Odette in Burkina Faso: “Would You Please Pray?”
This month, I want you to meet Odette, a supervisor in our Compassion Burkina Faso office. Odette shared about her own childhood, growing up in rural Burkina Faso in a large family that struggled in desperate poverty … I was touched by her story, and as a sponsor, I was incredibly moved by the way she compares the staff in Compassion Burkina Faso with the love of her amazing mother.
We Stopped Sharing Sponsored Children’s Full Names. Here’s Why.
If you sponsor a child, you’ve probably noticed some updates this fall. The most obvious one: Compassion has stopped sharing the full names of beneficiaries in our program. It’s part of our ongoing efforts to protect child privacy in a digital world.
6 Authentic Ways to Be Generous but Not Judgmental
Working in poverty alleviation, I can feel the need to explain and justify the nice things I have. I worry that people will judge me or will judge the organization I work for if I don’t drive a junker and get my clothes on consignment. But I’ve come to realize that my justifications are creating a culture — a culture around me of implied judgment of the choices of others by my constant need to justify my own purchases and assets.
How Do Sponsors Help Kids Spiritually?
The issues that prevent a child from thriving — malnutrition, illness and emotional and relational instability — are symptoms of poverty, what it looks like from the outside. That means that addressing just one of these areas of development, while temporarily helpful, won’t do what we as the Church are ultimately called to do: release God’s children from poverty in Jesus’ name. That’s why in addition to helping children with education, health care and nutrition, Compassion sponsors also help kids spiritually.
Compassion Alumni on the Impact of Sponsorship
There are a lot of opinions about sponsorship — from your pastor encouraging you to sponsor a child, to your co-worker who thinks it’s a scam, to our invitations to sponsor, and everything in between!
But what do those who were sponsored as children think of child sponsorship? We caught up with five alumni of Compassion’s program to get their reflections on the impact of sponsorship.
How Does Sponsorship Help Kids Cognitively?
A child’s development isn’t hinged on one aspect of growth — like physical health or emotional stability. Poverty doesn’t just attack one area of a child’s life. To help a child break free from poverty, we need to address every aspect of a child’s development. Today, let’s look at how our church partners help children develop cognitively.
A Day at the Compassion Center Through the Eyes of the Children
Have you ever wondered what the child you sponsor experiences at the Compassion-assisted child development center? Take a peek into child development centers in Colombia and Sri Lanka!
How Does Sponsorship Help Kids Physically?
When you sponsor a child, they are helped in many different ways. Learn how sponsorship helps children develop physically.
How NOT To Help Kids in Need
What if, in our desire to help kids in need, our efforts actually hurt children living in poverty? Here is how NOT to help kids in need.
5 Ways Compassion’s Internship Program Shows Faith in the Next Generation
Narcissistic. Entitled. Lazy. Although there is no scientific evidence suggesting that words like these describe millennials and Gen Z’s, they are too often the characteristics associated with the youngest generation. However, not everyone feels this way about the next generation. How does Compassion reflect an attitude of respect and optimism toward the next generation? While there are many ways, here are the top five described by past and present interns.
How Jesus Is Shaping My Perspective on Being a Good Neighbor
Compassion President Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado shares how Jesus’ teachings on being a good neighbor can transform how we all serve as Christ followers.
2019 Nobel Prize: How Research Is Key to Ending Global Poverty
The recipients of the 2019 Nobel Prize in economics are advancing the need for research on what works and what doesn’t in poverty alleviation: something Compassion is actively practicing!
