A few years ago I found out about an organization called Compassion International. They work within poverty stricken communities helping and serving people. It is truly amazing how people's small contributions combined together make such an enorous difference.
- About every 30 seconds a child dies of malaria, a preventable and treatable disease.
- An estimated 101 million primary-school-age children worldwide don't attend school.
- About 2.5 billion people live on less and $2 per day, making them extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, illness, food shortages or instability of any kind.
- 22,000 children die each day due to conditions of poverty. Hundreds of millions live in extreme poverty.
- Each day 10,000 newborns in devloping countries die within a month of birth.
- 640 million children live without adequate shelter.
- There are 1.1 billion people in developing countries without access to clean water.
These statistics sound dismal but each one of us can make a difference. And the difference can come with very little sacrifice.
- $4 will protect a child from parasites
- $14 will feed a baby and mother for a month
- $22 provides an adult with literacy
- $30 provides a family with a water well
Once a year the organization Compassion International holds an event called Compassion Sunday. Today is Compassion Sunday.
Around Christmas time our family decided to sponsor a child in another country. Our sponsor child, Chinmaye from India, is 6 years old. He sends us letters telling us about himself. In one of his recent letters he let us know that he's praying for our family. We pray for him each day and think of him often. It was tender to think that he is praying for us. We are eager for his next letter and excited to watch him grow.
Make a difference anywhere, just make a difference.