Compassion International is an incredible organization that helps children in places around the world that are most in need.
We first heard of them at this huge event where they had pictures of children up all over the walls of this huge auditorium. Each family there was encouraged to go up and grab a picture of the first child we came to and then commit to sponsoring them each month.
The little girl we got is just a couple months older than our daughter and is the cutest thing. Her name is Martha and she is from Nicaragua. For around $1/day, we are able to help provide her clothing, education, presents on her birthday and at Christmas, and so much more.
The thing our family loves so much about Compassion is that they are very transparent about the work they do and how your support is actively helping each child in those communities. They send out periodic emails and newsletters with updates on the regions and the children specifically. They offer volunteer opportunities to come to the country in which your child lives and meet him/her and others in their hometowns. They send updated pictures on how the child has grown and to see that they are well taken care of.
My favorite part is that our sponsored child, Martha, sends us letters and draws us pictures every couple of months. There is a delay in them arriving to us due to translators putting them into English for us and getting them on their way to the States, both digitally and via the postal service. We, in turn, get to send letters down to her and share pictures of our family, our pets, or drawings our daughter has done for Martha.
For the past almost four years, we have gotten to see her grow physically, emotionally, and academically. One of my favorite things is hearing what she has gotten for her presents with the extra money we send down to her at the holidays. Another great thing is that Compassion pools all the money donated to the children of that community and ensures everyone receives equal gifts, whether a child has a sponsor or not.
I am so proud to be a part of the large Compassion family and would recommend sponsoring a child through their program to anyone that is interested.
They have so much information on their website and they usually host local events as well where you can learn about different countries and the needs of the children there.
No matter what our finances look like, I will never compromise on sending Martha our support. It isn’t much to us, but it means the world to her, and I get to see that in action on a personal level through her letters, drawings, and pictures.
Having an only child ourselves, it is a wonderful way to show her how fortunate she is to live in this country and to have all the things that she has.
