Child Survival 101
Being a mother takes courage. Being an expectant mother in desperate poverty takes courage and so much more.
Each year more than 500,000 mothers die in childbirth or from pregnancy complications, most of which are preventable. The babies who survive while their mothers die are much more likely to die in their first year of life.
Continue Reading ›Jaimito: A Day in His Own Words
Jaime is 11 years old and lives in the La Prosperina neighborhood. He had the happy opportunity to be registered at Jesús es Amor Student Center about six years ago.
Jaimito, as many of his friends call him, is a very joyful, outgoing, obedient and disciplined child. He truly loves his parents and siblings, and most of all he has surrendered his heart to God.
Jaime and his four siblings — Jesús (16), Jonathan (9), Allison (5) and Aarón (3) — live with their parents, Jaime and María, in the basement of a humble house. Jaimito’s grandma on his dad’s side gave the house to the family 16 years ago. It was once a warehouse full of old and useless stuff, but now it is Jaimito’s home.
Jaime’s father doesn’t have a steady job. He’s an artisan who makes plaster layers that are used in roofs in most houses on the coast. Currently, he works at a little artisanal factory. He makes U.S. $40 every week.
On the other hand, María, Jaime’s mother, doesn’t work. She does all the chores at home and takes care of her five children. She would love to find a job that would enable her to sustain her family too.
María graduated as a nurse’s helper a short while ago. She took a one-year course at a local institute.
Jaimito: A Day in His Own Words
Normally, I get up at 6:30 a.m. and get myself ready to go to the center. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and then have breakfast with my family.
My mom usually puts a cup of coffee and a piece of bread or some crackers on the table for each of us. Breakfast is the coolest time of the day because my entire family is there.
After that, I take my medicine — the one that the doctor prescribed. She’s the doctor from the center. She’s really kind and always treats me nicely. She also encourages me a lot. I know she will totally help me to get well soon.
I leave for the center around 8:30 a.m. (more…)
Continue Reading ›Day of the African Child
Today is the Day of the African Child. Not a well known day for most, but an important day for the children of Africa who this day celebrates and remembers.
The African child is a resilient one, as many on the African continent must gather up great energy each day just to survive. The constant onslaught of risks and dangers that they face is more than many of us can imagine and more than any child should bear. HIV, AIDS, malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition…..just a few of the barriers that these children must overcome to live healthy and fulfilling lives.
After having spent a good deal of time living and traveling to Africa, I have been amazed and incredibly blessed by being around these children. They have taught me more than any textbook could, and have given me strength when I needed it most.
Here’s to the millions of children in Africa that could use our prayers and support as they continue to face the harshest of environments.
Let’s commit to remembering them and praying for the continued success of this ministry that seeks to serve them and bring them out of their poverty.
Reviving God’s Army
I have read various articles, columns and statistics on the state of Christendom in America, and the prognosis isn’t good. Christian commentators across the country are doing their best to encourage our churches to get back to the basics, but their pleas seem to fall on deaf ears.
But underneath the apparent complacency plaguing our churches is a revival that God is stirring in the hearts of our young people.
Like the young boy David who faced the giant Goliath when grown men cowered in fear, it’s times like this that God calls on our young people to bring a revival to His army – to the Church of God.
In my last post, I mentioned how 14-year-old Emily Blake raised tens of thousands of dollars to reach out to as many as 100 children in Kenya suffering from malnutrition and poor hygiene. Now once again, it is another teen who is reaching out to make a difference for children and their families halfway around the world.
Seventeen-year-old Jordan Foxworthy, daughter of comedian Jeff Foxworthy, recently had the opportunity to see the devastating effects of malaria while visiting Kenya with her family.
Being moved to action, she helped start the Bite Back Against Mosquitoes campaign.
Through this campaign, she enlisted many other teens to join the fight against malaria and is encouraging the rest of us to join the fight as well.
Watch a video segment of Jordan talking about the Bite Back campaign on Christian World News.
World Malaria Day 2009: Count Malaria Out
The theme for World Malaria Day 2009 is “Count Malaria Out.”
“This year’s World Malaria Day marks a critical moment in time. The international malaria community has merely two years to meet the 2010 targets of delivering effective and affordable protection and treatment to all people at risk of malaria, as called for by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon.”
– www.rollbackmalaria.org
You can help “Count Malaria Out” through our Bite Back Campaign.
Malaria begins with a bite. We believe that we can end malaria by taking a bigger bite.
Your $10 bite will purchase a bed net for a child, and that bed net can protect the child for three years.
- Donate a net.
- Visit the Bite Back Web site to learn more.
Jeff Foxworthy’s 14-year-old daughter, Jordan, is taking a bite. A huge bite. She has helped raise more than half a million dollars for Bite Back.
Oh yeah! The answer to yesterday’s malaria question is false.
Although malaria is an easily preventable disease, because of increasing drug resistance and struggling health-care systems, malaria infections in Africa have actually increased during the last three decades.
(Source: malarianomore.org, November 2008)
Malaria in Africa: Nana’s Story
The sun was at its zenith on that Thursday I visited. Nana had been at the center since the morning. After the holistic child development program, it was now lunchtime. Many children who were not part of the development center gathered round the church’s courtyard, staring at the registered children enjoying their meals.
Every Thursday there are two groups of children that meet at the development center: registered children and those waiting to be registered. It was such a privilege for Nana to be registered.
After lunch, Tou-Wend-Sida, the team leader, took Nana home. The boy’s left foot was wounded and he could not walk home from the student center. When the team leader and Nana reached home, the boy’s father was sitting in the shadow of one of the two huts that compose the household.
He was resting after working the whole morning to put harvest in a safe place in their loft made of high grass. A smile of complete satisfaction could be seen on his face. The rainy season had been satisfactory, and the harvest was better than in the previous year.
“Hopefully, there is going to be enough food this year after a time of severe food crisis that turned so many lives into hell on earth,” the boy’s father seemed to say to himself, while staring at the loft.
The boy’s mother and sisters were nearby, making brooms out of grass plucked in the field that they will use to sweep the courtyard and the huts.
Some months ago, Nana’s family was going through hard times. Nana was sick from malaria. The family might not have not noticed that the child was sick except for a fortunate accident. Nana was riding a bicycle with his older brother when his left foot got trapped in the rear wheel’s spokes. (more…)
Sharin’ the Love
Back in February, you, our fantastic friends, helped us win
the MySpace Impact Award. (This blog was just taking baby steps then, so
unless you were our friends on MySpace or Facebook, you might not have
heard our cheering.)
Well guess what? Another organization, The Love Alliance, has recently won
the MySpace Impact Award. (Congratulations, TLA!) And here’s the cool part
… TLA has chosen to use part of their award to buy mosquito nets through
our Malaria Intervention Fund.
The Love Alliance was started by a couple in Florida who have a heart for
social justice and want to raise awareness about issues and empower people
to take action. Seems they have a special place in their hearts for
Compassion. (Sigh … )
So first, to The Love Alliance and all those who voted for them, we’d like
to say thank you!
And second, when you have a few moments, visit The Love Alliance Web site
and find out what they’re all about.
A Mosquito Bite Away
One of the things that shocked me when I visited Uganda last month was finding myself scared to death of mosquitoes. It was the strangest feeling to be afraid of something so small — something we usually think of as just a pest. But in Africa mosquito bites don’t just make your arm itch — they kill.
Malaria, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes, is killing one million people a year. Most of these are children under age 5 in Africa. That’s right. Malaria, which is preventable and treatable, is killing more than 750,000 children a year in Africa.
Before visiting Uganda, I never really understood how mosquitoes managed to claim so many lives. But when I visited homes there, I understood. Many of the houses don’t have doors — just sheets covering the openings. And the windows are usually bare, too. So at night, the mosquitoes help themselves.
Catherine, a single mother I met in Uganda, told me that before Compassion gave her an insecticide-treated mosquito net, she did everything she could to protect her 10-year-old daughter, Irene. But her efforts were in vain.
“Every night, I tried to cover Irene with a blanket, but she would still get bitten all night long,” said Catherine. “I wanted so badly to buy her a net, but I couldn’t afford it.”
And when Irene got malaria, Catherine certainly couldn’t afford doctors’ bills. “Before Compassion, I would go pleading to doctors for help and beg to pay later,” she said.
Thank God that Compassion intervened! Through the ministry’s Complementary Interventions Program, Irene is now getting medicine and sleeps under a quality net. Today, she’s healthy and thriving.
You can make a difference and help protect vulnerable children like Irene! Since today is World Malaria Day, take a minute to learn more about this disease and see how you can join the fight!
Idol Gives Back
I’m a fan of American Idol. I’m an especially big fan this week.
Wednesday marks the second year that the Fox reality show takes a break from their regular programming to do something virtually unheard of on television these days — focus on something other than making money.
Idol Gives Back is an effort to raise awareness and funds for children in need around the world. Last year the event raised $76 million. This year they’re shooting for $100 million.
Whether or not Fox brings in the millions this week that they normally make on the show, the event probably does enough for their public image to make the monetary sacrifice well worth it.
Whatever their motivation, though, it’s refreshing to see the spotlight shining on those who truly need it but rarely get it — children in poverty.
Among the recipients are organizations like the Global Fund, Malaria No More, Children’s Health Fund, Children’s Defense Fund and Make It Right, Brad Pitt’s campaign to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina.
There will be celebrities. There will be music. There will be tears. Millions of viewers will undoubtedly be moved to donate. Some will likely be profoundly impacted by the stories they hear and the images they see. Hopefully many hearts will be softened towards the plight of children in poverty and people will do more than just give once … they will begin to get involved.
I’m just excited that for a couple hours this week, children in poverty will have a real voice. That’s really what Compassion is all about.
What do you think? Do you agree? Will you be watching?
While Compassion might not be featured on the show, we are working just as hard to fight for children in poverty. Here are a couple specific things you might like to know about:
Malaria: A Plague of the Poor
In recognition of World Malaria Day on April 25, Compassion has produced a new radio special.
AIDS
Compassion’s AIDS Initiative is focused on Africa. Yet HIV and AIDS are also significant threats to children outside of Africa and for that reason Compassion is also conducting HIV/AIDS work in non-African countries.
Child Proofing
Child-proofing your home is actually a backwards way of looking at it. You’re not protecting your house from children…you’re protecting children from your house.
