The Power of Prayer and a Loving Family
Gisele’s mother was a housemaid and prostitute when she conceived her. Gisele got very little care from her mother when growing up and on many nights would be locked up in the house alone.
Of Bugs and Mountains
Precious children pointed and screamed at hundreds of bugs swarming to the lights. Even though orphaned or abandoned, these Rwandan children found joy in the beauty and simplicity of the bugs.
We came to Rwanda with nothing and found that our family members in Rwanda had been killed during the genocide. Life was difficult because we were starting a new life in a new country with nothing — and we didn’t have hope for the future.
The Luxury of Water and Hair Washing
In America, it’s easy to not think about our easy access to water. Or the fact that 783 million people — 11 percent of the global population — do not have access to safe drinking water, let alone bathing water.
Unbridled Joy
When exactly does that happen — that our joy is snuffed out, stuffed down or smothered? What happens to stifle that unspeakable joy that used to well up at the slightest provocation?
Small Things that Matter to Children
Children don’t necessarily need the extraordinary from us. They just need us to spend time with them, know them, love them, and be available for them.
Ministry Highlight: Rwanda
We began our ministry in Rwanda in 1980 with the Child Sponsorship Program. In 2008, we started the Leadership Development Program, and the Child Survival Program followed in 2010.
A New Take on a Lifetime of Birthdays
It seems fairly common for those of us with December birthdays to grumble a bit about our birthdays being overshadowed by the holidays. We grumble about birthday presents being wrapped in Christmas paper or being designated for “birthday AND Christmas.”
Planning for the Unforeseeable Future
What happens to a sponsored child when the sponsor passes? Do they go back on the waiting list? How is that child taken care of?
That Letter You Need to Write
The message from Compassion International on my voice mail said, “Call right away.” I had a knot in my stomach. Something was wrong. Compassion does not call sponsors just to chat.
Drought in Africa: Where is Compassion?
You’ve watched as the crisis in East Africa has unfolded, you’ve been praying and now you’re ready to respond. Now the question is, “What is Compassion doing amid this crisis?”
To finish well in life it makes an enormous difference if you have opportunities that allow you to begin well. Our Child Survival and Leadership Development programs help children living in extreme poverty to both begin and finish well.
We cannot live without water. It cleanses and nourishes our bodies. Every living creature needs clean water to survive.
Representing the Cheetah Generation
I’m grateful that the man overseeing Compassion’s work in Africa believes in my sponsored children. And, I’m thankful that the church staff will continue to breathe life into them and help them run with the speed of cheetahs.
The Compassion child development center helped Aliane get medical attention, including a test to find out if she was suffering from the same virus that killed her father. She was.
What Your Sponsored Child Wants to Hear From You
Sponsored children are very grateful and consider themselves blessed to have sponsors who love them and write to them. The children are touched by the affection you express to them in your letters and the prayers you share with them.
The 1994 genocide destroyed Rwanda’s fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women and children, and eroded the country’s ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made significant progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy since then.
Continued growth in this area depends on the maintenance of international aid levels, the…
Meet Compassion Rwanda’s Eugene Bahire
As birds sing morning songs to begin their days, Eugene Bahire, in charge of Tours and Visits at Compassion’s Rwanda office, starts his day with a morning prayer at 5:30 and prepares himself for work.
He leaves home at 6:30 a.m. and takes 45 minutes to reach his office.
After morning devotions with all Compassion Rwanda staff,…
In the Void of Poverty
The running water in my comfy apartment cannot help the hurt in my heart today. The grande nonfat latte I picked up from my favorite coffee shop didn’t help, either.
American luxuries I once looked forward to now feel empty, as nothing fills the void that Africa left.
Someone once said, “Once you get…
Maps of Child Development Center Locations
Copies of maps that list the child development center numbers and give a rough approximation of where the centers are located in relation to one another.
Compassion Sunday Changes Lives
You can also view this video as Compassion Sunday on YouTube.
Rwandan Genocide: Hope Lives
“I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil.” – Major General Romeo Dallaire, Force Commander, United Nations Mission Assistance in Rwanda.
But where evil is strong, hope is stronger.
I’m an employee at Compassion. I work as an assistant for our International Program Communications Director. I love my job and…
Beauty From Ashes
If you pick up a dictionary and thumb your way through the pages to find the word “genocide,” this is what you’ll read: “The deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular race or ethnic group.”
We have that word in our vocabulary. And somewhere, at some point in history someone…
Rwandan Genocide: 15 Years Later
In 1994 I was 16.
I was in the midst of my self-absorbed teenage years – a time in my life when nothing seemed as important as what kind of clothes I was wearing, and my daily mood was dictated by whether my current crush had said “Hi” to me in the hallway between classes…
An Interview With Dr. Laurent Mbanda
As the Rwandan genocide unfolded 15 years ago, Dr. Laurent Mbanda followed the fighting lines of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) to help administer aid to those who needed it most.
Mbanda is now Compassion’s Regional Vice President of the African region.
1. Where were you when the genocide started?
I was not in Rwanda. I arrived…
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