Saturday, November 8, 2008

My Compassion International Q&A

I have asked some friends of mine to help me with some questions about Compassion International. If you have any questions, please feel to ask them of me through the comments section. I will add to this post as more questions come in.

Edited to add - Compassion does have a Question and Answer Page.

Question - How was CI started?
Answer
Compassion International was founded in 1952 by Rev. Everett Swanson in the rubble of the Korean War. He wanted to reach out to the Korean children and connect them with sponsors in the United States. In the last 56 years, Compassion International has spread to 25 countries and recently celebrated it's one millionth sponsored child. You can read more about the history of Compassion International here.


Question - From what doctrinal slant is the gospel taught?
Answer
Compassion is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals. Compassion's mission statement is In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults.


Question - How much of my donation goes to the child?
Answer
83% of each of your dollars goes directly to the programs your child participates in. Each individual Compassion International project receives funds towards their program based on the number of children that they provide services for. Your funds go directly to that program where the services are provided for your child. In this way, each child will receive the same services regardless of if they are not yet sponsored or, for one reason or another, they have lost their sponsor.

Your sponsorship covers their local education expenses. It insures that they will have regular medical check-ups and vaccinations. Children will receive supplemental food - particularly critical in this global food crisis. And most importantly, they will receive the Gospel - the knowledge that Jesus welcomed the little children to come to them and that they are precious in his sight.

Question - Does any of my donation go to improving the local situation -- so that the need for sponsorship is being diminished?
Answer
At the core of Compassion's Program is their child sponsorship program. This is where a child enters the program between the ages of 4 and 9. Outside of that program are programs that supplment it. One of those programs is the Complementary Interventions Program. Through this program, community improvements are made so that the child CAN learn. If the community has no access to fresh, safe water and children are dying of diahrrea, they can not learn... they can not soak in the words of Jesus. So, improvements are made that make the living situations for the children tolerable.


Compassions goal is different from other sponsorship programs that build community projects, like a school, medical clinic or a playground. They believe that a changed environment does not change the HEART of the child. But a CHANGED CHILD can change their environment.

I mentioned that Compassion started in Korea. Compassion no longer provides services in Korea. When the CEO of Compassion went to South Korea and met a group of pastors saying that they were no longer going to be in Korea because the harsh poverty no longer existed there, he urged the pastors to bring the message of Compassion into their congregations (some 100,000's strong!) so that they might sponsor children elsewhere in the world. One pastor stood up and said he knew about Compassion because he was a Compassion assisted child. And one by one... pastors stood up and joined to say that they too had been Compassion assisted children.


Changing the children can change a country.


Question - What kind of interaction can I have with the child?
Answer
Your letters of reassurance, hope and salvation are one of the greatest treasures that you can share with your child. You write your letter at home and then send it via domestic mail to the Compassion mail office in Colorado Springs, CO. It is then joined with other letters to your country and then on to your child's project where it is then translated and shared with your child. It can take 4-8 weeks for your letter to reach your child. Some projects are in extremely rural areas and can be difficult to reach. You can send paper gifts to your child. My favorite gift that I have sent to Haoua was homemade paper dolls. You can send paper bookmarks, coloring pages, blank paper for them to use or homemade photo albums on paper.

Question - Can I send gifts to my sponsored child?
Answer
Compassion recognizes that sponsors would like to send gifts as well. Sending gifts are discouraged because they can raise red flags in customs offices or they could be stolen. Compassion offers sponsors the opportunity to send financial gifts for birthdays, holidays and special occassions - or just because you want to. These gifts
are limited to a total of $300 per year. By sending these financial gifts, you provide a boost for the local economy as the Compassion Program meets with the child's family to find out what would be the most useful gift - clothes, furniture or even something as special as a sewing machine or bicycle taxi. Those things are useful because they can help the family become self-sufficient. Compassion;s Christmas gift program is the exception to this rule. All funds donated as Christmas gifts are pooled together so that children who are not sponsored or their sponsors did not donate funds, still receive a gift.

When you do send a financial gift, Compassion project directors have to report to you how EVERY PENNY was spent. In most cases, photos are provided as evidence as to what you had bought. For example, I sent our child Azalech a $50 financial gift and they bought a table and a set of chairs. Their first set ever!

Question - May I visit the child?
Answer
Compassion International invites you to come and visit your child. They only ask that they have 6 weeks of warning before you do come so that they can prepare the visit for you and your child. But the best way to experience this opportunity is through Compassion International's sponsored tours. In these tours, you get to experience the relationship of several children and their sponsors. Compassion tries to visit each country every 2-3 years. Information about these trips can be found here.

Question - Where can I read CI's financial reports?
Answer
Here is a link to Compassion International's 2007-2008 Financial Report.


Question - What is CI's involvement "on the ground" like, to make sure things are being done ethically?
Answer
Audits are performed regularly by the in-country Compassion International staff and are also followed up with audits from CI's International headquarters in Colorado. In 1995, Compassion went through a tremendous restructuring process and has reported remarkable process in their bookkeeping. There are occassional reports of Compassion Projects closing due to corruption. There have even been instances where entire countries were shut down. This happened in Mexico. But Compassion did not give up on them and they've gone back, with more oversight and Compassion has now re-entered Mexico in the last several years.

I found a blog entry that was most interesting
A Day In The Life of a Development Center Accountant.


Question - What kind of job training do older children receive?
Answer -
This varies by location and culture. Children may learn how to weave, sew, bake, engine repair, etc. Compassion children learn a variety ofmarketable skills. But what sets these children apart is their hope in Christ and their Godly character that is nurtured throughout their program.


Question - What happens to the children once they're too old to be in the program?
Answer
The goal of the Child Sponsorship program is for them to be responsible, Christian adults. Every month, 50,000 children come to accept Christ through the Compassion program. But it's not a requirement - it most certainly is a hope! The goals are -

---Follow Jesus Christ in faith and deed as part of their spiritual training
---Support themselves and share with others in need as part of their economic training.
---Be responsible members of their family, church, community and nation as part of their social training
---Maintain their own physical well-being

Compassion students who perform very well may be eligible for the Leadership Development Program. This program provides an opportunity for tuition or tuition assistance for these exemplary students to go to a university in their country. You can read more about the Leadership Development Program here.

Question - Does Compassion send the children to school?
Answer

Depending on the country, your child sponsorship does support your child's tuition to attend school. Or, your sponsorship may pay for tuition assistance - books, uniforms, etc. It is a requirement for Compassion sponsored children to be actively attending school.

Question - What happens if I can't afford to sponsor a child any more? Do they have to drop out of the program?

Answer

Sometimes events do happen in a sponsors life that causes them to not be able to maintain their sponsorship. If this happens, the child is allowed to stay in the program and Compassion will re-issue the child's name for a new sponsorship.

Question - How many children of the same family can be sponsored? Won't the unsponsored children be jealous

Answer

The limit in one family is 3 children. Compassion's hope is that relieving one family of at least 3 children of paying for their education and healthcare will help with the family paying for the children who are ineligible. In cases where this does not happen, it is quite common that the children will bring home what they have learned and will share it with their siblings.

As far as the jealousy? This is something that does concern me with my own Compassion children that I sponsor. When I have sent gifts, I have tried to include the siblings as well as I can. I would suggest, if your sponsored child does have siblings, inquire about their involvement with the program and attempt to include them in your correspondence.

Question - I want the child I sponsor to go to a Christian school. Can Compassion Int. arrange that if I pay the tuition?

Answer

Not all Compassion projects have access to so many options. The most practical option in most places is the local public school. Trying to insist on different options would create a difficult relationship between the local Compassion project (which operates out of the local church) and sponsors. There are some Leadership Development Program students who do go on to attend Christian College. There is even a scholarship to Moody Bible Institute here in the United States. So, while this option may not be available now, the chance is there in the future.

1 comment:

Tara B. said...

Great questions and answers! I just love that sponsoring through Compassion gives us so much involvement in our sponsored childrens lives through letters, gifts, etc.. It is great to know where the money actually goes and how it will help my sponsored child/children directly!