You can also view this video, Step Into My Life: Christuraj’s Story, in Vimeo.

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But not anymore. The food crisis in Guatemala has become so severe that the president has declared a state of calamity, and the rate of undernutrition in children under 5 has reached 49 percent.

Many remember the famines in China in the 1950s and 60s. Or in Ethiopia in the 1980s. But famine is just not a problem of the past. It still happens in countries that have economies prosperous enough so that no child should have to suffer chronic or severe malnutrition. This is the case in Guatemala.

In Guatemala, the face of poverty and hunger is young, indigenous and rural. Guatemala, with the fourth-highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world and the highest in Central America and the Caribbean, faces a serious challenge in reducing the rate of chronic undernutrition.

One of the causes fueling the current food crisis is the state of education in Guatemala.

Based on a 2002 census, nearly 24 percent of Guatemala’s population is illiterate because, for example, children desert education in order to help their parents work. This is especially common in rural indigenous areas.

Another reason is a lack of knowledge of the Spanish language, as many of the rural indigenous population speak Mayan languages. Guatemala has 22 officially recognized Mayan languages.

Besides education, culture also fuels malnutrition. Nutritionist Jacobo Jiménez works for a government institution in Zapaca, and has seen the damage some cultural traditions can do:

“We daily fight the taboos that screw up sound ways of having a healthy intake and make things utterly hazardous for the inhabitants in this area.

“A young mother with a baby … she refused to eat eggs because of the town’s belief that [eating eggs] will make the milk she gives to her baby rotten.

“The lack of education of many Guatemalan mothers prevents them from having the right habits and nutritional knowledge in their first months of pregnancy and the baby’s first months.”

Another cultural problem adding to the crisis is sexism.

“Women decide to feed their husbands instead of the children, and I think this is not fair. Girls are forced to stay at home and do chores or take care of their youngest siblings while boys are encouraged to attend school.”

The girls are fed less at home, furthering their undernutrition, and they also do not have the opportunity to learn about health and how to care for themselves and their family as they are denied access to education.

Government decisions have contributed to the crisis as well.

Guatemala has lost the capacity of producing what it consumes (nutritional sovereignty) as a result of economic policies that slant towards a particular market, oriented to reduce the costs of the most dynamic industries, which obtain the majority of their raw material from foreign countries.

Between 2007 and 2008, the area dedicated to corn and beans, the base of the country’s economy, was reduced 40 percent. This lower production drove an increase of importation, which is now happening with five main products coffee, sugar, cardamom, bananas and African palms.

The climate has led to the food crisis, too.

Guatemala, as well as other countries, has been battered by the weather phenomenon called “El Niño.” Effects on weather vary with each event, but ENSO (El Niño) is associated with floods, droughts and other weather disturbances in many regions of the world.

In the Atlantic Ocean, effects lag behind those in the Pacific by 12 to 18 months. Developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly bordering the Pacific Ocean, are especially affected.

Throughout the duration of this devastating weather phenomenon, and just when the crops in Guatemalan soil needed rain the most, there was no rain at all.

Attacking the Global Food Crisis

Living in the small town of San Cristobal Verapaz, Freddy attends the Rayitos De Esperanza Student Center. Surrounded by beautiful green mountains, Freddy and his family have gained hope.

“During the last medical checkup, Freddy [had] gained 10 pounds, thanks to the Complementary Intervention activity we have been hosting,” states Lucía Jom, general coordinator of the student center.

This Complementary Intervention activity was made possible with the funds that were raised in the Global Food Crisis Day held March 11, 2009. Forty student centers have been assisted by this activity, benefiting 2,500 children diagnosed with malnutrition [slight or chronic].

“When a disease is detected, we give assistance” states Erick Castillo, Compassion Guatemala’s Health Specialist.

“The children are diagnosed with the standards that the World Health Organization gives related to weight, size and malnutrition.

“Our health intervention consists in giving the children diagnosed with malnutrition balanced meals. This can be breakfast, lunch or dinner that has been cooked by persons who have been previously trained.

“This training consists in giving knowledge to the cooks of each student center on how to prepare nutritious meals. Mothers of sponsored children are trained as well on how to take advantage of local crops in order to give them the most nutritious meals they can with the family budget they have.

“What we want to do next is strive to find funds to keep educating and training on how to harvest hydroponic crops, such as celery, cucumber, beans, spinach, tomato, turnip amongst many. These crops are rich in minerals and vitamins that can complement the meals prepared at home.”

“The community approves this way of helping children” states Lucía, ”and they are interested in sending their children to have this kind of assistance.”

One of the expected outcomes we wish to reach with the children is that they may choose good health practices and are physically healthy.

Compassion Guatemala has made an intentional effort for all children registered in our sponsorship program to experience reduced nutritional deficiencies and know how to prevent nutritional deficiencies.

The curriculum includes such topics as:

• “What is a lunch?” — with an objective of describing and defining the ingredients of a nutritiouslunch
• “Making a group of healthy food” — with an objective of identifying the five basic groups of food and their value to keep the body healthy
• “Breakfasts are very important” — with the objective of describing and identifying the ingredients for a nutritious breakfast and its importance for good health
• “Make a healthy meal” — with an objective of dramatizing potential scenarios related with different food options
• “Favorite recipes” — with the objective of making a book that contains recipes of food used in their communities

In the midst of the worst of the famine to befall Guatemala in the last 30 years, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs from the United Nations as well as other institutions have predicted that this famine can turn even worse if the second harvest at the end 2009 is destroyed by the lack of rains and low temperatures. This is especially possible in the northwestern part of Guatemala.

The government is already trying to take some actions to assist the families that may be affected by this famine, but this won’t be enough.

We have proven our leadership by currently encouraging people to become involved and donate for the sake of this noble cause. It is thanks to the money raised on our last Global Food Crisis Day more than 4,000 children in different student centers nationwide are being assisted to reach a better physical state.

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” – Matthew 25:40, NIV

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As the Body of Christ, caring about this disease, which is primarily spread through deviant behavior (though certainly not all the time), it is our chance to do the unexpected … to care for those infected with HIV, no matter the cause.

And with World AIDS Day next week, it’s as good a time as any to act like the person who came to save us.

What Is AIDS?

Many people know the terms HIV and AIDS, and often use them interchangeably, and as a result, incorrectly.

HIV is a virus, the human immunodeficiency virus, one of the most persistent and complicated viruses of all time.

This virus causes the body to become immunodeficient, which means that it causes the body’s immune system to be weakened, which makes the body’s defense system not work as well as it could and as a result, become more susceptible to infections.

AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AIDS is a result of HIV. It is the last stage of an HIV infection.

A person first gets HIV, and then later, usually years later, will develop AIDS.

A CD4 cell is a type of white blood cell sometimes called a T cell. A person is diagnosed as having AIDS when his or her CD4 cell count drops below a certain level, around 300 cells per millimeters cubed (mm3). The normal range is between 500-1,600 CD4 cells per mm3.

Over time, a person with HIV will lose these cells through destruction by HIV. Then that person will be more vulnerable to infections … opportunistic infections.

Without treatment, the opportunistic infections will eventually claim the life of a person infected with HIV. But treatment is available and it is called ART, which stands for antiretroviral therapy.

Because of the advent of ART, those who once were hopeless and waiting to die now have a second chance. But really why should we care about AIDS?

Why Should We Care About AIDS?

Unfortunately, the world doesn’t view us, the Body of Christ, as people who respond indiscriminately to such a disease.

Jesus healed the blind and lepers and never stopped to judge them or think that they had been cursed. He cared about people … all people, and through the words of Matthew 25 or 1 John 3:16-18, encourages us to do the same.

Jesus speaks of seeing the needs of others and moving beyond this to care for others and their needs … except for those with HIV and AIDS. Right?

No. He meant that we should meet the needs of all those we encounter, whether the needs are physical, emotional or spiritual.

I see the words of these passages as a direct command to jump in, feet first, to the situations we encounter, and in this day and age, there are more than 33 million people in the world living with HIV, some with AIDS. They are battling daily to fight the emotional toll of this disease and the discrimination that comes with it.

There are plenty of opportunities for us to help. And because ART is available, the once-grim prognosis of someone with AIDS is now one of hope.

And because of how Compassion works, we fill in the gaps of care that the government is unable to commit to. By doing so we give great hope to those who a few years ago would have felt very lost and very discouraged.

People who die of AIDS often die in a similar manner as those with cancer, but without the support of loved ones, friends and the community.

AIDS is real, and though there are many more diseases in our age that are also very important to address, this one presents challenges that few can rival.

From the biochemistry and immunology of the virus to the stigma and discrimination that those infected face, HIV and AIDS need attention on all levels … but mostly in the willingness of Christians to live up to the book that we all follow.

This is our chance. The virus has been around for more than 25 years. Let’s be aware, care and dare to make a difference.

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Allen Charles Graham is single, but he understands the meaning of the word “commitment.” He started sponsoring children in 1989 when he lived in the United States, working at a TV network. Currently, he lives in Ecuador and is the Training Director at HCJB Global Voice radio station.

“This was something I always wanted to do ever since I looked at the advertising spaces in some magazines.”

Allen had the opportunity to take a closer look to the blessing of sponsoring children when he came to Ecuador for the first time back in 1989 as a “working visitor” for HCJB. He was assigned a prayer partner, who happened to sponsor an Ecuadorian child.

When the prayer partner visited his sponsored child at the coastal city of Guayaquil (260 miles from Quito), he came back and he showed pictures to Allen and shared about that experience.

That was when Allen received that special motivation and knew he was going to commit to sponsor a child as soon as he went back to the United States.

Actually, that was one of the first things Allen did when he was back home. He looked for a Compassion ad in a magazine, cut the invitation to sponsor a child, filled it out, and sent it including this note: “I prefer an Ecuadorian child.”

“In September 1989 I received a package with the information of a boy, Marcos from Guayaquil.”

This boy, the first child he sponsored, was 10 years old.

Surprisingly, a couple of months later in 1990, Allen received an invitation to give some lectures at the English Fellowship Church in Quito. Of course, he took the opportunity to visit Marcos.

So in July of that year, Allen met Marcos in Guayaquil. Marcos was 11 years old by that time, and he just talked and talked all the time.

“I didn’t speak Spanish and Álvaro, the translator, couldn’t translate fast enough all the things Marcos said.”

Sign language and, most of all, the language of love … hugs, tickles and smiles, let Allen and Marcos establish a strong friendship bond. When they were saying their good-byes at the airport, Marcos said, “I will pray a lot for you to come back to my country.” … And God did answer his prayer!

Allen was called by God to move to Ecuador as a missionary. In March 1992, HCJB accepted his application and later that year he traveled to Costa Rica to learn Spanish.

August 19, 1993, is a day Allen will never forget since it was the day he arrived in Ecuador after a special call by God. He was not just willing to be a missionary with HCJB, but was yearning to see little Marcos again, for Marcos had stolen his heart, and God had listened to Marcos’ innocent prayer.

Since that time, Allen has sponsored a half dozen children. He is currently sponsoring two children – a girl in Ecuador, Mariuxi, and a boy in Bolivia, Pedro.

From all those children, Marcos is the one who left a very deep imprint in the life of this communicator highly committed to children.

At the present time, Marcos is 30, and this sponsor/sponsored-child relationship has evolved almost into a father-son relationship.

Marcos comes from a dysfunctional family. His father left them when Marcos was only 4 years old, so his childhood had traces of solitude, scarcity and the lack of the warmth of a real home.

“I didn’t know what a home was; my mom worked way too much so I never saw her … the truth is I was raised by several people; my grandma had me for a year, then my aunt maybe for another year, and I even spent another year at the house of some neighbor.”

It’s been 19 years since Allen and Marcos met for the first time; 19 years that brought love, comprehension and hope into Marcos’ life.

From Allen’s perspective, “I believe I have given hope to Marcos, and hopefully, I have also been the role model of a man who is constantly looking for God’s presence in his life.”

From Marcos’ point of view, “Allen has been a father, a counselor and a friend to me.”

The letters and frequent personal encounters have strengthened this relationship in a very significant way. Allen has served in Ecuador for 15 years now and his presence in Marcos’ life has helped Marcos to escape from wrong paths that may have led him to death:

“When I was 16 I was indirectly involved with gangs. I didn’t find my way … but thank God, Allen was there to give good advice to me … I got to talk to him and so my life took a different turn.”

Today, Marcos is a responsible grownup with a beautiful family: Tatiana, his wife, and their two children, Allan (4) and Marquitos (17 months).

Marcos is deeply grateful to Compassion and mostly to Allen.

“The project to me was like home. I used to enjoy being over there with my friends and our tutors … but without a doubt the best part of Compassion was meeting Allen. We have a close relationship until these days. Allen is like a father to me and now he has even turned into my children’s grandpa.”

But this is not all: Marcos works at a very important Ecuadorian iron company — IPAC. The Production Manager says about Marcos,

“He has learned and developed faster than many other employees here. Nowadays, Marcos is one of the operators of a new machine that is the first of its kind in Latin America. Thank God, Marcos is right where he is now because of his big effort and huge interest.”

Marcos’ life is the true evidence of the fruits of a man’s committed love. And certainly, Allen is an example of many other anonymous sponsors whose commitment to God has turned them into channels of blessing and transformation for thousands of boys, girls and young people all over the world.

This is how we have witnessed, once again, the fulfillment of the Scripture,

“’I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” – Matthew 25:40 (NIV).

Allen states that his answer to that question may sound simple to many people, but to him it carries the weight of an unavoidable commandment:

“It is God who puts the desire of sponsoring children in people’s hearts, but there’s also the part of being in touch with the kid or kids you sponsor, and that’s exactly what the ministry of Compassion International puts special emphasis on.”

He knows that very well because he volunteered with the Advocates Network before traveling to Ecuador. He was in charge of attending prayer meetings, Bible studies, concerts, etc. to talk to people and present the ministry of Compassion to them.

When asked about the most important element to assure a successful relationship between sponsors and their sponsored children, Allen replies:

“First of all, it is prayer, and then it is seeing children in a different way and not just like simple numbers.

“When volunteering as an advocate and working with children’s packages, it’s very easy to start looking at them as mere statistics, as numbers, but God said to me: ‘Hey! These children have names; they are important to me.’”

Allen highlights the part of looking at each child as a person to commit to, instead of a number searching for a sponsor. Any person willing to sponsor a child needs to think more personally, “I’m going to be part of Juan, María, Alfonso or Mariuxi’s life. He/she is going to be very special to me.”

Regarding the prayer element, Allen believes a sponsor is a child’s prayer partner. He or she who sponsors a child must be committed to pray for that child.

Allen has talked to various sponsored children attending child development centers all over the country, so he knows they pray for their sponsors too. This is a reciprocal relationship.

“It’s not just about sending money every month; it’s about committing to them through prayers.”

According to Allen, a sponsor should know how his/her child is doing in the spiritual area: Has the child made a decision for Christ? If so, the sponsor should encourage the child to be baptized instead of leaving everything in the hands of tutors and project directors.

But he also clarifies: “We have to be very sensitive and never, ever force or push children to do that. Anyway, we must help them through prayers all the time.”

Communication is another important point to Allen.

Maybe not every single sponsor has the chance or even the interest in learning his/her sponsored child’s mother tongue, but in the case of Allen, speaking Spanish brought a special “sparkle” into his role as a sponsor; it made it more real.

In addition, when it comes to writing to a child, Allen suggests sponsors change their perspective into a child’s point of view.

“Normally, it is very easy for us to tell ‘I do this or I do that …’, but it is way better to take the child’s interests into account.

“Writing things like ‘This weekend my family and I went skiing’ to a child from Guayaquil is not really helpful, since that city is located in the coastal region of Ecuador and therefore that child has never seen snow in his or her entire life. They don’t even have big mountains around!

“We are talking about things that may seem important to us, but cannot actually be used to bond with our sponsored child. We should look for stuff that helps us to get closer to the child, so questions are more appropriate in these cases.

“Another good idea is to look for similarities and say things like: ‘In California our beaches are like this … how do beaches in your country look like?”

Even though Allen admits it’s not always easy, a sponsor should try to visit and meet the child in person. He recommends living the experience and being part of the child’s environment, center and home at least once. Personal contact is very important.

“If the sponsor desires he or she could always see that trip as ‘vacation with purpose.’ A sponsor’s visit can have a very strong impact, not only in the life of the directly involved child, but in the lives of the rest of children from the project and everyone working with them. It encourages them to know these contacts can be real.”

Allen’s trajectory as a sponsor is the evidence of a deep commitment to God at first, then to our ministry, and certainly to each boy and girl he has sponsored during the almost two decades he has been linked to Compassion.

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In Peru, that religion, Roman Catholicism, is still important:

• for many traditional families who live in Lima City
• in faraway towns in the country
• among the migrants who have come into Lima City from the Andes Highlands, the Amazon Rainforest or the many small valleys scattered along the coast

But among this last group, the migrants, are our young friends, our sponsored children.

In Peru, Easter is a solemn celebration. Holy Week begins the Sunday before Easter; therefore, schools are closed for the entire week so that the children and teenagers may participate in the special celebrations together with their parents – either in Lima or visiting relatives away from the capital city.

The evangelical churches initiate a special week of celebrations with evangelistic campaigns and camping programs for the youth and also for the entire family to have a special retreat.

The churches give their children the opportunity to participate actively in the celebration at church or at the camping site, according to their age. The younger children learn that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins, but that also He is risen, while the older children participate at special programs at church to present to the community during the evangelistic campaign on Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

The young university students who belong to evangelical churches prepare programs intended to present the plan of salvation to the youth who have never been to church. The students prepare something special, such as Christian concerts and dramas, which will draw the attention of that specific group. The programs are presented in an open place, such as a big park.

Some of these university students organize special trips to visit faraway churches in order to present dramas or to sing during the special church services previously organized by local churches.

Other students have the gift to visit people in jail to preach and give counseling. For example, some may visit those who have been caught taking drugs from the country; many of these are foreigners and do not have relatives or friends in Peru.

These students go together with their pastors taking gifts and doing Christian concerts. They give testimony of their past life and bring those prisoners hope and a new joy. These young university students take seriously Matthew 25:36 (NIV).

“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Talking about Easter gifts, if the family belongs to a high social class, their children receive chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday. They even participate in contests about painting an egg organized at their school or by a local supermarket.

But a child who belongs to a traditional family, who is part of a low social class, or who lives in extreme poverty, as our sponsored children do, isn’t aware of Easter gifts.

When the children at one of our child development centers were asked about “Easter eggs,” the majority were surprised with the question. Some have seen ads on TV about chocolate eggs, but since they aren’t sold in their community, they just do not care much about it.

The children just enjoy their time being out of school and eating some traditional dishes. They gather at somebody’s home who has a TV set, together with their siblings and friends, to watch the special TV programs that are shown on Easter, old films such as Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, Jesus, and many other religious movies.

All the people who live in small cities and towns close to colonial Lima City become part of a big celebration. A grand procession takes place. Statues of Jesus carrying His cross and the Virgin dressed all in black are carried on large platforms through the streets.

In some parts of Lima City, local transportation is diverted by the policemen who try their best to alleviate the chaos. They whistle to give directions to the drivers who go through the old and narrow colonial streets bursting with the activity of hundreds of devoted people following the procession.

The people walk slowly and pray while passing through the narrow streets. People who live there gather on their homes’ balconies to salute the statues. They throw rose petals on both statues as a special offering.

Meanwhile the street vendors take advantage of the occasion to offer their goods, such as traditional foods, sodas, candies, etc. Therefore, there is not only devotion, but also noisy crowds and different kinds of smells coming from the great variety of dishes being prepared to be offered to the devoted people.

In this procession, not so many children are seen because of the big crowds and the long distances to walk that become endless because of the procession’s slow pace. Usually children get tired and bored because they are not much aware of the situation.

The statues carried in the procession are of high value since they were brought from Spain four to five centuries ago. Besides being a work of art, the statue of the Virgin is unusual because the statue’s hair is real, donated by some young lady who has given it as a special gift. The statue wears an expensive silk dress and lots of jewelry that has been donated by rich people throughout the centuries.

The platforms the statues are carried on are quite heavy, and each one requires at least a dozen men to carry it. The group is replaced by different groups of men after carrying it for some distance. The procession is accompanied by a band of musicians and many ladies who walk singing and carrying incense in special gold containers.

During Holy Week there is always something going on, such as the “Feet Washing Ceremony” that takes place at the cathedral in Lima City as well as in all Roman Catholic churches in the country. There the priest washes the feet of 12 men who are just common citizens.

On Good Friday, many people prepare “The Seven Dishes,” but it is traditional to cook different recipes using only fish.

In the afternoon, the Roman Catholic Cardinal preaches at the main cathedral of Lima. He speaks about “The Last Seven Words of Jesus.” This is transmitted across the country through the media.

There are many more traditions to be told, although many more have been already forgotten with the passing of the years and can be found only in history books.

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Something Wendy Kopp said at the Summit struck me about how we approach leading others toward caring for those in need.

Wendy Kopp is the founder and CEO of Teach for America, a non-profit that asks college graduates to commit to two years of teaching in under-resourced schools.

She was asked how she approaches asking these graduates — some of who could otherwise accept six-figure jobs — to sacrifice so much, putting aside wealth and “success” to teach in schools many would avoid. She said (and this is paraphrased, as my little hand could only scribble so fast as she answered):

You’re giving people an opportunity to be part of something larger, and of significance — people want that … are we afraid to ask people to sacrifice and set a high bar? Your own personal conviction about the work makes it easy to ask others to sacrifice because you’re giving them a gift that will change their lives.

When we tell others about the opportunities to care for those in need, we might feel like we’re putting a burden on them, but far from burdening them, we’re giving them a gift. We’re giving them the opportunity to enter into another aspect of our relationship with Jesus as we follow him.

Several times when talking with someone who has come across the book I wrote about responding to poverty, they say they’re scared to read it. So many are scared of this issue of poverty, and understandably so — it’s big and hairy and complicated. And God might ask us to do scary things.

But I think there’s a third reason people are afraid of poverty — they’re worried a big, fat load of guilt is going to be placed on their shoulders. We’ve been bombarded by so much guilt when it comes to poverty, seeing so many images that evoke guilt and being told “shame on you for drinking that Starbucks instead of caring for a baby.”

Are we guilty for not responding to God’s mandate to care for those in need? Yes, but God hasn’t appointed us as judges of others. He has appointed us as messengers of his grace. And I think when we do approach others not with guilt but with grace, they grasp that helping those in need isn’t about checking off a requirement on our good-Christian to-do list so that we can not feel so guilty. It’s about our relationship with Christ — about following him, obeying him, and knowing him all the more as we become like him in our service to others.

“He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 22:16, NIV, emphasis added)

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