If
you've been following this blog for any amount of time, you will know
my passion for helping children in poverty. Although I have donated
to and worked with several other organizations in the past, there is
one ministry that I have chosen to become closely affiliated with.
And that ministry is Compassion International.
I've
often been asked the question, "Why?" Why Compassion when
there are literally hundreds of other sponsorship organizations out
there? And why do you choose to sponsor?
Today
I want to answer some of those questions.
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| Photo from Compassion International Media Gallery. |
INTEGRITY
FIRST
I've
always been a firm believer in the adage ,"Investigate before
you invest." If I'm donating to any charity or organization, I
want to know exactly where my money is going and how it's being used.
I've heard too many stories of scams that used photos of abandoned,
ragged children to garner sympathy (and subsequently, donor dollars).
When I first started looking into Compassion, I was pleased to find
that they have consistently gotten very high ratings by Better
Business Bureau, Charity Navigator, and other third-party reviewers.
In
the spirit of integrity, I love Compassion's decision to refrain from
using photos of starving, skeletal children to raise funds. Although
the poverty is quite obviously present in photos, it's not the main
focus. The main focus is to portray all recipients, both children and
adults, with dignity and respect. Compassion will even provide
children with an outfit to wear on photo day if the families have
nothing for the child to wear. These photos can then be treasured by
the family and are not something to be ashamed or embarrassed about.
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| Children stand in the doorway of their house with life-saving malaria nets from Compassion. Photo taken from Compassion International Media Gallery. |
But
there's more than just financial integrity, although of course that
remains important as well. A program can be financially stable and
still not have results. As they say, "The proof is in the
pudding" as I have witnessed over and over again. This isn't
about hungry children showing up for a feeding program. This is about
children's lives being completely transformed from a spiritual,
social, physical, and economic standpoint, helping them to become
healthy, well-rounded adults capable of making a difference in their
countries and communities.
I
want to share with you this short video that touched my heart deeply.
I can't help but tear up whenever I watch it, because it's so close
to my heart. It's only about 8 minutes long and tells the story of
Jimmy Wambua, who went from being an abandoned child on the street,
to having his life changed through Compassion. You will witness
Jimmy's first meeting with his sponsor, and finally, meet Jimmy's
new sponsored child in Haiti. This video is for me, proof that
Compassion really does work!
SEEING THE DIFFERENCE
For
me, of course, the evidence that Compassion works is in my hands
every day through my children's letters. I have one child in
university, studying to become a civil engineer. I have another who
just graduated high school and is hoping for college. I have three
who want to become doctors, and one who wishes to become a teacher.
These children would not even be in school if it wasn't for
Compassion.
In the above photo, you can see the difference that the years in Compassion's program have made to my "little brother" Mbula. He will be graduating Compassion's program next month at the age of 22. I have only to look at my children's photos and see the difference in their attitudes; chins held up, shoulders squared, smiles breaking through... to know that Compassion works.
If you would like to make a difference in a child's life, and release them from poverty in Jesus' Name, will you consider sponsoring today? You can contact me with any questions you have about sponsoring, or you can go directly to Compassion International or Compassion Canada to learn more!
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| Mbula age 5 and now at age 21 |
In the above photo, you can see the difference that the years in Compassion's program have made to my "little brother" Mbula. He will be graduating Compassion's program next month at the age of 22. I have only to look at my children's photos and see the difference in their attitudes; chins held up, shoulders squared, smiles breaking through... to know that Compassion works.
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| Basomingera age 6 and age 12 |
If you would like to make a difference in a child's life, and release them from poverty in Jesus' Name, will you consider sponsoring today? You can contact me with any questions you have about sponsoring, or you can go directly to Compassion International or Compassion Canada to learn more!
