food crisis is being called a “silent tsunami” that could plunge several hundred million people deeper into poverty and hunger.
Families living in extreme poverty often spend more than 50 percent of their income on food. And often, the daily income is less than $2 a day. When food prices climb, children in poverty do not eat. Food prices have risen as much as 100 percent in some countries since 2006. Many of the countries we serve are among those that have been hit hard by rising food prices.
Money donated to the Global Food Crisis Fund will help provide life saving food supplies to the children you sponsor.
Malaria Intervention Fund
Each year, more than 1 million people die from malaria. More than 750,000 of those deaths are children in Africa. That’s one child every 30 seconds. And for every child who dies, hundreds more become sick and incapacitated. Though not talked about as much as AIDS, malaria is a silent, fast killer that puts all children and families we serve in Africa at serious risk. And thousands more people in countries where we work around the world live in fear of the disease.
Money donated to the Malaria Intervention Fund allows us to provide mosquito nets and malaria prevention education to entire families of Compassion-assisted children. It also provides medical treatment for children struggling with the disease.
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For the month of May, these non-employee blogs referred the most traffic to our humble site. Thank you very much!
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Have an opinion? We want it. Give it to us! We’ll take your two cents and use it to help children in poverty.
But we don’t just want your opinion about any old thing. We need to know what you think about compassion.com … ’cause we’re redesigning it.
If you have 10 minutes and don’t mind taking a web survey that requires you to write rather than click radio buttons, we’d appreciate your input. We’d appreciate your input even if you’d rather click radio buttons, but if you have a preference for radio buttons, this isn’t the ideal web survey for you.
The survey is 10 questions long — 11 if you tell us compassion.com stinks, then we ask “Why’d you say that?” Sniffle.
You can spend your two cents until June 2, then the survey is gone. Poof!
Take our web survey now. (ed. - Link is now disabled, 6/3/08)
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Our SpotLINK guest contributor today is A. She currently serves as a worship leader and choir director. She blogs at Be Thou My Vision and co-maintains Women in Worship, a site connecting Christian women who are passionate about worshiping and serving God through music and the arts.
I began sponsoring a girl in Honduras, wanting to do something to make a difference in her life. How humbling it was when I received a letter she sent after a gift received during the holidays enabled her family to buy items that we often take for granted, such as a pair of shoes and three pairs of socks. This letter brought tears to my eyes and makes me ache to do even more to help those in need!
As a blogger myself, I caught on to what Anne Jackson is doing at Flowerdust.net and have begun featuring at least one child on my blog weekly, particularly those who have been waiting to be sponsored for six months or more. It excites me when I find each week’s featured child has been sponsored!
Compassion also has many wonderful widgets that can help you make a difference by featuring children in need on your Web site, blog and even Facebook. Also, don’t forget to venture to Compassionbloggers.com where bloggers share their stories about Compassion and even join in on a trip to visit Compassion and the children whose lives are being changed.
Though it may seem miniscule, bloggers have a great advantage in reaching out just by bringing needy children to the attention of others who God may lead to sponsor them.
What about you? Do you sponsor a child? If you already do, could you help further by blogging about other children in need?
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My heart is very heavy with the sad news we are hearing about how the current global food crisis is affecting many of our Compassion children, their families and even some of our country staff. Although we are still attempting to determine where the greatest needs are and the number of children being most adversely affected, please know that Compassion is dedicated to doing all that we can to step up our help in this area of urgent need.
Most of us are feeling the pinch of rising prices in our own lives, but to the poor even the slightest increase can be devastating. In times like this, those of us with enough have the option of reducing what we purchase. But for the needy, who are often already trying to survive on only one meal a day, they have no option but to go hungry.
Compassion has already determined that we will be able to send additional funds to each country this month. We will put an extra $1 million in the child support pool. However, we realize that this will be offset by the growing needs for unsponsored children and the loss in purchasing power of the U.S. dollar. We will release additional funds in order to respond immediately to urgent proposals for food aid.
Please join us in this cause and consider a donation to our Global Food Crisis fund, with the hope that we can provide an even greater response to the specific needs of children in poverty in the months to come.
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Blogging gets children in poverty sponsored.
Here’s da proof that blogging works.
And here’s da rebuttal.
The Search Kindly “Money Thermometer” shows that only $203 has been raised for Compassion this month.
Using highly complex advanced math skills that bend the imagination as well as extraordinarily precise scientific pattern analysis that can’t help but impress, and with one-third of precincts reporting, CNN (Compassion Network News) predicts that Search Kindly will donate slightly more than $600 to Compassion at the end of the month.
No goals will be met, and no observable impact for your efforts, particularly the friends below, will be seen.
It seems our call to action was too weak. Any ideas for a compelling way to influence da thermometer?
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