COVID-19 travel FAQ

One of the strengths of our child development program is that our local church partners directly implement the program in their local communities. They are uniquely positioned to provide support and do not depend on our ability to travel in order to ensure children and their families receive the love and care they need.

As the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation evolves, the safety of sponsored children, churches, supporters, and staff is the highest priority and of utmost concern to Compassion. Please know this decision was not made lightly, and we are also disappointed that this pandemic has impacted our trips and visits in this way.

One of the main reasons for the suspension is to limit the amount of potential virus exposure to the children and churches we serve. People in areas of significant poverty with limited healthcare resources are some of the most vulnerable during crises such as these. Another reason for our decision is the dynamic nature of government non-essential travel restrictions, which can change often and could result in being quarantined either upon arrival in the country or before you can return home. Under the current circumstances Compassion cannot ensure that you have a safe and optimal experience on your trip or visit, and this is a top priority for us.

Compassion looks at a variety of factors when assessing the viability of any given trip or visit. Regarding the current health crisis, a coordinated, multidisciplinary task force is meeting regularly to understand the risks and mitigation opportunities and to make decisions accordingly. This team includes Compassion International’s Senior Safety Specialist and representatives from our departments of Risk Management, Legal, International Security, Travel, Trips and Visits, Communications, Global Program and others.

At Compassion Canada, we follow the International team’s recommendations, as well as the guidelines and recommendations from the government of Canada, and have currently suspended all non-essential travel until further notice.

Yes, we have canceled all trips and visits as of March 15, 2020, until further notice.

No, we have cancelled all trips until further notice, so we are not accepting registrations at this time. Once we are able to begin planning trips again, we will be sure to update our Group Trips page with dates and registration details and will send out invitation emails to sponsors.

At this time, many of our national offices and Compassion centres are closed. Resources for planning visits are limited, as local staff are focused on providing essentials for all of the children in our program. Compassion is re-evaluating the situation on a regular basis, and when we receive information that normal operations have resumed in the countries where we work, we will update our Visit Request page to indicate that we can begin receiving visit requests again..

While non-essential travel is suspended, our national offices will not permit any visitors to meet sponsored children, visit local Compassion centres, or visit national offices. Because of these precautions, it will not be possible to drop off a gift for your child at their Compassion centre, the child’s home, or the national office. If you would like to mail a gift to your sponsored child while you are in-country, please contact us, and we will provide you with the mailing address for the national office.

Because the conditions are changing frequently, we recommend checking out Public Health’s website or the World Health Organization’s website.

We are working closely with our frontline church partners and local governments to follow local and national guidelines put in place as each country tries to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. All of the countries where we work have been impacted by coronavirus in some way. To learn about the most recent updates in your sponsored child’s country, you can check here.