Stories to Connect You With Compassion & Grow Your Faith

With a big smile on her face, Compassion alumni Lety greets every person who walks by. It is hard to believe that this same confident businesswoman was once a very shy girl with no dreams.

Each year when Compassion Sunday rolls around, I get so excited at the thought of churches all over the country rallying together to speak on behalf of children in poverty. But until I met Pastor Larry in the Philippines, I never considered the impact of Compassion Sunday on the churches in developing countries around the world.

Clean water is as central as the sun and the moon. No matter where you live, its absence and degradation is equally as devastating.

Despite significant economic growth over the past decade, Ethiopia still remains one of the world’s poorest countries and is yet again threatened with food insecurity in different parts of the country due to El Niño. Beyond food relief – a noble act in itself since a hungry child does not know the word ‘tomorrow’ – what must we do today to ensure that that there is food tomorrow?

“My passion is to rescue and save other people’s lives,” said 19-year-old Jonathan. Jonathan is an alumnus of the Amor Viviente Child Sponsorship Program in Honduras, and has been able to achieve his dream as a result of a strategic partnership with the local fire department.

The moms of the children our program serves are like every mom. They pray that their children are healthy. They weep when their children suffer. They work tirelessly to provide for food, shelter and a better future. And you have an opportunity to encourage them too.

It’s International Women’s Day, a day to honor and celebrate the cultural, social, economic and political achievements of women. It’s a day to remind ourselves why girls are so amazing.

I am seven months pregnant and live in Fortaleza, a state where there have been confirmed cases of microcephaly-related Zika virus, and where babies have died as a consequence of it. When I watch TV, I am willing to lock myself at home and not leave until the time of delivery. But I cannot do this; I need to be realistic and face the problem.

A local partner’s proactive approach helped hundreds of Compassion-assisted beneficiaries’ families with no bank accounts gain access to banking services under the government’s new financial initiative.

Finishing is an essential lesson for a child to learn in overcoming poverty. And I would contend that it is most powerfully established when sponsors journey alongside a child until the finish line.

In order to help children grow in compassion, we can activate their vivid imaginations and give them the tools they need to be empathetic world-changers. Values are formed early in life, and I believe our role as adults is to create experiences that will inspire children to see the world through God’s eyes.

In the Chaing Rai Province, 17-year-old Sombat is one of thousands of youth in our programs in Thailand that lacked legal citizenship. Knowing the challenges and limited opportunities these children and their families have because of lack of legal identity, Compassion Thailand set out to do something about it.