How To Empower a Child
The framework of donor as hero and the poor as thankful charity cases can do long-term damage. It subtly whispers to a person in poverty, “The donors are special; they have the power. You’re poor and different from them.” This can create a mindset of dependency that says, “I can’t do it myself; I’m dependent on someone else to do things for me.”
Continue Reading ›What is Partnership?
Partnership is at the center of what we do at Compassion — we not only partner with you, our sponsors and donors, but also with the local church around the world. So it’s worth understanding what we mean by partnership and how we do it.
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Empowerment: What Does It Really Mean?
Empowerment is defined by the World Bank as “the process of enhancing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices … (that lead) to desired actions and outcomes.” At Compassion, discussions on the concept of “empowerment” are not new; but in practice, how evident is empowerment in our management behavior?
Thankful for Summer
I can’t help but long for summer. I can’t wait for long drives with the windows down, cookouts with friends at a local park, and nice refreshing afternoons spent in a pool.
Complacent Christianity Never Achieves Anything
As our ministry works to build on a culture of trust, oneness, empowerment and a pursuit of excellence in everything we do, who do you think is working against us? That’s why it’s so important that we do not fall into complacent Christianity. Instead, we need to be cognizant Christians.
Tending a Kitchen Garden: Lessons From a Child Survival Program Mom
What does a kitchen garden have to do with increasing the chance a child lives to see age five?
Kitchen gardens are a part of the “empowerment training” that moms and caregivers receive at the Kawangware Child Survival Program (KEC28), and Caroline is a mom who is benefiting from this training.
Outside of her 10′ x 10′ home, Caroline maintains a kitchen garden, something she learned to do in the Child Survival Program.
The garden provides food for her six-member family and requires tending to make sure bugs don’t destroy the vegetables, along with the hope she and her husband have for something more. When we ended our home visit with Caroline and her family yesterday,
“her husband proudly told us that his wife was working hard and that together they were changing their situation. He thanked us for coming to visit their house that they lived in “for now.” He said “for now” because he told us that he knew that they wouldn’t be there forever. The tools they had and the skills they learned were helping them break free from the poverty that surrounded them.”
Read more of Caroline’s story on Brad Ruggles blog – Learning How to Live.
Support a Child Survival Program for $20 a month and you can help empower moms like Caroline.
Empowering Moms With Charcoal Dust and Dirt
One of the ways that the Child Survival Program empowers mothers is by offering literacy and economic training to help them better provide for their families. 
Jackline is a mom at the Kawangware Child Survival Program which is part of the Kawangare Child Development Center.
The economic training she received taught her to make charcoal from charcoal dust and dirt and then use the charcoal to roast corn to sell on the side of the road.
Roasting the corn allows Jackline to make about $1 a day to feed her two children, including 14-month old Flavian.
We visited the Kawangware Child Survival Program today, met Jackline and watched her demonstrate the skill that helps her provide for her children.
We also met Caroline, another mom in the program. She was excited to show us the income generating activity she was taught. You can read Caroline’s story on Brad Ruggles blog – Learning How to Live.
Support a Child Survival Program for $20 a month and you can help empower moms like Jackline and Caroline.
People Living With HIV or AIDS
Sitting in the humid air inside a tent, listening to the palm leaves sway and the support poles creak, and with her hand clasped on her cheek, Zainabu can still hear the words ringing in her head:
“You have been tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the micro-organism that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).”
When the doctor announced the results, a mood of gloom and despair descended on Zainabu. She did not know where to go or what to do.
“It seemed like my life and the livelihood of my children had been cut, since they all depended on me.”
Looking for a shoulder to cry on, Zainabu wondered whom to inform or talk to. Her family and the community had no place for HIV-positive people. “I am an abomination,” Zainabu thought to herself.
