The Ripple Effect

The rain just stopped and the humidity is high — a normal hot and sticky day in the Philippines. Twelve-year-old Kuh is at her Compassion program. Her classroom is lively; they are planning and choreographing performances. It’s a fun day at the center, but Kuh’s mind is somewhere else. She is thinking of her father …

You see, Kuh’s father is blind. He wasn’t blind his entire life. In fact, he was once the town chief and many looked to him for leadership. But nine years ago, he suffered from glaucoma and for several months his vision grew dimmer and dimmer, until it finally faded to black.

“All I can do now is reminisce about the good old years when I was the town chief and people looked up to me,” Gualberto, Kuh’s father, says. “To the time when I didn’t need my wife or daughters to walk me to the beach, and to the time when I stared at my daughter’s lovely smile.”

Gualberto went completely blind in 2011, the year that Kuh turned 5. And when Kuh’s father lost his sight, her mother, Elvie, had to support the family financially on her own. She found work selling dried coconut leaves. She would pick up the fallen coconut leaves from the ground, soak them by the beach and then dry them under the sun the next day. She also dried fish and helped fishers haul their catch and sell it in the market. Elvie worked incredibly hard to provide for their family, but life was still a struggle.

Things seemed hopeless for the family. But God had a different plan, because right around that time, Kuh was enrolled in the Compassion center at their local church. And from there, everything changed. Kuh’s family began attending the church where her Compassion program was held.

“It was there where I met Jesus,” Gualberto says. “And through the years my faith grew and grew in the Lord. Now, what’s funny is this: It was when I became blind that I saw God and understood the real meaning of life.”

It was also at the Compassion center that Kuh learned to love the Bible. She is one of the quieter students, but she is among those who know the Scriptures well. She has memorized tons of Bible verses and has even won several Bible quizzes at church.

Now, thanks to the Compassion church partner, her family and her sponsor, Kuh can dream for the future. She hopes to become a flight attendant someday so that she can help support her family financially.

Kuh loves the Compassion program. And on this particular day, she’s enjoying the dancing and performing, but her mind is still drifting to her home.

Finally, after a great Saturday spent at the center, she begins her walk home. She passes by rice paddies and walks along the beach. And as she finally nears her home, she sees exactly what she’s been expecting: her father patiently waiting for her. He sits on the wooden deck of their home, holding his cane to his chest, with his Bible sitting next to him.

Kuh sits down next to her father and grabs his hand. Then, she picks up the Bible that’s sitting next to him.

“I think we’re in 1 Corinthians 4 now, right?” Kuh’s father asks with a big smile.

He had been waiting all day for his daughter to read another chapter from the Bible, which Kuh does every afternoon. And on this particular day, she will read the chapter two or three times, because on every third Sunday of the month, Gualberto delivers the sermon at church.

Compassion ignited a love for God’s Word in Kuh’s heart, and now she shares it with her family. What a powerful ripple effect — when a child is invested in spiritually, the results are experienced by their family, their friends and their community. And your sponsorship contributes to this very ripple effect in the life of the child you sponsor. Thank you!

Want the opportunity to share God's truth and love in a profound way? Sponsor a child today!