Questions. Ever have any?

Ever have any about Compassion? Maybe not, but others sure do.

This is a common one that our phone center representatives hear a lot.

• Doesn’t my Compassion child attend school at Compassion’s child development center?

Fortunately for you we’re not just giving you the question, here is the answer as told to us by those very same folks on the phone.

Compassion does not provide formal schooling for the children. Many children may attend the local government school. When needed, part of the $32 for sponsorship goes towards paying for the child’s school fees such as books or uniforms.

The children do attend the Compassion child development center for a variety of activities. The Compassion development center may enhance what the child is learning in school and it focuses on the most important areas of growth while promoting life skills.

Many people think Compassion provides official schooling like a private school, but we don’t. And now ya know.

Have other questions?

We have a list of frequently asked questions you may be interested in, but if you’re not interested in traveling over to compassion.com to read them, stay tuned because we’ll be highlighting some more right here.

I like to listen. My wife will tell you I’m not very good at it. But I really do like to listen to the way people say things … and the meaning behind certain words or phrases. I recently tried an experiment. I paid close attention to some of the things we say around the house, and then tried to imagine how different those conversations would be if we were living in a developing country. Think of how these phrases would be different — or non-existent — if we were living in one of the poorest countries of the world:

• “You wanna go out to eat tonight?”
• “What would you like for lunch today?”
• “There’s nothing on TV.”
• “It’s so nice out…let’s go for a drive with the top down on the Jeep.”
• “It’s starting to get warm again. We need to think about turning the sprinkler system back on in the yard.”
• “I need to run to the store to get some more diapers and Diet Coke. Can you think of anything else we need?”
• “Morgan is outgrowing his clothes so fast, is it okay with you if I go to the store to see if I can find him some new pajamas?”
• “I’ll empty out the dishwasher.”
• I’m going to take a shower.”
• “Feel like ordering a movie?”
• “The housing market is so bad right now. I don’t know if it’s the right time to sell our home. But we sure need more space.”
• “I’m starving!”
• “What would you like for dessert?”

I would bet that most of those phrases are NEVER uttered in the homes of children who attend Compassion child development centers. And the ones that are, are said in a much different context.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to listen in on their conversations for a week?