Stories to Connect You With Compassion & Grow Your Faith

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.

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.

When a child enters the Compassion Sponsorship Program, he or she is registered at a local Compassion center. But before any center can open, a partnership is needed between Compassion and a local church.

Here are 15 photos of churches that partner with Compassion around the world!

These inspiring people have a strong motivation to help others. Despite growing up in poverty and not always having everything they need, they share what they DO have!

When a child enters the Compassion program, they are not the only ones changed forever. One child being part of the Child Sponsorship Program or Survival Program can impact an entire family. Each family of a Compassion-assisted child has access to deep community, vital resources, and the Gospel message through local churches that partner with Compassion.

This holistic combination was truly life-changing for three families in Africa. Here are their stories.

It takes more than a global pandemic to stop these innovators from taking action. Since the start of lockdowns, children in Latin America have lost an average of 158 school days, according to UNICEF. The crisis is serious, but so are the innovators. These heroes from Central and South America are using creative solutions to serve their neighbors in the midst of COVID-19.

Going to school and doing homework are normal activities for many kids. Sadly, many children in poverty never get to experience the joys and trials of school and homework — or the rewards.

In the following pictures you can see how children and youths in Compassion’s program fight to get an education despite less-than-ideal circumstances.