Millions of children around the world remain trapped in child labor. Ebenezer was 6 years old when he was sent to work on Lake Volta in Ghana, a notorious hotbed of child slavery. These 15 powerful photos capture the injustice he faced … and his journey to freedom. Welcome to the largest human-made lake in the world. Lake Volta in […]
Would you like to take a peek into the pocketbooks of a few families around the world? Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to live below the global poverty line of U.S. $1.90 a day? These four families invited us to learn what it’s like to try to make ends meet in extreme poverty. Note: The global COVID-19 […]
Twelve years ago, I wrote a post for Compassion’s blog about compassion fatigue. I referenced 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami and the China earthquake. I talked about how the incessant news coverage after each of these events caused me to reach a place of apathy, where my heart got tired of caring and I felt as though […]
When you need a glass of water, or need to brush your teeth or wash your dishes, where do you get your water? Do you turn on the tap in the kitchen? Or get water out of the fridge? For many kids around the world, access to safe water is still a huge issue. They walk many miles to gather […]
Have you ever heard of “poverty tourism” or “slum tours”? Slum tourism is a type of tour in which people from wealthy countries visit impoverished areas through a tour operator. Tour companies might offer packages to Cape Town, South Africa, or to Mumbai, India, to visit communities like the one pictured in the movie Slumdog Millionaire. A tour guide also might take […]
In the past several years, the number of people moving away from their home countries has risen. War, violence, political instability and poverty are pushing people to search for better places. But the terminology can be confusing. What’s the definition of a refugee? How is that different from an internally displaced person, a stateless person or an asylum seeker? Keep […]
Brenya is 18 years old, but he is only in the equivalent of the sixth grade. The reason for his educational delay is one of the greatest issues that impoverished children in Ghana face — the lack of child protection, which tragically leads to child exploitation. When Brenya was younger, his mother left his father, taking Brenya’s seven siblings with […]
Extreme poverty is a heartbreaking thing to behold. It’s especially crushing when you see how it affects an innocent and vulnerable child. When you see children suffering, the natural reaction is to ask, “How can I help kids in need?” It’s a noble question, and one where you’re likely to find a lot of different answers. You might be tempted […]
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. Located between Guatemala and Honduras, it possesses 21,041 square kilometers (about the size of Massachusetts) and is tropical, with an average temperature of 30° to 35°C (80°to 95°F). The land is mostly mountains covered with tropical rainforest, with its highest peak being El Pital at 8,957 feet. San Salvador, the capital city, […]
Have you ever wondered the role technology could play in poverty reduction? If so, read on! Compassion International is in a war to help children escape from poverty. With more than 2 million children in our programs, we are certainly putting up a fight. But, with 385 million children still in extreme poverty, we need to fight smarter. Enter Microsoft. […]
This year, Compassion joins other humanitarian and child-focused organizations around the world to celebrate a landmark: the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. A convention might sound a little boring, but this historic meeting laid out the human rights that apply to all children. It recognized children as having inherent value in the social, economic, […]
Cognitive dissonance is a theory in social psychology for how we experience dissonance, or inconsistency, and respond to it. A simple definition of cognitive dissonance theory states that individuals experience feelings of discomfort when encountering two or more conflicting beliefs, behaviors or attitudes. We find ways to reduce dissonance through behavioral or attitude changes. One example of cognitive dissonance theory is […]
Every day around the world, thousands of people wake up early, get dressed and head to a day of work at the local landfill. They want to be there first when the trucks arrive to dump fresh garbage on the mountain of trash. These scrappers search for plastic and metal — anything recyclable they can sell or somehow reuse. While […]
Have you ever wondered what it is like to be poor in Asia? Asia is a wildly diverse place. From bustling modern cities to remote island paradises, daily life varies greatly. But economic status drives much of one’s everyday experiences, regardless of where you live. While Asia has made monumental strides in poverty reduction, deep pockets still exist. According to […]
According to a new report, the number of people around the world who are hungry is growing. Although the number of hungry people had been decreasing for a decade, in the past three years it has increased according to the UN. Globally, more than 820 million people around the world are suffering from hunger. That’s equal to about one in […]
People living under the international poverty line go to extreme measures to earn a living. Often they have few to no safety nets — figuratively or literally. Meet four people in Asia who do extreme jobs to feed their families. Though their occupations are harsh, they can teach us the dignity of work and the beauty of sacrificing to care […]
On June 26th 2019, a photo of the bodies of a 23-month-old girl and her father who washed ashore after trying to cross the U.S. border surfaced in international media. It grieved our hearts beyond words. At Compassion, we are committed to loving and serving children around the world. More than 300,000 of those we serve are children living in […]
Compassion sponsor, Laura, posted this suggestion on our community support page a while back in reference to technology in developing countries: “Our family has sponsored since the 1990s…In the past year or two we’ve been hearing more and more about sponsored children (especially teens) having access to Facebook, cell phones, etc. and having televisions and video games in their homes. […]
Africa is home to 59 million orphans. Nelson is one of them. What is an orphan — or how exactly do we define orphan? As we follow Nelson’s journey, we will see multiple definitions of this oft-misunderstood term. A Turn for the Worse Meet Nelson Mandela. Not the iconic South African leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, but a budding […]
Have you wondered what your sponsored child’s home might be like? Children from each of the seven countries where we work in Central America and the Caribbean took us on a tour of their homes! We hope having a glimpse into the homes of typical sponsored children in this region will help you know how you can pray for them […]
