Where We Work

South America

A donation to our Where Most Needed fund helps address unmet needs of children in poverty. Your donation extends beyond basic needs met by Child Sponsorship and goes toward other urgent issues.

Where Most Needed Fund

Fourth largest of the earth's seven continents, South America is home to the majestic Andes mountain range and the mysterious Amazon River. The world's largest rain forest, with millions of species of exotic animals, is also found in South America.

There are more than 370 million people in South America's 12 countries, and as many as 80 percent of them live in the continent's urban centers. Although the 1990s saw improvements throughout South America, such as the replacement of several military dictatorial regimes by democratically elected governments, the continent's countries are still plagued by widespread human rights violations and poverty.

Compassion began working in Brazil and Ecuador in 1974 and we now serve more than 235,000 children in the five South American countries of:

Bolivia

Brazil

Colombia

Ecuador

Peru

Featured Stories from South America

Eraldo, with three boys at the center he used to attend

Brazil Alumni

Eraldo’s Mission to "Live By Faith, Show Love Always"

A graduate of Compassion’s program shares how he found his calling with the help of his sponsors, church and family, who taught him to trust God and dream big.

Colombia Crisis Poverty

Growth Amidst Crisis—How Juna’s Family Started a Farm

The global food crisis is impacting families across the globe, including Juna’s. As food prices soar, Compassion centers continue to look for sustainable solutions to the problem of hunger. Read more below about how Juna and her family were equipped for growth in a time of crisis—literal growth on their very own farm!

Bolivia Education

What Happens to a Girl When Her Relatives Are Prostitutes?

For a child living in poverty, your letters bring hope, support and encouragement that can make a huge difference in their lives. Yet, sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start.

Colombia Emergency Food Packs

Fighting Hunger and Providing Hope

Patricia carefully opens the food pack delivered by the kind man from her son’s Compassion center. The contents she holds in her hands are more than ingredients; they are reminders of God’s faithfulness. They are one simple way Compassion is fighting hunger one family at a time.

Brazil Highly Vulnerable Children

Isabela Has Lost a Lot. These Advocates Help Give Her Hope.

See how God has shaped Isabela into a beautiful new form — just like the butterflies she loves — using a global community of caring Christians.