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

Letters equal love.

It is a message I have heard many, many times during my journey as a sponsor and Advocate.

When I’ve met young adults who were once sponsored children, they always convey the importance of our letters. One young man from Kenya told me his sponsor was the first person to ever tell him he was loved.

This theme also plays out when I hear about sponsors’ experiences in visiting their sponsored children. My friend Jill Foley shares some insight from a recent trip.

“Last year in Peru – my one and only trip – we asked the kids we met if they could ask their sponsor anything, what would they ask. More than one child wanted to know why their sponsor didn’t love them.

“We probed a little deeper to see what they meant and it turns out their sponsors don’t write to them. They have translated this lack of communication into a lack of love. Just heartbreaking!”

I was thrilled to find out that Compassion is rolling out a new and improved way to send some love to our sponsored children!

This all-new online letter-writing tool, which is accessible through the Write My Child link within My Account, allows you to create bright and beautiful messages with 33 different background templates to choose from.

You can choose from a variety of colorful prints including whimsical animals, flowers, bold sports themes and even special templates for birthday and Christmas letters. There are choices available for boys and for girls, and for the youngest child to the teenager or young adult in the final years of sponsorship.

When writing to our 17-year-old Kazihizina in Rwanda, I chose a pale blue-green template featuring flowers and a dragonfly. I planned to share some information about a recent home-school project about raising Monarch caterpillars and thought the background would go nicely with the topic.

Once you choose a background template, you can type in the text of your letter, even saving a draft if you have to leave the computer while you are typing.

Unlike the older version of the online letter-writing system, the new system regularly saves your work, which will prevent you from “timing out” and accidentally losing your message.

You can choose up to three photos to upload and attach to your letter. This feature allows you to easily send pictures and will help your sponsored child feel even more connected with you and your family.

With how easy it is to attach a photo, it’s still important to avoid sending pictures in which people may be immodestly dressed or that accentuate our economic differences.

For my letter to Kazihizina, I chose photos taken during our caterpillar project. One by one, I clicked the “Upload” button and picked the pictures I wanted to share from my computer.

Each image uploaded quickly, and I was able to crop them to fit within the frame on the stationery.

Once you have added your photos you can preview your letter. If you’re pleased with how it turned out, just click “Send This Letter” and your message will be on its way!

The new online letter-writing tool makes it easy for you to create a one-of-a-kind personalized message. I hope it inspires you to take a few minutes each month to connect with your sponsored children.

Remember, your letters equal love. Send a little love to your Compassion child today.

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

Earlier this month we joined the photo sharing service Instagram, and we’re having a great time sharing photos each day.

Since Instagram is only available to iPhone users, we’re also pushing the photos to our Flickr account so no one has to go without.

If you’re on Instagram, come find us. If you’re not, here’s what we’ve shared so far. You like?

The real fun of Instagram isn’t sharing our photos, it’s seeing the photos that our friends share. Here are three of our favorites with the theme kids at play. Which do you like the best?

From sanfordand2sons:

From coloursplash70:

From mckt:

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

The Internet and Social Media has made the world a little smaller, more familiar and allows people to communicate in ways that have not been possible in past generations. Websites like Facebook or Twitter unite people for a cause, educate or reconnect long lost friends. But as with anything else, with the good comes the bad.

Recently there has been some buzz about smartphones, geotagging and what that means for the photos you place on social media sites you use.

Smartphones have the ability to track your location by attaching latitude and longitude coordinates to the photos you take with your phone. This is called geotagging and it is a feature built into many of today’s smartphones.

Geotagging data attached to your photos allows someone to determine, with great accuracy, the whereabouts of your home, your place of work or even your child’s school. Many people are unaware this feature exists on their smartphones and innocently post personal photos online ignorant of the potential security risks they are taking.

Thankfully, turning off your smartphone’s geotagging feature is fairly simple. Because each smartphone is different, however, we recommend you go to your phone manufacturer’s website to get exact instructions on how to do this.

Safe boundaries are important not just for our children but for you, our sponsors, as well. In blog posts like What Should I Do if My Sponsored Child Contacts Me Via Facebook? and Why Can’t I Communicate With My Sponsored Child Via Facebook? we outline some of the reasons behind Compassion’s communication policies.

As a child advocacy organization, we believe that children should be kept safe and protected in all situations, including online. The reality is, there are unscrupulous people in this world and we want to educate you with posts like these so that you can make informed, wise decisions with the data you share on social media sites.

Technology is ever growing, changing and evolving. It is easy to get intimidated by it all but don’t let it scare you away. Online communication is a great tool. We just need to be safer and smarter about the personal information we share with others.

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

No child should live in poverty. No child should have to grow up to wander the streets and beg not only for money but for someone to tell them they are worth a hug.

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

Poverty is hopeless and depressing. But light shines in the darkness. And color brightens it. Vividly!

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

Earthquake pictures from Haiti taken by our staff and contractors. As we receive more pictures, we will upload them to our Haiti Earthquake set on Flickr, which automatically updates this slideshow.

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