Though a popular name in the Western world, Lisa is an unusual name for an Ethiopian girl. Personal names in Ethiopia have great significance and are considered a tribute to circumstances and people the family wants to commemorate. Most Ethiopian children are named after national and religious heroes, saints, Bible characters, and celebrations or other major occurrences taking place when a baby is born.
But even before his wife became pregnant, 29-year-old Sintayehu had this name picked out!
“When my wife and I decided to have a child, I told her if it is a girl, we would name her Lisa, after my sponsor,” Sintayehu says. “I wanted to honor the role she [Lisa] played in my life by remembering her every time I call my daughter. She is my hero. My wife agreed, and the Lord’s gift turned out to be a beautiful baby girl.”
Little Lisa already knows the significance of her name, proudly announcing it whenever she is asked. The surprised looks and responses never bother the little girl. Instead, she smiles the moment she says her name.
Her father, Sintayehu, feels warm pride as he says his daughter’s name dozens of times a day. Whenever he calls for his daughter, he is also sending his gratitude thousands of miles away to her namesake and the person who has made the biggest mark on his life: his sponsor.
And it all started 23 years ago!
A Church and a Sponsor
Sintayehu still remembers the first day his mother walked him to a local church for Child Sponsorship Program activities. Neither mother nor son could have anticipated how the relationships he would form would change the course of his life forever. As he delighted in the program that gave him access to education, life-skills training and spiritual development, Sintayehu began to spend most of his weekends and spare time after school at the local church.
In addition to the program activities he attended regularly, Sintayehu enjoyed his new friends, the love and care of the staff, and the freedom to run around and play. The nurturing environment helped him thrive and filled his childhood with many fond memories. However, the special bond he created with his sponsor through the consistent letters and photos is what he still treasures the most.
“Considering my neighborhood and the situations that surrounded me, the center was a sheath that set up my journey to a great future. I grew up nurtured and protected,” says Sintayehu. “My sponsor is a special person. Not a day goes by without me thanking her. In all her letters, she told me how she is proud of me. She told me to be courageous and to work hard. Every time she writes, she said to try different things and to never give up. Her letters have trained me to be daring.”
Even when he failed to pass the admissions test to attend university, Sintayehu didn’t give up. Instead, with his sponsor’s words ringing in his ears, he registered at a vocational school to train in woodwork. During the three-year course, his sponsor continued to encourage him, helping him to stay the course and dream big.
“I never wanted to let her down,” he says. “I graduated top of my class and instead of me hunting for a job, hiring firms were offering me jobs. At that time, I just wished my sponsor Lisa could see how her encouraging words and dedication to supporting a young man she never met paid off.”
Past Graduation
When he graduated from the Child Sponsorship Program 10 years ago at age 19, Sintayehu wrote his final letter to his sponsor.
“The day I wrote my final letter, it was one of the hardest days of my life. … I will forever remember her kindness, her consistent encouragement and the way she believed in me,” says Sintayehu.
“It was then that I decided the best way to always thank her is to name my first daughter after her. And it is not just that. I also decided to work very hard and succeed as a way of thanking her. I decided to try and never give up.”
Long-Term Impact
After nine years of working in different major furniture houses, Sintayehu has now opened his own workshop where he makes and sells household furniture. Within one year of opening his own business, he has earned enough income to purchase his own house and is planning to expand his business into a house-finishing company. Sintayehu has six employees and even offers training to youths during their school breaks.
“Compassion is like a hidden medicine that is saving and healing a generation. The sponsors sacrificially commit to seeing us through. I believe there are many like my sponsor Lisa who put a mark on a child’s life,” he says. “When all I saw was despair and lack, when there was no one who believed in me, when all that was modeled for me was something that dampened my hope for the future, when I didn’t know how to dream, my sponsor believed in me.”
“The center staff loved and cared for me as one of their own. The church became my light. I’m now a hardworking citizen, a husband, a father to two children and one on the way, a God-fearing man, and a firm believer in helping those who need my help.”
Compassion intern Hayli Kieser contributed to this blog.
35 Comments |Add a comment
This life holds no greater satisfaction than serving others in Jesus’ name. What a privilege to read Sintayehu’s story and sponsor a Compassion child of my own.
What a beautiful story! This inspires me as a sponsor to continue to labor in prayer for my sponsored child. I pray that he is treated just as warmly at the center he attends and that he grows into a young man that loves and serves Christ.
Thank you so much for this precious testimony! We had the incredible opportunity this year to meet the children we sponsor and it has radically changed our letter writing and deepened our love for them! Your story inspires me to keep pouring into their lives with words of encouragement.
How wonderful that you were able to visit your sponsored kiddos! The love you have for them is so clear, and we are grateful you are a part of the Compassion family!
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful, heart-wrenching story. I truly love and adore the child I sponsor. I hope and pray the letters I send her and the monthly contributions are extremely encouraging, inspiring, and helpful to her, as well. My prayer is that she grows up to understand she can be and do anything she puts her mind to. I try to reassure her of that every time I write her. I also let her know how proud of her and how much I love her, and most of all, how much Christ loves her. Again, thanks for this beautiful and inspiring story and for being a vessel of God, bridging the gap of hopelessness and sponsorship. This truly touched my heart and brought me to tears. Again, thanks—continue to change lives through the love of God.
Kesha, thank you for loving your sweet sponsored kiddo so well! We are praying with you knowing that God is working in mighty ways in her life!
What a wonderful story. Sintayehu have done great things and many more are in store for you and your family. May God continue to bless you and encourage you to continue to be challenged and succeed. Continue to believe in yourself and God’s great things! Your story is one that is inspiring to those who are and will become a sponsor. I look forward to seeing how my little boy grows up and the opportunities he will have.
Peace
Beautiful story! It lifts my heart to hear how much sponsorship can make a difference in a young man’s life. I will continue to pray that the young girl I am sponsoring will be able to pursue her dreams in life and that God will do great things through her.
Hi, Linda! We are praying with you!
Wow what a wonderful testimony. God bless sponsor Lisa.
What a beautiful story. You have encouraged me to keep on writing and sharing. Love begets love and it grows and grows by sharing. Thank you
GOD is SOOOOO GOOD.❤️🙏🏻🙌🏻
Reading this story has provided a new respect for writing to each of my sponsored youth — personalizing the potential they have, and encouraging them to realize that gift. Makes me feel even better as I look at their photos on the wall above my desk each morning. What a gift!
Thank you all at Compassion for the work you do.
Don Lord
Don, thank you for being a part of the Compassion family and being a blessing in the lives of the youths you sponsor!
A beautiful story of hope!
Thank you for sharing your life and how Lisa, your sponsor, walked with you all those years.
May God raise up more sponsors to give hope to hundreds of more needy children.
Thank you for this story. This inspired me to be more encouraging to the little girl I’m sponsoring. Such a great success story.
David, thank you for sponsoring a precious little girl! I know your letters will be a light in her life!
Just as Susan, Reading this story brought tears to my eyes; it reminded me that the letters can make such a difference. It will be the impetus to write more and encourage more my own sponsored child.
Thank you from my heart!
Asela, thank you for sponsoring! We’re so happy to hear that Lisa’s story has inspired you. What a beautiful blessing your letters will be to your sponsored child!
What a beautiful testimony to the loving bond that forms between a sponsor and the child or children they sponsor. My sponsored children are so precious to me. I love being able to share God’s love and our Lord and Savior Jesus with them . Compassion is so very important to me. Thank you for caring for these precious young ones in His name.
We are truly grateful to have you in the Compassion family, Joanne! Thank you for encouraging and loving your sponsored kiddos with the love of Jesus!
It has been my privilege to sponsor a young lady for the past 10 years so, and more recently, her brother as well. I am so very grateful to Compassionate International for the very professional, and truly compassionate manner in which they deliver their mission; nurturing the love of God/Jesus in the hearts of precious many. Their labors are profoundly life altering, and they are most certainly a force for good within their sphere of influence. Your story bears testimony to the profound and durable impact of their unceasing efforts. May God continue to prosper all involved parties personally and professionally. Kindly, Dr. Robert Meister. 08/22/2025.
Robert, love this! Thank you so much for blessing this family through sponsoring a sister and brother. We are truly encouraged by and grateful for your kind words of support!
Your story has motivated me to write more frequently to the girl that I sponsor. Time moves so rapidly, and soon she will reach the age where I will no longer be her sponsor. I pray that life continues to be fair to you and your sweet family. May God be included in every facet of your life.
Keitha, thank you for sponsoring a precious child living in poverty! I know that she will be so delighted and encouraged to read your letters. Truly a blessing!
Thank you so much for sharing your story! God’s richest blessings for you and your family for years to come. So thankful for Lisa and her encouragement, love and prayers.
This is a heart warming story ! It also makes us want to keep sponsoring the FOUR children we have through Compassion Int.
Jeanne &Bob
Jeanne and Bob, we’re so glad you enjoyed Sintayehu and Lisa’s story! Thank you for sponsoring 4 precious children and being a light in their lives!
I loved reading your story! You inspired me to keep writing and encouraging the young man I sponsor. May God continue to bless you and your family and provide many more opportunities for you in your life and with your company!
May God continue to bless you! Your story will inspire many people from around the world to sponsor a child in need and change his or her life forever!
Thank you for writing this beautiful tribute. A reminder to sit down and write to my precious 5 today!!
Thank you for writing this story to encourage sponsors who never get to meet their sponsored children. This inspires us to keep writing, to continue praying and to expect God to work through our small gifts to build a good life for the child He chose for us.
This is a wonderful story of love and commitment between the sponsor and the child who grew into an adult. With tears in my eyes, I commend both the sponsor, Lisa, and Sintayehu. God bless them both!
Beautiful story.
Praise God! What a beautiful story! I’m sure that he had an equally wonderful impact on Lisa’s life. As a sponsor, when I receive a letter from one of my children, it gives me so much joy and I love them so much!
What a beautiful, inspiring story! ❤️❤️