Help us bring Christmas joy to children in poverty

At Christmas, every child in the program receives a gift — sponsored or not. Together, we can bring joy to all of those children. But we need your support!

Many children in poverty have never received gifts on Christmas.

For Pastor Pedro in El Salvador, the day they celebrate Christmas and distribute presents to the more than 120 children in the program is one of the most important days of the year. The children get a tangible demonstration of godly generosity and love.

Parents in the community look forward to this day too. “These celebrations are important because many children in our community don’t have the opportunity to receive gifts,” says Vanessa, mother of a Compassion-assisted child. “God is good. He puts in sponsors’ hearts the desire to send these presents, which fill our children with joy.”

Help Haiti recover from a devastating earthquake.

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwest Haiti on Saturday, Aug. 14. The devastation of yet another natural disaster in Haiti is worsened by decades of poverty, political unrest, disease and lack of infrastructure.

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“Even when I couldn’t ...”

Faumida’s mother made it her life goal to never let her children go hungry.

“The food we eat as a family depends on how much money my husband brings home. If he doesn’t get work, we have no money for our needs. On days like those, I keep a little extra rice from dinner and give that to my children for breakfast. My husband and I don’t eat,” Faumida’s mother, Fausiya, says.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in Sri Lanka, even providing her family with rice for breakfast became nearly impossible. Her husband couldn’t find work, and they used up everything extra they had. Faumida’s mother thought her children were going to starve. But the Compassion center where Faumida attends provided them with an emergency food pack that contained enough food for the entire family for two weeks.

“My daughter is the way she is today only because of the center. They have fed her and taken care of her even when I couldn’t,” says Faumida’s mother.

Help parents like Faumida’s who are struggling, even to the point of going hungry themselves, by providing food for their whole family. Send an emergency food pack, today!

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FAQ About Compassion’s Response to COVID-19

It has been crucial during this time to adapt how we minister to children in poverty together with our frontline church partners. The mission has not changed, but many of the methods have. Below are answers to some questions we’ve received about how Compassion and our field staff are responding during this crisis.

For more information on Compassion’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, including updates for each country where we work, please visit our COVID-19 updates page.

Compassion staff are taking every precaution to protect the children in our program. We have suspended all nonessential international travel to national offices and frontline church partners until travel restrictions have been lifted and it is safe to travel again. This means we will not be permitting any international visitors to meet sponsored children, visit Compassion child development centers, or visit national offices.

As a regular part of our program, we continue to teach hygiene to registered children (and moms in our Survival Program), which reduces the spread of illness. Staff are also educating families about social distancing and mask wearing and, in many communities, they are actively distributing masks and hand sanitizer to families.

This global epidemic has affected all of us in one way or another. Compassion staff and volunteers are doing everything they can to minimize the impact to the children in our program.

When the pandemic first began, Compassion had to temporarily close child development centers and halt group activities in all of our field countries. Starting in October 2020, some centers have been able to reopen, and we have worked to notify sponsors about the status of their sponsored children’s centers. Some centers remain closed. In some areas where restrictions have been eased, students are meeting in small groups at the centers. In some communities, centers have been able to reopen fully. Regardless of status, staff are delivering emergency supplies for urgent needs, and they are working creatively to help families face ongoing educational, medical, and income-related challenges.

Because we are committed to protecting each child and maintaining their privacy, we do not disclose children’s health information. However, to learn more about how COVID-19 is impacting your sponsored child’s country, you can click here.

Thank you for your heart and willingness to help. Our local church workers around the world are courageously coming alongside children and families, helping them face the ongoing challenges COVID-19 has created. You can help provide additional resources for physical, educational and medical support. Make your donation on the Critical Program Needs page.