Written by: Becky Tschamler
I’m willing to bet that every person, at some point during your involvement with Compassion, ponders some variation of the following question:
“Does Compassion’s ministry really work? Compassion knows how to share stories, but how do I know it’s actually making the difference they claim?”
Guess what? We’ve wondered the same thing. So 11 years ago we set out to get proof. We started a program called “It Works.” The idea behind this program was to provide undeniable evidence that Compassion is changing lives.
It Works documents the progress of children in Compassion’s programs. We choose our “case studies.” Then we interview, photograph and film the children and their families. Five to seven years later we return to see what God has done. Being 11 years into the program, we are now on our second round of return trips.
During last week’s chapel time we got to see this video and it was too exciting to keep to ourselves.
Meet Maila.
Popularity: 40% [?]
May 17th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Thank you for sharing the great story of Maila!
Along with other stories this is really a proof that in some children’s lives we have helped to get the difference we strive for.
However, I would like to know how many children have been included in the “case studies” for the “It Works” program AND how many (or what percentage) of them have life stories of success similar to Maila? How many have experience a lesser degree of success? And finally, how many did not experience any significat difference in their lives?
May 17th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
tried watching but said it was no longer available
May 17th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Jason,
Not sure what may have caused the problem. I just checked the video, and it’s working.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
What an inspiring story! How can one see that precious smile and NOT get involved?
Thank you for sharing this!
May 17th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Great video - it’s so cool that Compassion was able to capture Maila’s story over the years. Will this be the first of many “It Works” videos?
May 18th, 2008 at 5:39 am
working for me now, great video
May 18th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Thank you for sharing Maila’s story. Very inspiring. I know she will continue to learn, grow and share her talents with everyone she meets.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Really enjoyed the video!
Two things I would be interested in knowing more about:
1) As someone already asked, is Maila “typical” or the exception? Obviously, I think Compassion helps but I’d expect different kids have different results depending on their area, personality, other circumstances, etc.
2) I was really confused why the language of instruction for her classes was English instead of Tagalog… I think it’s great for kids to learn several languages, but I worry about English, and consequently Euro/Euro-American culture being pushed on other countries, even if well-intentioned. Is English just the standard language of instruction in the Philippines at this pt? And if so, does Compassion think that’s good/bad/neutral?
May 19th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Well that was awesome! Now off to spread (the video) around a bit!
May 19th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Any idea why I might not see the video on this post? Under “Meet Maila” there is just blank white screen. Do you think I need to download something in order to see it?
Thanks!
May 19th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Jennie,
You don’t have to download anything to view the video. Maybe it’s just extremely slow in loading for you. I just checked the video in Firefox and Internet Explorer, and it’s working properly.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
In response to my own question about the language of instruction, here’s some info I got from a friend who’s done urban ministry in Manila:
“I do know that all schools in the Philippines are taught in English. I think it happened when the US was occupying the Philippines after WWII. While I don’t necessarily agree with English being one of the main languages in the Philippines, I do think that Compassion should teach in English since all other schools in the Philippines are, however I would be curious as to whether or not the teachers there know Tagalog so that they can communicate with students and parents outside of the classroom, because Tagalog is spoken outside of the educational setting, especially in the more underprivileged areas.”
May 19th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
My wife trains Filipino nurses who are coming to America for nursing jobs (and the associated big pay increase). All the Filipinos already speak English because they are usually taught it in school (especially in the cities)… without their educational focus on English they wouldn’t have the great opportunity to come to the States to get better jobs in the first place.
However, in the poorer, rural areas I don’t think there’s as much focus on English
An associate of mine who is a missionary for Wycliffe Intl. was in the Philippines for a decade or so. I’ll have to ask him about it.
May 19th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Just a note of clarification … the “proof” is purely anecdotal, not scientific. It Works is not and never has been a scientific study. The main goal is to provide anecdotal evidence where we can that what we are doing is making an impact. This is a key thing to remember, because we are not choosing children randomly nor are we tracking all children that we film.
Andrzej and Ashleigh, in answer to your questions, since launching It Works we have filmed about 30-50 case studies per country. I can’t give you a percentage of success – we don’t track this because it is not a scientific study, and most of our stories are works in progress. Some of the children we film are not there when we return in 5 years because they have left the program for one reason or another.
Maila is a good example of what can happen when a child has: a. a supportive and somewhat stable family; b. a quality Compassion project at a church that has a passion to minister to children; c. a child who has the drive and determination to make something of her life.
There are so many factors/variables that go into a child’s development that it is hard to say what predicts a successful outcome or what causes one to be a success and not another.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
@Becky
Thanks for sharing that video. I just watched it again and it is a touching portrait of the impact Compassion has. I’m sure that through prayer and support there are many “Maila”’s out there Compassion is positively impacting.
I think stories like that are a great motivator for current and future sponsors.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
“Does Compassion ministry really work?”
Yes, it does.
I speak of myself as a once Compassion sponsored child. Not only the program helps children develop into a mature, dependent adults able to support themselves and help others, they become growing Christians influencing their world for Christ.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Dear Becky,
Thank you very much for replying to my question about numbers related with ‘It Works’.
I have no doubts that Compassion sponsorships work.
My question is this: Are we using our resources in the most effective way to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name?
I’m asking this question on the basis of God’s Word:
Eph 5:15-16 Common „Be careful, then, how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”
I believe the application of these verses should involve not our time only, but all the resources at our disposal: money, people, etc.
I would like to know, do you, at Compassion’s headquarters, have a method of measuring or assessing the effectiveness of Compassion’s work? If so, how do you do it?
Could you share some recent results and/or some improvements or corrections that you made?
My questions are not intended as a criticism. I would just like to know as much as possible about how Compassion works.
May 20th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Andrzej be watching for a post soon that will hopefully answer a lot of these type of questions.