Today is my first official post as a Compassion Blogger. Today we're going to talk about children in poverty. And I'm going to get specific.
Before we do let's talk about waiting. Waiting has changed a lot in my lifetime. When I was a kid, if I wanted to watch an old movie, I had to wait until they aired it on television. Then the VCR came along and if I wanted to I could record the movie or buy or rent a copy and watch it at my leisure.
Waiting in the past few years has been mostly obliterated by smart phones and the phrase "there's an app for that." I bought myself an Ipod touch with Christmas money and since then many things I used to have to wait for are available in moments. I don't even have to type my posts anymore. I just speak into my Ipod and 2 taps later my thoughts are shared with the teeming masses.
But today let's talk about children in poverty who are waiting. They are waiting for a sponsor. A Compassion sponsor. Imagine it this way . . .
You are a child growing up in poverty.
A local church announces a new program coming to your village.
A program that will provide you with
*educational opportunities that you would not receive other wise.
*health care and health related instruction that you would not receive otherwise.
* food, clean water, and sustainable nutrition
* life skills and spiritual training.
A church volunteer takes your picture and gets information about you and your family. You are registered. You begin to receive the benefits of the program. But there is one thing you are missing a sponsor.
A sponsor is the person who donated money to Compassion so you can receive the benefits of the program. They do so much more than that. They write to you, they pray for you. They take that picture that was taken of you and put it in a prominent place in their house. On your birthday and Christmas they have the opportunity yo send you a special gift for you and your family.
You see when you went into the program, your whole family benefits from your sponsors contributions, letters and prayers.
But you don't have a sponsor yet and there is not an app for that.
So, you wait,
and wait,
and wait.
Some children in the program wait
180 days or more without a sponsor. Click
here to see a list of children who have been waiting for a sponsor for more than 180 days. That's 1/2 of a year.
You might be thinking "So what? They don't have a sponsor. But they are in the program. As long as their needs are being met. Why do they need a sponsor?"
That's a great question. Here are a few good reasons:
1) While these kids are having their financial needs met, their lack of sponsors is keeping Compassion from moving onto the next village and staring the program for other children in poverty. Remember when I say children in poverty, I really mean families in poverty as the entire family benefits from the program.
2) The opportunity to communicate with your sponsor and to know your sponsor and be known by them is one of the best parts of Compassion. Knowing that a real person is providing money, prayer and love makes a difference in a child's life.
This video really captures the heart of how we can help a waiting child.
Sponsor a Waiting Child from
Compassion International on
Vimeo.
On A Personal Note
When we pick a child to sponsor we look for something that will tie him or her into our family. Our first compassion child had Spider Droids exact birth date down to the day and year. He also had Spider Droid's first name. We never forgot his birthday! When that boy's families situation improved (due in part to the program) so much that he didn't need to be sponsored anymore we found a girl Puppy's age who was born on Bunny's birthday
Please click
here to see if you can find a waiting child to sponsor. You can make a difference in a child's life right now and you don't have to wait!
