Stories to Connect You With Compassion & Grow Your Faith

Seven-year-old Pesi is part of the Child Sponsorship Program at a church in Kenya. She is also a member of the Maasai people. Every year since she can remember, her family has celebrated Christmas.

A graduate of Compassion’s program gets the surprise of her life when she meets the people who sponsored her as a child.

Richart has seven children. When he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus — a serious condition where fluid builds up on the brain — he worried how he could afford treatment, especially as he couldn’t work. With the support of a Compassion church partner in Bolivia, he received the care he needed.

Vitoria was the first child I sponsored with Compassion. In her photo, she had pigtails and a shy smile. I wrote letters to her where we talked about the grades she made in school and her dreams to be a veterinarian. I watched her grow up through letters and photos for over a decade. She graduated from the Compassion program in 2015, and I never got to meet her.

If you think mall traffic is crazy where you live, you should check out the crowded markets in Tanzania! And you’ve never seen more beautiful produce than at the fruit stands in Burkina Faso. Take a stroll through some of the world’s busiest, most colorful markets and experience the wonder of how people in other cultures go shopping.

It’s always so touching to hear what children in poverty feel thankful for. They live with less than most people, but their gratitude overflows. It helps put things in perspective and reminds us to give praise in all circumstances!

It was 1995 when 20-year-old Bonnie picked up a child sponsorship packet from a table at church. She looked down at the photo of a girl in Uganda who was waiting for a sponsor. It would be 26 years before Bonnie realized the magnitude of her decision to become part of Norah’s amazing story by sponsoring her that day.

Twin sisters who were separated as toddlers and raised without knowledge of each other were reunited at their Compassion center after both were registered in the Child Sponsorship Program.

Most people know Mike Donehey for his singing and songwriting. But the children Mike sponsors know him for another reason: his letters of encouragement.

Mike has been sponsoring children through Compassion since 2000, when he chose his first child at a music festival.

In Uganda, Olive smiles as a neighbor invites her to a family member’s wedding. But secretly, her heart sinks. She doesn’t own clothes nice enough for the occasion. These days, food is more important than fashion. She hates that her absence will make her look rude. It’s too embarrassing to explain, though.

Here’s how ministry supporters helped Compassion to step in and offer support for 4-year-old Yoskiel and his family in Indonesia when he was diagnosed with eye cancer at age 3 — just a few months after he joined our program and didn’t yet have a sponsor.

Salt is a highly sought-after commodity in the Indonesian village where Filia lives. Her father, Bagus, leads and mentors an income generation program for new farmers, initiated and funded by the local Compassion center.