Perspectives on India: One Compassion Graduate’s Words [VIDEO]

Recently, we sat down with Sandeep Maity, a Compassion graduate from Kolkata, India and talked to him about his experiences growing up, getting a sponsor through Compassion International, and his perspectives on India and Compassion’s announcement to close our work there.

Watch the full video below.

Watch Perspectives on India and subscribe to Compassion YouTube for more stories.Living in Kolkata, Sandeep has heard the whispers of poverty tell him, “You are born in poverty. You will be dying in poverty.

“This is the end, nothing’s going to happen with you. You will never get the opportunity to go to school. You don’t have enough, and this is how life will be for the rest of your life.”

Growing up, he would witness other kids going to school with proper uniforms and shoes that were properly tied. With his heart breaking, he would stand there not having enough.

Why? Why am I over here and experiencing all of this? I was pretty sad and nobody told me, “We love you. We care for you.”

Soon Sandeep started attending a Compassion International program at his local church and when he found out that he had received a sponsor, things started to change. He received nutritious meals. He received mentoring by the program tutors. And he started receiving letters. The letters are what made him the happiest. His sponsors started telling him that they loved him. And they told him how much Christ loved him. Sandeep cherished his letters. “Look at this. Somebody loves me. That’s why they’re sending this letter to me from the other side of the planet.”

Without the gift of sponsorship, without the guidance of his church, and without the structure and support from Compassion, Sandeep’s future would have been filled with hopelessness.

“It just breaks my heart that Compassion is ending their work in India,” says Sandeep. He knows the pain a child feels when they’ve gone a day or two without food. He has felt the desperation of starvation. It’s why he values his local church, his sponsors, and Compassion so much. They have made a huge impact on his life.

Sandeep’s perspective on Compassion ending its work in India is one we should take to heart:

It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to be frustrated. It’s okay to be heartbroken. Those are natural things and it’s happening to me, too. But we should also feel encouraged. Just think of all the changes that have happened in a child’s life because they have received something that they would never have received before.

If I could give you one piece advice, I would say, “Be strong.” This is hard, but sometimes we cannot control our circumstances. Let’s continue to submit our circumstances to God.