Joy's Jottings

May 2012

For the past four years a group of people from All Saints’ has been sponsoring Heidi, a young girl from Guatemala. This has been done through Compassion, a Christian

organisation which links children from poor families in the developing world to

sponsors in the UK and Ireland.          

Compassion works through local churches with projects which provide children with food, education and Bible teaching. The aim is to care for the whole person, body, mind and spirit. Ian Hamilton, Executive Director, writes: ‘From our many years’ experience working in the developing world, Compassion is deeply aware of the complexity of poverty and its multiple causes and effects.’ So, although Compassion is a children’s charity it is also involved with whole families.

A new scheme has been introduced in Haiti following the devastating earthquake there two years ago. Parents of children on Compassion projects can apply for a micro loan to start or restart a business. The loans are accompanied by training in how to write a basic business plan, and each application is scrutinised for viability and to ensure diversity of business offerings in the community. So Orleys has received a loan of $1,500 to restart his tailoring business which was destroyed by the earthquake. Laloi has set up an internet café so the community can benefit from access to the internet. By working with communities rather than isolated individuals, Compassion aims to give people the skills and resources to escape from poverty.

Heidi and her family have now moved to a new home in Guatemala. They have gone to a place where there is no Compassion project, so we are no longer able to sponsor Heidi. But there are many other children who are waiting for sponsors. So we have decided to sponsor another child. The total cost is £21 a month or £252 a year. Thanks to those who have been Heidi’s sponsors over the past four years. And thanks to those who have agreed to sponsor a new child. If anyone else in interested in participating, please let me know.

One of the important aspects of sponsorship through Compassion is letter writing, so that we know about the sponsored child and they know about us. Some of Heidi’s letters have been published in the magazine, so you will know about her and her family. Please do continue to pray for them in this new phase of their lives. Once we have details of our new child, we will let you know. Perhaps you would like to write to them and tell them about us? Joy Lane is our correspondence contact and she will be willing to give you some information about how to write to them.

Together we can make a difference. In the 1980s 40,000 children died every day from preventable causes. Due to concerted efforts by many different organisations and individuals, that number had fallen to 21, 000. By working with groups like Compassion we can enable more children to be given new hope and in the words of the Millennium campaign we can help to ‘make poverty history’.

Joy