Shlog Section-f

Praise the Lord!  It’s exciting to think of how Compassion can change the lives of both the sponsor and the sponsoree!

When I wasn’t in debt, I sponsored a child from Ecuador through Compassion. After seeing Randy Stonehill in concert a few times, he convinced me that I needed to sponsor a child. I sponsored Darwin for awhile and then Compassion gave me another boy in place of Darwin. I wonder what happened to Darwin? I was a sponsor until it wasn’t feasible financially to do so. I am slowly coming out of debt and hope to be able to sponsor another child soon. Currently, I am doing my best by contributing $7 to the Mocha Club a month as well as put a buck in the bucket to help Bloodwater Mission every time Jars of Clay comes to town.
All this to say, even if Compassion is not feasible for you, there are other efforts you can contribute to.

This is such a great point.  32 dollars a month can be a hefty sum, and there are ways to help even if you can’t help in this particular way.

What a neat board!  I sponsor four girls:  Aresleyda, 8, and Maria, 10, both in the Dominican Republic; Tausi, 10, in Tanzania; and Uwizera, 13, in Rwanda.  I began sponsoring Tausi and Aresleyda four years ago; Maria, two years ago; and Uwizera, last spring.  They are such a joy to me! 

Last month, I took my second sponsors tour to DR.  I spent a day with both girls, when Compassion took our group, our children, the adults who had come with them, and a translator for each child to a nice park.  It was a great day in which our children could put aside the burdens they carry and just be kids.

I have not met Tausi or Uwizera, and I don’t know that I will be able to, in this life.  But praise God, all of my girls have received Jesus Christ, so we will be together, with Jesus, one day.

I also serve as a member of Compassion’s Advocates Network.  It’s a great way to be a part of this ministry, and some of you might want to ask yourselves if this is a path God wants you to follow.

“I sponsored Darwin for awhile and then Compassion gave me another boy in place of Darwin. I wonder what happened to Darwin?”

Well, I don’t know about Darwin, but I know that there are a few different reasons a child can no longer be in the Compassion program.  The same thing happened to the child I sponsored while in college, and no explanation was given as to why he was no longer available to be sponsored.  The whole thing smelled rotten to me back then and so I stopped sponsoring through Compassion altogether.  I’d hate for someone else to ever make that choice so, here’s an explanation for anyone looking for one.

Parents can choose to pull their child out of the Compassion project.  Why would they?  Some parents feel that a child working all day to feed the family is more important than a child learning all day. This happens a great deal apparently.  Compassion is experimenting in various locales with incorporating wage-earning educational experiences into their programs to fend off this problem.  For instance, when in El Salvador I visited a chicken farm run by a dozen young boys (10-12 years old), each in charge of a chicken related task: worming, pricing the eggs, marketing them, haggling etc.  They are mentored by Christian men - veterinarians, chicken farmers etc - who teach them the trade.

The kids bring home a small wage to mom and dad, they learn a trade for a couple hours every day, they still have plenty of time to learn reading and writing etc, the Compassion project gets fed by the chickens and their eggs and everyone wins.

Hopefully, with creative programs like this one, fewer children like Darwin will be taken from Compassion’s care to earn a wage.  BUT, even children who are officially not in the program still have connections to the local church and Compassion workers who cared for them while in the program.  COmpassion works to see to it that children do not get abandoned once they are pulled from the project’s official rolls.

Hope this info helps prevent anyone from making the mistake I did years ago.  I hope it bolsters belief in Compassion’s work.  If you ever have question about Compassion, let me know and I’ll get answers if I don’t have them already.  If you have Darwin’s name and his project name and city, send them to me and I’ll see if I can get you an update on him.  E-mail:

I would like to echo what Shaun said. I think Compassion is becoming much more effective at trying to inform sponsors about why children leave the program. It can be something as simple as the family moved, or, as Shaun mentioned, parents sometimes pull children out of the program so they can work. I also know that a lot of the time in Africa especially, girls get married quite early, and leave the program.

If you still have you sponsored child’s number, or at least his project number, I can look him up in our system and see if there’s any information as to why he left the program.

One other note--I know sometimes people are offended when they are automatically sent another child to sponsor--but one of our primary goals is to get kids sponsored, and with 80,000 children waiting for a sponsor, we try hard to keep the process moving.

I can also try to answer any questions you may have about the program. I know Shaun has worked with Compassion longer than I have, but we can always tag-team!

(Can I just say I love this thread!)

80,000 children waiting for a sponsor???????????

Yikes!!!!!!!!!

By the way, I recommend not browsing the children’s photos on the website unless you can afford to sponsor another one.  It’s absolutely heartbreaking.  I picked up a new one last night.

The two ways I give to Compassion are through specific disaster funds (Indonesia and the Philippines are the current ones) and contributing to the fund that provides care to children who have not yet been sponsored.

https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/MoreInfo.htm?ID={5490990F-E036-4115-8D36-8D1FD673546B}

My heart always goes first to the fringes--to the people who get passed by or misunderstood or who slip through the cracks.  And unsponsored kids--whether they’re new to the Compassion program or their pictures and stories just haven’t tweaked somebody’s heart--are the ones I love best. I don’t get to swap letters with them or hang their pictures on my fridge.  But hopefully I’ll get to hang out with them for eternity, so I’ll have forever to look into their beautiful faces.

n

I love your heart, Nancy.

I have some questions about Compassion that I’m not sure anyone will be able to answer and really they are more out of curiosity than anything.

Is there a country or region that people are more likely to sponsor from?

Do boys or girls get sponsored more easily?

Which age group gets sponsored the most?

Again just curiosity..if anyone knows.

To answer some of your questions, Amy:
We get a lot of requests for children in Africa, so I’d say that’s our most “popular” (for lack of a better word) region.

As far as age groups...when I’ve worked events, people often request younger kids. But I’d say, overall, it’s pretty even.

And I’m not sure about the boy/girl ratio.

To break it down (I’m such a nerd):
Africa: 8% unsponsored (20,006 unsponsored)
Asia: 10% unsponsored (20,173 unsponsored)
Middle America: 11% unsponsored (23,856 unsponsored)
South America: 12% unsponsored(24,059 unsponsored)

TOTAL: 10% unsponsored (88,094 unsponsored)

You’re not a nerd, Brandy!  And I’ve been meaning to tell you, I’m so excited that you’re using your journalism skills for Compassion.  They are blessed to have you.

n

25 kids saved from poverty by the good people of Valdosta, Georgia last night.  Thanks to everyone there...and thanks to everyone here for contributing to this very inspiring thread - for me anyway.  Thanks for telling your story.

SG

53 kids in Gainesville!

Shaun,

That is so awesome!  I can’t wait for you to get here so we can begin sponsoring another child.  How many sponsored kids does that add up to since the Compassion tour began?  I’m working on an article for the paper.

Beth