A Compassion Sponsor Tour to Colombia is designed to provide you with a safe yet rich cultural experience while allowing you participate in Compassion-assisted child development centers, serve the children, and visit your own sponsored child! From sightseeing and tourist activities to worshiping at church with the children and playing soccer games with them at the park, you will find your heart filled with compassion for the people and the country. Their warm greetings and open friendship reflect the great culture Colombia shares with many visitors.

Have you ever wondered who greets your sponsored child when he or she arrives at the child development center? What is your child's community like? Does your sponsorship really make a difference in his or her life? Well wonder no more! Join us on this Sponsor Tour to Colombia where these questions and many more will be answered. When you return from this adventure, you will never look at this country the same way.

While you will certainly see some remarkable tourist sights, our adventure will also take you to several Compassion centers like the one your child attends. We'll venture even deeper into the heart of the community and to homes, where you will learn what poverty looks like in the developing world and how your partnership with Compassion not only benefits a child, but that child's entire family and the greater community as well. As great as these experiences will be, nothing can compare with the opportunity to meet the child you sponsor and spend the day making memories.

Days 1-3: Our Journey Begins

Our group will meet in the Miami International Airport, our U.S. gateway city, for quick introductions as we start our journey together to Colombia, South America. We will arrive in Bogotá at 10 a.m. June 5. Our first couple of days will orient you to Colombian culture. We will worship at a local church partner on Sunday, and then meet with the leadership of the ministry in Bogotá to learn about Compassion's work in Colombia.

Days 4-5: Bogotá

As we begin to understand the culture, we will visit several child development centers in Lima to see what Compassion is doing. We will have the opportunity to explore and learn about each Compassion program in the various centers. There will be opportunities to ask about how each program works and affects the children we work with. You will also better understand how your sponsorship money contributes to the development of these children in poverty

Day 6: Connecting With Your Child (1)

This is one of the most exciting days on the trip: when a sponsor and a child meet face to face. This visit is for all children closest to the Bogotá area.

Days 7-9: Cartagena

We will fly to Cartagena, a beautiful ocean-side city full of history and romance, where Compassion is also working in the lives of the children. Here you will have the opportunity to meet and work with the children in local child development centers. Our group will learn how diverse the Colombian people are and how Compassion works among these diverse groups. We will see how different the emphasis on family values is for centers in the cities compared with those in rural areas.

Connecting With Your Child (2): We will also have a special child visit day for those of you who have sponsored children from the north coast region.

Days 10-11: Bringing the Experience to a Close

After a week of immersing ourselves in the beauty and grandeur of this beautiful country, tasting a bit of the culture through our visits to the Compassion centers, and investing in the lives of children, it is time to return to our lives back home. Yet as we return, our outlook on poverty and our response to it returns with us to fan the flame of a lifelong investment as champions who work together to release children from poverty in Jesus' name!

Tour Schedule Details:  

Registration: Our trips fill up quickly on a first-come basis, so it is important to register by Oct. 9, 2009.  Once we have received your registration along with a deposit of $275, we will confirm your place on the tour and you may then purchase your domestic air ticket. The final payment of $3,175 is due no later than Feb. 14, 2010.

Please click on the Register Now button below to complete the registration form online. If you'd rather register by mail, click on the link to the printable Registration Form above right, below the photo.

Price: The cost of this tour is $3,450 per person for double occupancy.

Included in our tour price are round-trip airfare between Miami and Colombia, lodging, all meals, travel within Colombia, tips, your child's travel, guides and translators during the tour, admission fees, departure tax and administrative costs.

Costs not included in the tour price are transportation to and from Miami, passport and incidentals such as snacks, additional beverages, laundry, phone calls, film and other personal items. You may want to bring extra spending money for shopping at the local markets.

Safety and Preparation: This tour will be moderate in difficulty because of impoverished conditions. Also, there will be some walking, rides on bumpy roads, and long days. We will have a work element in this tour.

Compassion constantly monitors the safety of our destination countries and will make any adjustments necessary to protect our tour participants, sponsored children and in-country staff. We believe it is important to provide safe, comfortable accommodations, traditional meals and reliable transportation so that your focus can be on what God is teaching you and the impact of the experience rather than concern for your personal safety and well-being.

Please read the Tour Conditions and General Information document before finalizing your decision.

BACKGROUND CHECK: 
In order to ensure the safety of our children and determine eligibility to travel with Compassion, we now require all travelers (over the age of 18) to complete a criminal background check. Please visit https://www.ministryopportunities.org/USCITours to complete your online background check at the time of registration. If you are unable to complete this online, please contact us and we will send you a paper form for you to fill out and return. Compassion uses a third-party vendor, Protect My Ministry (www.protectmyministry.com) to process background checks. The results of your background check are confidential and all personal information is encrypted and secure. 

RESERVATIONS should be made well in advance and require a nonrefundable deposit of $275 per person. Final payment of $3,175 is due no later than Feb. 14, 2010. Additional fuel surcharges are assessed at time of ticketing and due no later than 60 days prior to departure.

AIR TRANSPORTATION and FUEL SURCHARGES: 
Air transportation as included in the tour is based on economy-class transportation and is subject to all rules and regulations governing these fares. Fuel surcharges are added on a per-ticket basis at time of confirmation. In the event these surcharges are increasingly higher than budget estimates, we may require additional funds to cover these surcharges. We will communicate any pricing changes immediately. 

In the event that you need to cancel your trip, please refer to our cancellation policy below:

All deposits are nonrefundable.

Fifty percent of the tour cost will be required for cancellations 59-31 days prior to the sponsor tour.

One hundred percent of the tour cost will be required for cancellations 30-0 days prior to the sponsor tour.

Only written cancellations accepted.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL reserves the right to adjust or alter any travel program when necessary or desirable for the protection, safety or improvement of said travel program, or when local conditions do not permit operation as published. COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL reserves the right to accept or deny participants application at its sole discretion.
RESPONSIBILITY: COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL makes arrangements with airlines, hotels and other independent parties to provide you with the travel services you purchase. These parties are independent suppliers over whom we have no direct control. In the absence of negligence on our part, we are not responsible for any claims, losses, damages, costs or expenses arising out of injury, accident or death; damage, loss or delay of baggage or other property; or delay, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment, upset, disappointment, distress or frustration, whether physical or mental, resulting from (1) the act or omission of any party other than COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL or its employees; (2) mechanical breakdown, government actions, weather or other factors beyond our control; (3) failure to obtain documents, passports, visas and health certificates valid through the date of reentry, when required, in which case a cancellation charge will be assessed; (4) failure to follow instructions including but not limited to check-in and checkout times and baggage handling; (5) cancellation or change for any reason in the travel services offered; and (6) medical or health problems or physical disabilities. COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL reserves the right to cancel or alter the travel services at its discretion, except as otherwise noted herein. In the event of change, COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL will try to substitute comparable services; in the event of complete cancellation by COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL, we shall refund all monies paid to us. COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL will not be responsible for any other cost incurred by participants.