Hi friends! I want to introduce myself. My name is Amber Van Schooneveld, and I’m the new Managing Editor of this blog about children living in poverty!
I’ve been working for Compassion for more than 10 years, and my absolute favorite thing is the amazing stories of life change that I get to hear — and pass on to you.
But I need your help to improve this blog!
I would love to hear from you personally why you read this blog. Is it to learn more about international development and global poverty? To hear inspiring stories? To get tips on your sponsorship?
Please take this SHORT survey to tell me more about you — and how I can do a better job of bringing you what you’re looking for on this blog about children living in poverty.
You can also pop some comments down below, and I will read each one!
I promise to use what I learn to ensure this blog is meeting your needs — and ultimately helping more children living in poverty get the care and opportunities they need.
Thanks, friends!
Take the 3-minute Survey
Thank you so much for helping us improve this blog — so that more children can be released from poverty!
10 Comments |Add a comment
Society and cultures continue to push the well being of girls and women aside when it comes to distributing certain resources such as education and policies that protect them from issues such as child marriage. Please consider speaking out on these issues and raise awareness about the Girls LEAD Act so people can prioritize and begin taking the psychological and physical well-being of girls and women seriously. Americans would be outraged on the treatment of women around the globe and would be interested in taking action to fight against it.
I appreciate your time and consideration.
-Rosie
Hi, Rosie! Thank you very much for your feedback! We are deeply encouraged by your heart to raise awareness for the poor treatment of women and girls! Over the years, Compassion has spoken on the subjects of child marriage as well as FGM through personal stories, and I am happy to provide you with links below to some of these blogs. Please feel free to explore our main blog site (https://blog.compassion.com/) as well as send us an email at [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to discuss these topics further. We are happy to help, and, again, we are grateful for your feedback as well as your heart to help women of all ages! Blessings to you.
Child Marriage: https://blog.compassion.com/child-marriage/, https://blog.compassion.com/how-a-brave-12-year-old-girl-escaped-child-marriage/
FGM: https://blog.compassion.com/fgm-kenya-this-hero-has-rescued-150-girls-from-fgm/
Bride Kidnapping: https://blog.compassion.com/bride-kidnapping-ending-the-terror/
Could you maybe write more posts on Mexico? There’s a lot of posts about certain countries and not very many specifically on Mexico, and since that’s where my girl is I would love to know more about how the centers work and how the churches work with the centers. Thanks!
Could you write a little more for sponsors of young adults. Much of the information from Compassion is for sponsors of young children (which I understand), but I currently am sponsoring a young man who is 20. I am planning on doing a sponsor trip to meet him, and although I have done sponsor trips in the past meeting younger children, it is harder for me to know what kinds of gifts to bring. Any information about that would be helpful. (I apologize if this is not the appropriate forum for this question.)
Hi Susan,
This is great! This is exactly what we are asking, so thank you so much for this feedback! I am sure Amber will be thankful for your ideas as well! 🙂 Blessings!
This is probably not the type of feedback you’re thinking, but alt text for the photos for blind readers like me would be wonderful. Compassion Canada does this on their blog already.iiin
Hi Jessica,
This is super awesome feedback! Anything like this is helpful for us, especially if it will help our readers! 🙂 Thank you so much!
Thank you for the opportunity to give input! 🙂 The blog articles I most often read and enjoy are about: behind the scenes of Compassion’s ministry, ideas for letter-writing, survey-type information about sponsored children (what do they like to hear about in letters, etc.), cultural information that we might not be aware of or understand here in the U.S. (ideas: why are pigs and goats a great gift; health & trafficking risks in various areas; bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, transportation, classrooms, typical meals in these developing countries; holiday celebrations, etc.). I like blogs with lots of photos! Inspiring stories of Compassion children are interesting, but I prefer videos over articles. Some time ago an opportunity was given for sponsors to ask questions that would then be answered in the blogs. Some of the basic questions were answered, but there were some (like mine) that weren’t ever addressed. Looking forward to seeing what’s in store!
Hi Laura,
Thank you so much for taking the time to put together this awesome comprehensive list of ideas! We truly appreciate the feedback! I am sure Amber will love all of your ideas! 🙂 -Shannon
Thanks for your concern for the poor