Stories and Articles on Global Poverty and Child Development

In partnership with local churches, Compassion sponsors allow kids to dream about the future by helping to meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Hear from 10 special kids as they share their dreams.

The worldwide problems caused by COVID-19 seem nearly impossible to count, but millions in poverty share one obstacle that may eclipse all others: hunger.

If you haven’t written to your sponsored child for a while — or ever — you’re not alone. So don’t feel guilty. Read their letter and be reminded of the difference you’re making in their life; then write a few lines in return before life gets in the way. You’ll go from guilt to gratitude in minutes.

If you’re a Compassion supporter, you may have already received a letter or email reminding you to send a Christmas gift to Compassion kids this year. Why so early?

Ryan Johnson, Creative Manager for Global Marketing at Compassion, is an award-winning documentary director and humanitarian photographer who has worked in six continents and 40-plus countries, telling stories in some of the most remote and challenging environments on Earth.

Recently, we asked Ryan to choose a few favorites from films he’s worked on since joining Compassion in 2012. Watch his top picks and read why he chose each.

Stacey opens a box and places a stack of papers, photos and cards on the dining room table of her home in a Washington, D.C., suburb.

“This,” she says with a laugh, “this is Angie!” It’s a silly birthday card with a handwritten note. Next, Stacey holds up a newspaper with the headline, “Pentagon Attack Claims Local Woman.” Angie’s obituary is clipped to the side.

Though a popular name in the Western world, Lisa is an unusual name for an Ethiopian girl. 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.

The Bible instructs us to take up the cause of the fatherless, but how do we do that? Here are four practical ways to help orphans.

Since much of their home collapsed in the Aug. 14 earthquake, Sony and his family have been spending nights in the courtyard of a Compassion partner church. The church has provided tents and sleeping mats for displaced families like Sony’s.

“It’s unsafe to stay inside the house now as we are getting aftershocks on a regular basis,” says Sony, whose daughters Sandra and Samantha are in Compassion’s program at the church where they are now camping.

As a sponsor for three years and counting, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on Compassion’s mission and how it works to achieve that mission. But when I started working at Compassion as an intern this summer, I began to realize that there was still a lot I didn’t know! I have since learned several facts about Compassion’s ministry that I just wasn’t aware of before.

How do we weep WITH our Haitian neighbors and show them true compassion?

Our time and resources are finite, yet there seems to be infinite need. We want to be kind to people in poverty and we want to do it wisely. Here are a few things to consider as you struggle through this question for yourself.