Delfin looks at a picture of his sponsors, whose encouraging letters have supported him significantly over the years.

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For four years Delfin* kept a horrifying secret from his mother, afraid of the shame it might bring. But the fear and guilt that churned inside him began to eat away at his life. He was caught smoking, panhandling, stealing. He cut classes. Then Delfin started having seizures.

When he was 10, Delfin finally summoned enough courage to tell his mother, Imelda*, the truth that was tearing him up: His cousins and neighbors had been sexually abusing him since he was 6.

"I am afraid whenever it gets dark," Delfin told his mother. "I begin to shake and convulse." A stunned Imelda learned that during all the years she was working long hours away from home to support her family, his perpetrators, ages 14 to 19, had raped him every night. They abused him wherever they happened to be in their urban Manila neighborhood — under a bridge, in a vacant lot, by a creek, inside a public restroom.

"It took four long years for the poor boy to tell his mother what was going on," says Imee, Director of the Compassion-assisted child development center Delfin attends. When Imelda told Imee about the abuse, she immediately accompanied the family to the city prosecutor's office to file a complaint against Delfin's offenders.

So began the first steps in what has now been a four-year journey to help Delfin recover from the trauma of abuse. Although the road has been marked with setbacks, Imee and other church partner staff remain committed to tackling the daunting challenges Delfin faces in reclaiming his life. As part of the process, they want to ensure he experiences his heavenly Father's healing love.

Compassion has worked to lay the foundation for child protection in its programs to prevent every form of exploitation. This includes enforcing strict child protection policies in each child development center. Yet despite such precautions, child sexual abuse remains an ugly reality, sometimes affecting a sponsored child like Delfin.

Worldwide, 8 percent of boys and 25 percent of girls under age 18 are victims of sexual abuse, according to the World Health Organization**. Many of the impoverished communities where Compassion works have even higher rates of sexual abuse against children.

The fallout is devastating. Abused children like Delfin are twice as likely** to experience depression, panic disorder and drug abuse.

Delfin's seizures began when he was just 8 years old. Meanwhile, his sexually suggestive storytelling and lewd behavior caused neighbors to avoid him, initially labeling him "psychotic."

Often Compassion's church-based child development centers are the only voices in poor communities to defend and protect such traumatized children.

Because of his severe seizures, Delfin was taken — with help from Compassion and the church partner — to the Philippine National Children's Hospital for testing and evaluation when he was 10. He was diagnosed with "seizure disorder due to trauma" and referred to health professionals for additional medical care and counseling.

Church partner staff regularly followed up with Delfin's doctors to ensure he received quality treatment. Over the years they also made frequent home visits to encourage and counsel him.

Staff members began conducting training classes to challenge parents in Delfin's neighborhood to protect their children from abuse and recognize warning signs.

Such commitment to Delfin's well-being has reaped some hard-won returns.

"After four years of constant follow-up, counseling and friendship, we can see results," Imee says. Now 15, Delfin attends school regularly, although he has been held back several years.

"My son used to be very good in class," Imelda recalls. "In grade one he was best in math … But everything suddenly turned black ... I did not know what to do until [Imee] and the church intervened. Now I am determined to help my son get his life back."

Delfin confesses he is struggling to quit smoking, but he no longer panhandles or steals. He's also started attending church again.

Delfin still has occasional seizures. It reminds all in his circle of care that there are no quick fixes when working to resuscitate a sexually abused child's crushed spirit.

Delfin's perpetrators were never prosecuted. Imelda didn't have the money to pursue the case in an often corrupt legal system where her pleas for justice were ignored.

"I do not intend to pursue the case anymore," she says. "Delfin's cousins and neighbors don't come around anymore and my son has been showing tremendous improvement."

Imee acknowledges the difficulty of making headway against the compound issue of pervasive poverty and child abuse. "This is not an easy problem," she says. "The road to recovery is quite long."

But Compassion's church partner will be there to help Delfin every step of the way.

*Names have been changed to protect victims' privacy.
**World Health Organization paper on Child Abuse and Neglect, http://www.asha.viva.org/resources/intro/WHO_Child_Abuse_Neglect.pdf.