We Have a New President and CEO
We are sad to be saying goodbye to our beloved Papa Wess but look forward with anticipation to where Jim Mellado leads us in service to our God and the children He loves.
What Does the Quality of Compassion Look Like?
For a number of Haitians, fear is being challenged by hope. Optimism is battling against fatalism.
Family Planning in the Developing World
Women around the world face obstacles that most of us can hardly begin to fathom. Lack of access to family planning leaves mothers in developing countries with no easy way to control the size of their families, and in the end, robs both the mother and her children of a better life.
How Does Child Sponsorship Rate as a Strategy to Help the Poor?
How does child sponsorship stack up against other ways to help the poor? Economics professor, Bruce Wydick reveals the answer to this question in his recent research findings.
The New Slavery — Human Trafficking
Currently, more slaves exist than during the time of slave trade abolitionist William Wilberforce. But unlike in Wilberforce’s day, 80 percent of today’s slaves are women and girls; 50 percent are children. The slave trade is far from history. In fact, it is very much the shame of our world today.
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?”
Are We the Best Corporate Blog You’ve Ever Read?
What do you think of our blog? Would you say that it’s one of best corporate blogs you read? Why or why not?
Street-Level Compassion, Street-Level Delivery in Haiti
I once read an article that cited a relief and development organization who said that they couldn’t rely on churches to do the work they needed to do in the third world. They claimed that the needed expertise and skill sets simply weren’t there. It made me scratch my head.
Does Geography Limit Compassion?
On one hand, we need to do all in our power to help those struggling here at home. But we also have the challenge of viewing poverty with “global bifocals.” With one portion of the lens we see and attack needs close to home. With the other portion of the lens we focus on the realities of global poverty that may seem far away.
A Candle in the Darkness
This month’s Christianity Today cover story is Wess telling his story of childhood abuse and deliverance in a West Africa boarding school.
The houseparent had marched me to the school’s dining hall, dragged a metal chair across the concrete floor, and slammed it down in front of my schoolmates. He threw me up on the chair and jammed the candle in my hand.
“Children,” he said, “you cannot serve both God and Satan. Wesley has tried. You cannot burn a candle at both ends without getting burned. Watch what happens when you try.”
Read the entire article at Christianity Today.
The houseparent had marched me to the school’s dining hall, dragged a metal chair across the concrete floor, and slammed it down in front of my schoolmates. He threw me up on the chair and jammed the candle in my hand.After you read the article, come back and let us know what you think. Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Wess’ book, Too Small to Ignore.
We’ll randomly pick a winner on Monday.
2010 Haiti Earthquake Update
Note: This article is about the 2010 earthquake. Learn how to donate to help children affected by the August 2021 Haiti earthquake.
UPDATED: June 30, 2010 at 1:45 p.m. (MT) – Out of more than 22,000 children affected by the earthquake we are still in the process of locating around 350 children. We are continuing to contact sponsors whose children we do have specific information on.
Our church partners continue to search the tent cities daily to locate the rest of the children. In addition, regionally based partnership facilitators continue to search the countryside to find children who may have relocated outside of the city after the quake.
Classes have resumed in nine of the eleven universities where our Leadership Development Program students are enrolled, 62 students are attending class again. However, 26 of our students for various reasons (sickness linked to the earthquake, stress, trauma, formal interdiction from some parents, etc.) have not returned to school.
Our leadership team is proceeding with the repairs of our three-level office building in Port-au-Prince. Repair work is expected to go until the end of July. A local firm is responsible for the repair but an expert from Engineering Ministries International is in the field for the work supervision.
Two psychologists have been hired for a six-month contract to design a plan to help meet the psychological needs of our registered children, siblings, relatives and church staff members.
Our initial objective for addressing the temporary and transitional shelter needs of our beneficiaries was to provide tarps to 4,000 families in the urban areas, and corrugated metal sheets, wood frames and nails to 2,000 families located in the rural areas.
So far, we have distributed 4,237 tarps to complete the tarp distribution activity. Some families were given two tarps based on need. Also, more than 1,300 families received corrugated metal sheets and wood frames in rural areas. Another 700 will be served as soon as possible.
About 8,000 registered children and 7,000 siblings and parents were seen through our mobile medical clinics. Malaria and typhoid tests have been given to patients who also received medicine, if needed, or are referred to the hospital or a health center for follow-up.
As most of our child development centers also have a school where many of the children attend, our plan to provide transitional meeting places until the damaged centers can be rebuilt is providing school equipment to replace some of what has been lost.
The Haitian government has reopened schools and extended the school term by through August. Most of the schools are allowing children to go home at noon because of the extreme heat, to minimize the amount of time the children are kept under the tarps and canopies.
We are processing letters and gifts for all child development centers in Haiti. If you send a gift, please do not specify how it should be used. It is very difficult for our Haiti staff to follow through with the request.
Until further notice we are not conducting any travel to Haiti (e.g., sponsor visits, individual relief efforts, tours, vision trips, etc.).
All of the affected child development centers have resumed activities, meeting under tarps or tin roofs. All of the significantly affected centers are meeting three times a week.
Although the full scope of regular activities is not currently taking place at child development centers and child survival programs significantly affected by the earthquake, affected church partners are continuing to conduct camps to help address the psychological, physical, nutritional, and cognitive needs of our registered children, as well as the mothers and the babies participating in our Child Survival Program (CSP).
In general, our church partners will host these camps until the development centers are rebuilt or activities can be relocated to a safe indoor location.
Camp activities focus on five areas:
- occupational therapy including art, sports and games
- cognitive therapy including earthquake and natural disaster education
- group therapy for children under 8 years old
- individual therapy for children over 8 years old
- immunization against polio, measles, tetanus and hepatitis A
For the CSP camps, two to three Child Survival Programs are grouped together for efficiency, depending on their geographic location.
Only One Season for Giving?
Is there ever a wrong time to be generous?
The last two months of the year have traditionally been known as “the season of giving.” Whether it is the good cheer of the holidays or the appeal of potential tax deductions, the year’s end seems to prompt charitable giving . . . This year, I expect that end-of-year appeals will feature a double plea for generosity. Not only will they rely on the tried and true annual “season of giving” sentiment, but they will also likely include some version of the nearly ubiquitous theme:
In these tough economic times…
Now more than ever…
In today’s climate…
. . . But what are we really saying? If we are saying that this is the season for giving or that current economic conditions merit increased generosity, aren’t we implying that giving is unnecessary at other times of the year or when the American economy is strong?
