Two years ago, America, a sponsored child at Bienaventurados del Amor Child Development Center, battled with hemorrhagic dengue, a very serious illness that is fatal in some cases.

When she got sick, her mother took her to the hospital. There, America got only medicine for the fever and saline solution since her stomach and throat hurt. No tests or special exams were done.

America was not getting the attention she needed at the hospital, and her condition worsened, so her mother looked for an alternative medicine that someone told her about.

“It was expensive, but somehow I bought it.”

Wendy, America’s mom, stayed in bed every night with her daughter because the fever would not leave.

“I consider America a strong child, but in this occasion she was not responding well to the treatment at the hospital or at home. She just complained a lot about the pain in her body or lay unconscious and I was worried. Then, I called the child development center director and facilitator for help.”

America was immediately moved to a private hospital. This family of few resources could not have afforded to take the child to a private hospital. However, America was able to receive this benefit because her child development center submitted an emergency proposal through our Complementary Interventions Program, which took care of all her expenses.

At this hospital, they learned that different organs of America’s body had deteriorated and Wendy was asked to sign a form because there was almost nothing that could be done for her daughter.

“A doctor told me: your child has no opportunity, it depends only on God.”

Wendy is a single mother and America is her only child. As a mother, her heart was devastated, but she still signed the form.

At the intensive care unit, America’s health got worse. Her platelets went down and down. She had no strength in her body.

The normal quantity of platelets the human body has in the blood is between “150,000 and 400,000 per microliter (mcL).” Based on that fact, can someone live with only 9,000 platelets? The right answer in human power would be, no way!

Family, friends, church staff, children and our country office staff were all interceding for a miracle in America´s life. It was hard to believe something would change, but prayer was never stopped.

“America’s platelets were at 15,000 and the doctor said if her platelets went down to 10,000 there was no probability for her to live. Incredibly, the platelets decreased to 9,000 and my daughter is still here.”

The help America received went beyond what our Child Sponsorship Program delivers. She was able to get the immediate intervention she needed to save her life because of Complementary Interventions, a program that comes alongside our core programs to offer additional assistance.

Thank God, by the sixth day in the hospital, America’s platelets began to increase and America was feeling better. Doctors were amazed by her recovery, but her family was confident in God and He answered the prayers for America.

“When I was at the hospital, no one would tell me anything. My body just felt really bad, weak. My tummy hurt. I would be dead if I had not gotten quick help. I was helped a lot because if it wasn’t for our church I would not be here talking.”

Not many people think being sick is something nice. Surprisingly America said,

“It was an unpleasant and nice experience. Unpleasant because I didn’t like to be in the hospital or being sick. Nobody likes being sick! But it was nice because I got help and I was able to be ok.”

“America is a very intelligent child. She was able to read at the age of four. At only 11 years old she is in her first year of high school and doing good with grades. America was raised in church, so everyone knows her and were very concerned for her health when she was sick,” says Robertina, the child development center secretary.

America enjoys playing all kind of games and reading story books and the Bible. She also wants to be a pediatrician when she grows up. “She liked the treatment she got from Dr. Sandra. America brought her an apple after leaving the hospital,” says her mom.

Once at home, America received special meals since her stomach was the most affected.

“When I share this experience, I get very emotional because I believe that God made the miracle. I know that the prayer of my church and other churches, the office staff and many other people was heard. I feel the Lord put His hand on my daughter to heal her,” says Wendy.

America was at the hospital for seven days. According to doctors, the fifth day of the hemorrhagic dengue is the worst, and everyone was waiting for that day to see what would happen. Prayer and immediate attention were crucial to save her life. Two years have passed and America still running, talking and smiling at life.

The community has many homes with single mothers who have to find a way to sustain their children and themselves.

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

This has been a busy year. Our world is in turmoil and much of that turmoil is affecting Compassion’s work.

Here’s a snapshot of the things I’ve reported over the past 11 months:

military rebellion, slum fire, dengue fever outbreak, H1N1 virus outbreak, flooding, strike, civil conflict, volcanic eruption, earthquake, heavy rains, political unrest, hotel bombings, protests and violence, typhoons, meningitis outbreak, polio outbreak, cholera outbreak, famine, landslide, tribal war, ferry sinking, riots.

As an organization entirely dependent on your trust, we have made a commitment to be honest and transparent in everything we do. This means, among other things, that we do our best to let you know as soon as possible when your child is affected by a crisis or disaster.

In a perfect world, here’s how the process would work:

• Within 24 hours of a crisis, our Field Communications Specialist (FCS) submits a crisis report via e-mail. This e-mail comes to an inbox that I check regularly.
• As soon as I receive this e-mail, I determine whether funds will need to be raised to provide relief, and summarize the report and e-mail it to our partner countries (the countries where the sponsors live).
• Meanwhile, the FCS is in contact with the Partnership Facilitators (PF), field-based staff members who are contacting our affected church partners.
• The FCS then submits a follow-up report via e-mail, with further details from the PFs about which centers are affected, how they are affected, and any other relevant details, photos or video.
• As soon as the church partners are able to provide specific information on registered children, the FCS e-mails that information to me. I do a quality check and then forward that information to the partner countries.
• Each partner country then contacts all the sponsors with affected children to let them know the status of their child.

Seems pretty cut and dried, right? And often, the process works exactly as I just described it.

However, as we all know, we do not live in a perfect world. Sometimes a disaster will wreak havoc on the field’s end, thus affecting our communications process.

Let’s take the recent typhoons in the Philippines as an example.

Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines on Sept. 26. Almost 17 inches of rain fell in 12 hours, halting any semblance of normal life, flooding everything in sight, killing hundreds and displacing thousands more.

Roads were destroyed, electricity was out and much of the country was underwater, neck-deep in some places.

Eighteen of Compassion’s staff members in the Philippines office (more than half) were personally affected by the flooding (including the FCS responsible for sending the crisis report).

After the typhoons, every single staff person in the Philippines office was involved in the relief efforts and for a time, Compassion’s entire staff put their regular duties on hold in order to help those in desperate need.

During disasters like this, while you are anxious to hear news about your child, keep in mind that many unforeseen and unavoidable things can occur, hindering good communication. Grace, patience, understanding and flexibility are critical.

Here are some things that might affect the communication process after a crisis:

• Getting information from the field to the partner countries isn’t always the No. 1 priority.

  After a disaster, the highest priorities are critical needs such as shelter, clean water and food. Communication sometimes takes a back seat to meeting basic needs in life and death situations.

• It’s not just the sponsored children who are affected. Sometimes the staff members themselves are in need.

  While our staff members are trying to address the immediate needs of our registered children, they also must take care of their own families and homes.

• Communication tools are not available.

  The infrastructure in developing countries is much less stable than in the developed world. For instance, telephone and electricity were out throughout Manila, remaining out for weeks in some places. Communicating with the church partners was difficult, and in some cases, impossible.

• Different cultures put different importance on time.

  Many countries where we work are not time-oriented the way we are in the United States. Time requirements do not have the same importance as they do here.

Despite this, you can be confident in our commitment to share accurate information with you as quickly as possible after a crisis. It’s just that sometimes this may take longer than we’d like.

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

Jaimito, as many of his friends call him, is a very joyful, outgoing, obedient and disciplined child. He truly loves his parents and siblings, and most of all he has surrendered his heart to God.

Jaime and his four siblings — Jesús (16), Jonathan (9), Allison (5) and Aarón (3) — live with their parents, Jaime and María, in the basement of a humble house. Jaimito’s grandma on his dad’s side gave the house to the family 16 years ago. It was once a warehouse full of old and useless stuff, but now it is Jaimito’s home.

Jaime’s father doesn’t have a steady job. He’s an artisan who makes plaster layers that are used in roofs in most houses on the coast. Currently, he works at a little artisanal factory. He makes U.S. $40 every week.

On the other hand, María, Jaime’s mother, doesn’t work. She does all the chores at home and takes care of her five children. She would love to find a job that would enable her to sustain her family too.

María graduated as a nurse’s helper a short while ago. She took a one-year course at a local institute.

Jaimito: A Day in His Own Words

Normally, I get up at 6:30 a.m. and get myself ready to go to the center. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and then have breakfast with my family.

My mom usually puts a cup of coffee and a piece of bread or some crackers on the table for each of us. Breakfast is the coolest time of the day because my entire family is there.

After that, I take my medicine — the one that the doctor prescribed. She’s the doctor from the center. She’s really kind and always treats me nicely. She also encourages me a lot. I know she will totally help me to get well soon.

I leave for the center around 8:30 a.m. Sometimes I just wear sports clothes to go there, but I always take my school uniform in a plastic bag. I go to school in the afternoon, you know?

I love spending time at the center because I get to share with my friends there.

First of all, we have a devotional and Sister Wendy directs the worship time. She’s my favorite tutor!

The other day, for example, we sang the song that I like the most: “Bueno es alabarte, Señor” (“It’s Good to Praise You, Lord”). I truly adore singing worship songs at the center.

After that, we take language or math classes. If we find any difficulty in our homework from school, our tutors help us with that and gently explain anything to us until we get it.

We’re also learning to bake bread. Sister Wendy taught us how to mix the ingredients to prepare good dough. We made it and then we baked it. Our bread was delicious!

We’ve also learned a bit about electricity. The other day, I learned how to prevent short circuits. I learn about electricity at high school, too; actually, I love that subject.

Around 11:30 a.m, our tutors take us to the dining room and we have lunch. The food is always yummy! My favorite dish is rice, fried meat, beans and orange juice. I just love it!

Once my tummy is full, I quickly change into my school uniform and then take the bus to school. I go to Vicente Rocafuerte High, and I’m in 8th grade.

My classes start at 1 p.m. and end at 6:30 p.m. It’s a long afternoon.

I study subjects like language, math, science, English, electricity, pottery, social studies, sex education and physical education. My favorite subject is science. I’d like to become a doctor when I grow up and heal people — just like the doctors who are curing me now.

At recess time, I enjoy playing soccer with my friends. Soccer is my favorite activity in the whole world! I also play soccer on Saturday nights with my friends from the neighborhood.

I leave school at 6:30 p.m. and take a public bus home. It’s a one-hour ride so I get home at 7:30 p.m., change my clothes and eat dinner with my family.

Actually, my mom only cooks something like a main course when she has enough money to buy the ingredients. But if she doesn’t she just gives us a cinnamon infusion with a piece of bread or a green plantain omelet.

After dinner I do my homework. I normally stay up until 11 p.m. and then I get ready to go to bed.

I share the bed with my brothers, Jesús and Jonathan. The three of us are sponsored. Before going to bed, I pray first but usually I pray alone.

Every single night I pray for my sponsor, asking God to bless and protect him. I also thank God for giving me such an amazing sponsor who cares for me and my entire family. Then, I pray for my family too. I just want us to be always together.

Jaimito at Jesús es Amor Student Center

Six years ago, Jaimito’s father received a visit from the personnel at Jesús es Amor. They offered food, medical care, school supplies, uniforms, spiritual guidance and other benefits to Jaime and Jesús, who both happened to be the perfect ages to be registered at the child development center back then.

The family’s poor home, the lack of steady income, and consequently the lack of healthy and nutritious food, paradoxically, built the perfect environment for Jaime and his brother Jesús to be registered.

“The thing that motivated us the most to register our children was the spiritual guidance they were going to receive. We were not Christians before, but my husband always respected God.

“We have been through really hard times; there were nights when we went to bed with an empty stomach. But thanks to God, this center came to relieve our burdens as parents.”

The development center is open three days a week and provides all the children with good and nutritious meals (e.g., soup, main course, juice and fruit).

At the center Jaimito receives an annual medical screening, tutorials about language and math. He can use a computer to do his homework and surf the Web for any research for school, etc.

At the beginning of every school year, he receives new notebooks and a pair of shoes.

“This year, my Jaimito was about to be taken out of a class because he didn’t have his book of basic accounting. We didn’t buy it for him because we didn’t have the money (U.S. $11), but thank God the center met that need too,” says María.

Jaimito has received not only the normal benefits of the program but sometimes even beyond that. Sadly, he suffers from acute anemia and as a consequence has needed various medical screenings and treatments.

His prescriptions have included an iron supplement, B-complex vitamins, Ensure® supplements and anti-parasite pills. Eighty percent of his medical expenses are covered by the development center, 10 percent by the church, and the remaining 10 percent by his parents.

According to the center’s records, they have spent U.S.$135 in medical attention for Jaimito during the last two months.

A month ago, he was taken to the hospital and stayed there for three days. The center’s emotional and financial support was very important to Jaime and his family.

Although the center is doing its best to fight Jaime’s condition, some factors are holding him back from a full recovery, such as the difficulty of receiving healthy and nutritious meals at home.

To feed lunch to all of the children at the center, Jesús es Amor Student Center spends around U.S. $80 to $100 a day. It’s because of all this that Jaime’s parents are deeply grateful for the blessings they have received from God.

“I’d like to thank my child’s sponsor for his kind heart. I’m sure God will bless and protect him. No one has ever cared for my son like him.

“Besides the monthly contribution, he has also sent frequent special gifts to my child, almost on a monthly basis as well. We have used that extra money to buy food for the family, which is always needed. We always pray for him.”

Jesús es Amor Student Center is located in Guayaquil, a city on the coastal region of Ecuador. There are 289 children at the center and 224 are sponsored.

Children from La Prosperina neighborhood receive attention here. This is a very poor urban area on the northern zone of Guayaquil. Its 6,000 inhabitants have a low socio-economic status.

In La Prosperina people have serious difficulties finding jobs. The most common jobs are related to domestic service, factory work or construction. The unemployment rate reaches 40 percent.

It’s important to mention that around 70 percent of the children who live in this community have the opportunity to finish elementary school and high school. However, about 20 percent just don’t go to school.

The most typical health problems are malnutrition, malaria, dengue fever, skin rashes, respiratory infections, dehydration, parasites and infections of the urinary tract. Fortunately, there are two health centers within La Prosperina to give attention to emergency cases.

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

Lilliam was born in Ciudad Sandino, and she and her family have lived there for many years.

Lilliam is an active member of Betania Baptist Church. She has been at that church for nine years, serving as Sunday school teacher and church secretary. She’s worked for Compassion since 2003 and has been a Partnership Facilitator (PF) since October 2007.

1. What are the main responsibilities of your position?

As a facilitator, I help strengthen the church to reach results in the four areas of our work with children: spiritual, emotional, cognitive and physical.

For example, in the physical area, we want children to choose good health habits and to be healthy, so I try to see if that result is being reached or not, because we don’t want it just to be written in paper.

In the cognitive area, it is not about spending more money on a computer course for the children. It is about the child’s learning and how he or she is using the resources. And so on in each area.

The church partner also gives clear information of how the budget is being used, and facilitators help them in this administrative area.

I want to be clear and let you know that the results aren’t seen from one day to another. It is a process.

I believe my responsibility is to help churches become self-sustaining. I don’t want children to be sponsored the rest of their lives. I want a generation that can support themselves and sponsor other children.

I want churches spiritually and economically strong, to be light in the midst of darkness.

This also is a process. It might not be seen in one, two or five years, but we are putting the foundation down now to make them strong to reach maturity.

2. Describe what an average day is like for you.

I have two facets. One is the work I do at the office and the other, the work I do in the field.

The partnership facilitator’s role has changed and I spend most of the time in the field, supporting directly the partner churches.

Normally, I have one day at the office (Monday) to do the office work, like follow-up funding and reporting. I also coordinate monthly activities and evaluate activities of the previous month in the PF meeting, analyzing achievements and weakness to look for better alternatives.

The other four, five or six days (because sometimes I work Saturday and Sunday, if necessary), I am with the church partner. It is arduous work seeing how the children are doing, how the church is working, and looking for alternatives to do better work. Results aren’t be achieved if I stay at the office.

3. How many churches do you visit a day, and how often do you visit a church?

In general, it is one church a day. Sometimes two can be done in one day, depending on the topic or situation that the church is presenting, but it is usually only one a day.

We desire to give more attention to all centers to increase the results with the children. Each PF here in Nicaragua has been assigned a total of 12 centers and we each do 10 visits per month so we visit each church almost once a month. I will visit more than once a month only if it’s necessary.

4. What is the best part of your job?

I love the direct contact with children.

Many times I have to do many activities with church staff; however, there is nothing better than the contact with the children, because we exist for them.

On a church visit, I usually get to spend about an hour with the children. I visit each classroom to greet them, talk to them, pray with them, and see what they have learned.

5. What is the most challenging part of your job?

To empower partner churches to achieve the results with children. To empower them through training to do the work we want with the children.

6. Why did you choose this particular area of work? / Why did you choose to work for Compassion?

I join those who say that nothing happens for coincidence.

I feel it has all been God’s purpose, so I only ask the Lord to use me. The truth is that I didn’t choose to be here, the Lord did, and I love it!

I feel happy when I’m here, but I many times I think, Lord, why did you choose me? There were so many people with many abilities!

However, I recognize that this is His ministry and He brings us here because He wants to use us, and that’s what I’m doing. I said to the Lord, use me anywhere you think I need to be. He did.

Now I’m here to help these children. I like to feel useful in the hands of the Lord and to feel that this is not a job for me but a ministry.

7. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your job?

Honestly, no.

Maybe if this was a means to survive or if I considered it as a regular job, I might feel overwhelmed because the amount of work is heavy. But in the midst of all the work that this position demands, there is something important. The Lord says “I am with you, I won’t leave you, not forsake you.”

I believe these words. They encourage me, and I say “Thank you, Lord, because with your help the work is easier.” Sometimes I wish the day would have more hours to go on and on and on, but sadly it only has 24 hours.

I love the fact that I work for the Lord. It makes me feel fulfilled.

I have the heart and disposition to serve the Lord. I am not serving man. I am not serving the country director. I work for God, the One who has given us life.

The fact of knowing that one day I’ll be in front of the Lord, and all I want Him to tell me is that I’m approved!

8. What have you learned as a result of your job?

The Lord has taught me that those things that for me are impossible, with Him everything is possible. There is nothing impossible for God.

I have learned that the root of poverty is lack of opportunities, that these children are the way they are because of little opportunities. But through our ministry and through the work the church is doing with children, opportunities are coming up.

9. Tell us about a situation or incident you experienced through your job that touched your heart?

There are many experiences, but one of them is the case of a 10-year-old girl that had no hope to live.

Her single mom did not have enough for a medical check-up or to give her the treatment. The girl was very sick with hemorrhagic dengue and the Lord manifested Himself mightily.

A whole church gathered in prayer. Compassion helped with economic resources to give the girl the attention she needed. Her platelets were extremely low and doctors said only a miracle could save her.

I remember how we were constantly calling the hospital, visiting the girl. It was a very hard situation. We had to take quick decisions in order to save her life.

Now it doesn’t matter how much was spent, but that her life was saved. The Lord worked there and her health was restored.

Many churches around and neighbors heard of the marvelous work of God and it was a great impact.

10. Do you have a message for sponsors who support the children?

Yes, I do. Sponsors are an important element in this ministry. This ministry is supported by the Lord; He is our foundation, but we recognize that the Lord touches the heart of people that help our children, and thanks to them we can support so many children in Nicaragua and around the world.

It always impresses me, the fact that someone without knowing a child can help him/her being so far away, not able to see each other face to face.

Thank you for giving some of your money that could be used for your own family. But you send it for a little one you don’t know, that’s awesome!

I want to encourage you to continue supporting our children because thanks to you, many of them are being released from poverty. Don’t give up!

The Bible teaches us that anything we do for a little one, it will be rewarded. So sponsors, Christians or not, the blessing of God will be with you if your heart is willing to help children. I encourage you to continue with the sponsorship.

Updated: May 18, 2009 – Meet Tiffany Blanco.

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