When we choose to sponsor a child, most of us closely examine the photos of the available children. The children stand very straight in their pictures, as if they are in the military service.  And many have serious looks on their faces.

The children are generally dressed well, but for some reason they don’t all smile for the camera. Does this mean they are unhappy?

I had the privilege of being at several child development centers in Bolivia as they took the child sponsorship photos. Once I witnessed it, it all made a lot more sense.

It also showed me that I, at many times in the past, had read way too much into the child photos — things that weren’t really there.

It was easy to assume that because a child didn’t smile in the photo, it was because of the child’s difficult and sad life.

I’ve subsequently received photos of my sponsored children posing with gifts I had sent and they had big smiles on their faces. So it was easy to assume that my gift had broken through their “sad life” and that, finally, the children were happy.

So I thought I would share what it was really like when it came to taking child photos.

Every child development center has a staff member who handles the letters, takes the photos, and accompanies any sponsor visits.

Basically, they deal with everything relating to the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsor’s child.

In Bolivia they call these staff the “sponsorship responsible.” In Peru they call them “secretary” and in El Salvador “sponsorship coordinator.” Whatever the title, they are all the same position. These staff take the photos and send them to the country office.

In the country office, someone receives the photos and makes sure that they are in accordance to Compassion’s standards. For example, the child’s eyes must be open and the child’s hands and ears must be visible, in addition to other requirements.

The person in charge of taking child photos at each child development center has a challenging task. Imagine accompanying 30 children to a location and making sure they behave, don’t get into accidents or squabbles as they await their turns, and pose willingly for their photos.

The child photo should not have inappropriate things in the background. For instance, a street dog can’t be in the background (and they are all over the place). A placard displaying the child’s Compassion number is placed on the ground in front of the child. This way the staff member is able to organize the photos easily.

The video below is of Delicia. She is the “sponsorship responsible” for Bolivia’s Pucara Grande Student Center.

At this photography session, she had to photograph about a dozen children. In the video, Delicia is photographing a little boy named José, and José was quite the character. He did not have the patience to stand still while Delicia took his picture.

Delicia is one of the most patient women I’ve ever met. She dearly loves these children!

Watch the video and see how she patiently handles José. Notice how José’s mother gets involved to make sure her son stands up straight. Then notice how this serious little boy does a little dance at the end of the session!

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

When you look at this photo what do you see? Do you see the poverty? It’s there.

How about this one? Oh, there it is. It’s a bit more obvious.

And these? Do you see the poverty in these two photos? Look closely. Anything?

How about these? The poverty in them jumps out at you, doesn’t it? No?

Well, surely the poverty is apparent in these. Right?

Just a little, you say? But then you think, “They don’t look all that needy. Do these kids really need our help?”

Yes. They do. The presence of dignity doesn’t equal the absence of poverty.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

There’s life in it.

And even now, I still respond to His expressive joy. I laugh. He laughs. He knows how I feel!

This idea that Jesus knows us isn’t just a concept; it’s actually for real (Whoa!), which isn’t quite how I feel when I see a “typical” portrait of Jesus, the kind that defines the image I carry with me when I imagine or speak with Christ.

But now, after two years @compassion (Happy anniversary to me today.), I see Jesus a lot differently. And I see poverty differently.

This is poverty transformed. Do you see the similarities?

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

If you have trouble viewing the slideshow above, you can view the photos on Flickr.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

The photos helped me picture my sponsored child, Lerionga, reading letters I’ve sent him. They drew me closer to him.

Some of these photos are old – five or six years. Others were taken just last year.

Some of these children have left our program, and some have sponsors from countries other than the U.S.

The exciting thing is that we were able to contact several sponsors and let them know about this post, so they could download the photo.

Any time I can do that for you, I will.

Here is what I speak of – the sponsor letter photos.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

But you can’t download them yet.

We know. We know. It shouldn’t be that hard to do something that seems so simple, but things aren’t always what they appear. Just ask the Jews who didn’t recognize the Messiah.

Anyway, download functionality will be available when the redesigned compassion.com launches.

Remember us mentioning the redesign thing … back in early June. We’re still working on it. Making great progress too.

For now, this is where you can find your photos.

1. Log in to My Account at compassion.com
2. Click on Child Information in the left hand navigation
3. Rejoice!

When you click on the Child Information link that is next to your child’s photo, you’ll get more detailed information about your child and a bigger photo.

See.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates