What Does “Breaking the Cycle of Poverty” Mean?
Imagine being sick but without medicine. Hungry but without food to fill your belly. Thirsty but without safe water to drink. Having dreams but without an education to achieve them.
Longing for hope but without any silver lining.
“Without” is the reality for children living in poverty. Every need presents another challenge, and every challenge causes another. No clean water leads to sickness. Sickness leads to missing school. Missing school leads to poor education. Poor education leads to no future. No future leads to poverty that persists generation after generation.
This is the cycle of poverty, and it’s what Compassion centers around the world are working to break.
How Compassion Is Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
To break the cycle, children need care for all the ways poverty impacts their lives — spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally. And that’s what we do at Compassion. In partnership with local churches, we care for children by:
Sharing the love of Jesus: Every child hears the gospel and experiences Jesus’ love for them through the care of the local church.
Protecting them: We surround children with loving adults trained to protect them from abuse, exploitation and violence.
Caring for their physical health: Children are monitored for malnutrition and receive regular medical checkups. If they’re sick, hurt or malnourished, we provide immediate care.
Offering education: Each child receives a quality education, giving them the tools to reach for their dreams and become self-sufficient adults.
Responding to disaster: When disasters strike, children receive immediate disaster relief, including shelter, food packs, safe water, counseling and more.
When children are truly cared for, they can grow into thriving followers of Jesus, empowered to break the chains of poverty. And not just in their lives. As they reach for brighter futures, they also become changemakers, transforming their families, communities and nations.
And that’s how you break the cycle of poverty once and for all.
Visit a Center Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in Tanzania
The best way to see what breaking the chains of poverty looks like is to go straight to the source: the local church. In the heart of Tanzania’s southern highlands — where life can be challenging for many families — a local church in Iringa is helping children thrive.
Since 1999, Compassion has partnered with churches across Tanzania to bring hope to children living in poverty. Today, nearly 600 church partners serve thousands of children through our child sponsorship program.
In Iringa, poverty burdens daily life for many. But at the local church’s Compassion center, children find safety, support and the chance to grow into all God created them to be.
Come along with us and see how this transformation happens with your own eyes.
It’s Compassion Center Day in Iringa, Tanzania
Jambo! That’s “hello” in Swahili, a language commonly spoken in Tanzania. It’s Saturday, which means it’s Compassion center day for the children of Iringa.
Children aged 4 to 18 attend their local center each Saturday (and sometimes after school during the week) for learning, play and encouragement.
Saturday Mornings Start With Praise and Worship
The children start their morning by lifting their voices — and showing off their incredible dance moves — during praise and worship time. At the center, all children get to learn how much Jesus loves them. After all, true transformation begins with the hope of the gospel.
Compassion Staff Cook Delicious Meals
As children worship and learn about Jesus, the center’s cooks prepare breakfast and lunch for more than 200 children. Outside in the sunshine, fresh ingredients are ground by hand to make sauces packed with flavor.
Inside the kitchen, the cooks chop tomatoes, stir stews and stoke fires as fast as they can, eager to feed the hungry bellies just outside the kitchen door.
Among the pots is a giant one of steaming ugali — cornmeal porridge that’s a staple food in Tanzania. Alongside the veggies and stew, this will fuel children’s minds and bodies for an afternoon of learning and play.
It’s Time for Education in Tanzania
After praise and worship, around 9:30 a.m., children head to their first class of the day. They’re divided by age to learn lessons that expand their minds, build their confidence and help them care for their bodies so they can step into their God-given potential.
In Tanzania, child labor is one of the biggest challenges children face. Most families rely on farming to survive but can’t afford to hire extra help during harvest seasons. So they often turn to their children, who must work instead of attending school.
At the center, children learn about their rights and how education empowers them to break the cycle of poverty. Staff also hold seminars for parents, offering practical solutions like improved farming techniques to help boost their crop yields.
When families thrive, kids can stay where they belong: in the classroom, not the fields.
Let’s Eat Some Breakfast
It’s 10:30 a.m., which means it’s time for a delicious breakfast. Hot tea, soft buns and boiled eggs are on the menu. Tea is a popular breakfast drink for Tanzanian kids, which they call chai.
Learning Continues
With their bellies full, the children are ready for their next class, which begins around 11 a.m.
Ailuni, an older center participant, enjoys volunteering to teach the younger children. For girls like her, staying in school in Tanzania isn’t always easy. Beyond child labor, other challenges, like child marriage, keep children out of school. Sadly, many girls are forced to marry before the age of 18.
At the Compassion center, children receive quality educations. They learn to read and to write, strengthening their skills, empowering them to become self-sufficient adults and giving them another path toward the future.
1 P.M. Means Lunchtime
Ask any child at the center who their favorite person is, and chances are they’ll say a cook — and it’s easy to see why! The cooks are always serving kids’ nutritious favorites, from ugali to fresh veggies.
For many families in the region, putting food on the table isn’t easy. Most depend on farming for their income, which means droughts and floods can have devastating impacts. When crops fail, families struggle and kids often go hungry.
About 30% of Tanzanian children under 5 suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition.
This is why the meals served at the center matter so much. Each plate is packed with nourishment and served with a smile, helping kids grow strong and stay healthy.
Up Next: Income-Generating Skills Classes
Around 2 p.m., program participants sew, weave baskets, make soap, bake bread, garden, print fabric, learn how to use computers and so much more. During these classes, youths at the center learn practical skills that can open doors to future careers.
With nearly 45% of Tanzanians living in extreme poverty, these income-generating lessons give young people the tools they need to build brighter futures. Not just for themselves but for their families too.
From Learning to Play
Shut the books — classroom time is done! Whether it’s soccer, dancing, jumping rope, acting, singing or just running free, the rest of the afternoon is all about play.
At the center, kids can laugh, grow and enjoy being children in a protected, loving space. This is especially important in communities where it’s not always safe to play outside because of the potential for violence, environmental hazards or exploitation.
It’s Time to Say Goodbye
As the sun begins to set, tutors gather the children for one last word of encouragement. Then, it’s time for big smiles, warm hugs and cheerful waves goodbye.
It’s been a full Saturday for these children. They’ve eaten nutritious meals and learned new skills. They’ve enjoyed safe playtime while being encouraged by tutors and staff. They’ve heard the gospel and learned more about who Jesus is. And in every single moment, they’ve experienced his love for them.
As the children return home, their hearts are full of excitement and hope. Not just for next Saturday at the Compassion center but for the brighter future they can now see.
Breaking the cycle of poverty means caring for children physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, equipping them to become thriving followers of Jesus. The church in Iringa is just one of thousands of local churches doing just that — releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
