Christ-centred. Church-driven. Child-focused.
These phrases are what we at Compassion call “the three C’s”—and they set the tone for everything we do. If you’ve been journeying with us for any length of time, these words may ring familiar in your ears. But what do they really mean?
In our new three-part blog series, Compassion Foundations, we’ll take an in-depth look at the meaning behind each of these significant phrases, which are our organization’s strategic anchors.
Today, we wrap up this series by looking at what makes Compassion child-focused.
In this blog…
It might seem like a given that Compassion works with children—after all, many people’s introduction to Compassion was through a child they chose to sponsor.
But the roots of our focus on children go much deeper than simply being a trusted and world-leading child sponsorship organization—Compassion is one of the world’s leading holistic child development organizations.
Tairy, 6, Honduras
What does that mean? It means that no matter how you choose to partner with us—sponsoring a child, giving a Gift of Compassion, volunteering, partnering as a church or business, leaving a legacy gift—all those efforts are strategically and specifically directed towards releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
Compassion strategically chooses to focus on children because we believe it is the best way to break the cycle of poverty—and as a Christ-centred organization, we believe Jesus thinks so, too.
Jesus’ heart for children
In Jesus’ time, children were not held in very high regard. They lacked the protection of their basic rights and were not seen as particularly valuable to society.
Sadly, not much has changed in our day. No matter where in the world, children are amongst the most vulnerable to violence, exploitation, environmental disasters, illness, hunger and poverty. In fact, children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than adults.
Mintu, 3, Bangladesh
And yet, Jesus regards these vulnerable children as precious. He declares that the kingdom of heaven belongs to children!
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'”
Matthew 19:14
Children were counter-culturally at the centre of Jesus’ ministry. He blessed children, healed children and performed miracles because of the faith of children. Throughout the gospel, we see many examples of Jesus advocating for children.
Out of Jesus’ heart for children comes our intentional and strategic choice to be a child-focused organization.
Caring for the whole child: Holistic child development
What does being child-focused look like? At the core of our programs, it means that we engage each child individually to see them thrive in their God-given potential. We build and strengthen a holistic ecosystem of resources and relationships around each child to equip and enable them to take hold of a future free from poverty.
Cristofer, 13, Ecuador
Compassion’s proven holistic child development program meets each child’s unique needs in every area of their life—caring for the whole child:
- Physical development cares for a child’s body through things like nutritional support and access to healthcare.
- Cognitive development cares for a child’s mind through things like education and skills training.
- Socio-emotional development cares for a child’s heart through things like mentorship and opportunities to build healthy relationships.
- Spiritual development cares for a child’s soul through things like prayer and age-appropriate Christian teaching and discipleship.
We believe that an investment in a child’s life sparks generational, whole-life change that impacts their entire family, community and nation. We see these stories of transformation happen every single day—and yet they never get old.
Alice’s story: A home for her family and hope for her future
The sky is heavy with rain. A decade ago, those first raindrops would have sent Alice’s family into a panic. Rain had washed away their home, and without the resources to build a new one, she and her 10 brothers and sisters huddled under a tarp draped over the skeleton of a home that her father was trying to build. The only thing worse than sitting on the muddy ground was lying on it.
“We did not have any house, so we used to [have] mother, father, children all [sleeping] in one room,” Alice says. “And it’s not even a room, it’s just something that, when you sleep, [you have your] legs out, head in.”
When Alice shares about that season of her family’s life, she pulls the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands—as if the memory brings back the chill she felt on those long, rainy nights. But then she straightens her back and looks around at this house she now shares with her family. Strong, sturdy walls. Multiple rooms. Dry mattresses and blankets.
A future transformed
As a little girl in Kenya, Alice had never seen prayer or speaking up for her needs modelled. Most of the women in her family and community were not encouraged to attend school. It was seen as a “waste”—if they were just going to marry young and have children, why bother? But when Alice’s parents took her to the Compassion centre in their neighbourhood, it opened her eyes for the first time to what her life could look like.
Thanks to her Compassion sponsors, Alice and her family have a safe place to call home.
Alice’s sponsors, Keith and Kristy, were able to visit Alice and her family when she was just seven years old. They saw all the ways Compassion had helped: Alice was in school, and her family had received mattresses, bedding and food packs from the centre. But they also saw the state of Alice’s home. Despite her father’s best efforts, the rebuilding was painfully slow, and each new storm reversed weeks of progress. Working with the staff at Alice’s centre, Alice’s sponsors gave a family gift that enabled her father to finally finish rebuilding their home.
Once Alice knew the safety of a home, the steadiness of an education and the safety and love that Compassion and her sponsors afforded, she finally had the capacity to dream about her future.
Breaking barriers and dreaming big
“People, they don’t value girls. They thought girls … can’t read. It is all about marriage. But to me, I want to shut their mouth because when I become a physiologist, I’ll be surprising them,” says Alice, her eyes sparkling. “Before Compassion, I did not know my rights. But at Compassion, I have been taught about the rights of girls. I know my rights and can fend off any abuse or anything that people may bring my way.”
Alice sits at a desk in a classroom with other students. She is raising her hand, looking towards the front of the room. She is wearing a white shirt and skirt.
Alice has seen the injustice that the women in her community face. But she has also experienced the protection of the staff at her Compassion centre. She has watched her own father shift from seeing two of his daughters marry as teens to encouraging his 20-year-old daughter to attend university. She has seen virtual strangers from 13,000 kilometres away step in to help a little girl they barely knew, all because they believed that Jesus promised us wholeness, and that promise was meant for Alice.
“I’ll work hard and help the needy children like what [my sponsors] did for me,” says Alice.
It takes a community of support—a global neighbourhood—to release a child from poverty, from family and primary caregivers to local church staff and volunteers to Compassion supporters here in Canada.
Compassion is a global movement with a steadfast focus: to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
