Hi Lisa! I currently sponsor 6 children, but unfortunately will no longer do that. By the way, a comment that I actually posted first, yesterday, was a reply to Kay, but this morning I am seeing it below my comment to you and your reply. How absolutely precious it is to hear from Dawkins Ochieng and Mworia! Our statement on stewardship says the following: The ministry of Compassion belongs to the children, our Implementing Church Partners, our sponsors and donors, our Supporting Church Partners and ultimately to God. I posted a link at the end of this comment for a blog post about this same issue. However, releasing children from poverty is the core of what we do and this is why we aim to be the best stewards of your generosity. People have to decide for themselves. I just got back from visiting my sponsored child in Sumatra, Indonesia. They are starting a goat business she said in my letter one day after i asked why they keep buying goats. At this point we havent heard from her in nearly 3 years (since Feb. 2019). I just ran into this blog and found it frustrating. Also, the tutors helping your child write his letters want to make sure his letters are authentic, and they dont want to take away from what your child is actually saying by embellishing. -And much more! Compassion International "His letters were the most sweet, spirited letters I have read from any sponsor, but he kept giving hints as to who he could be," Stafford said. They are the important ones, and my sponsorship has not helped them. I had NO idea that it is common for parents in other cultures not to pay too much attention to their childs exact birth date. Compassion has grown significantly year after year, even during difficult financial times in the economy. Would it be better to hold our letters to one every couple of months until Compassion gets the system better underway? Compassion is a top-notch organization and I wish I could sponsor more kids! Some of the colored drawings are a perfect outline very perfectly colored, some are messy drawings but very neatly colored and then some are just no outline and just something drawn with a color. By The Numbers. We do need an eight week notice before you plan to visit the child so that we can do a background check and coordinate with the childs center staff in planning the visit. I have received two, maybe three pastor letters, over the years, from different pastors and, I think, different countries. Im just very passionate about this program!). Todd, Im sorry to hear that you feel our organization should be investigated. He went on and on excitingly about all the miracles God delivers through that center and does for the children. Imagine how generous sponsors would be if they knew what they were doing was going directly to that child!! Just maybe I need actual proof. I wrote a letter to Compassion explaining I might not be able to continue because of medical expenses and such, but for now I would try to keep giving the 38.00 a month. Are the letters written by our sponsored child, actually written by the child? Kristin, I am deeply sorry to hear of your doubts and disappointment regarding your childs letters :(. Thank you for offering to do that! When I receive letters from her they are so generic that one can tell the translator is just writing something generic that they probably write to most. Our core mission remains to release children from poverty in Jesus name. Glad to read the comment below that at least tells me 6-8 weeks. This was certainly not intentional and it sounds like it was just a misunderstanding when we spoke with you and our representative said the wrong gender. I, for one, am always excited to get mail from my child, too, and try to write back. It was true. Most if the time children cant make it into these programs and are left out completely.but lets go ahead and waste money sending bulk mail and thick and pretty pamphlets to sponsors to get more money out of them. My handwriting was terrible at first but then as the years progressed, my penmanship improved. We understand that $38 a month is a lot for most people. He just wasnt getting the help he needed to write them at the time and the issue was fixed. Karen, I am so sorry to hear that our CEOs salary has deterred you from sponsoring and impacting the life of a child. In April 2016, Charity Navigator informed us that we had once again achieved their 4 Star rating based on the 2015 990 forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service as well as transparency and accountability provisions in place at Compassion. Compassion International is a Christian child development organization working to release children from poverty in Jesus' name. I want to be a dad like yours - showing love in tangible ways no matter what., Trouble, challenges, pain, suffering, grief, transition, change and renewal come to us all. Said tutor would be able to help them answer questions and make it more personal at any age when they are able to write. I hope you find a child youd like to sponsor and have a wonderful time meeting him or her! All true. Thank you so much for your patience and grace with us through this transition process. I have only been a sponsor for a couple of years. Then one day i started getting drawings and long letters from him. Now, other than the photo updates, I get grade reports on my girls in TZ, and from none of the other countries where we sponsor, or have sponsored children. It doesnt make sense that my sponsored child would have written the very same thing in both letters. Keep asking her questions. After exchanging a couple of letters I noticed something she never failed to thank me for sponsoring her, and she always asked me to pray for her, and her family, and her country. I get entirely too much mail and the money used to produce and send it could be better spent on the children. Good morning, Terry! https://blog.compassion.com/tag/emilda-soriano/. But youre welcome to contact us if you no longer want to receive updates from the field and other mail from us such as general appeals and were happy to update your account so that these stop. I gave up on my sponsorship last year. Sponsors Share Their Best Letter Writing Tips, Before and After Safe Water: 20 Powerful Photos, How to Get to Know Your Sponsored Childs Family, Thank you, Samantha. I am concerned as well with the letters we receive. Yes, I think so but dont just take my word for it. Chris mentioned that in a blog post last week, How is My Money Used Each Month?. This has been very successful so far! I dont like the idea of speaking with someone on the phone n them telling me that if I send more than the recommended amount that it will still go to my child at Christmas, but I read on a paper that it will be devided among others. God wants me to pray earnestly for my child and encourage her as well as send the money. You are the only person that Susi has probably ever written a letter to, which can feel a little overwhelming and like quite a strange concept to a child who really only uses verbal communication in her daily life. Your child is always told however, that the gift she receives for Christmas is from you. In plain English they have some kinks to work out in their process. I understand he may be too young to write the letters himself and someone else is doing it for him, but I feel this is a huge miss as we have pulled her inwe want it to be real as it should be. Compassion strives to be an organization of integrity in all areas. Might it be better for those of us who are very keen on writing to our children to cut back on our letters for awhile to ease the burden of getting this new system ironed out? Then in a few days I got another letter asking me,Did you recieve my letter about Compassion Sunday? or whatever it was called. I was so happy. Im a teacher in remote, rural Alaska where all of us faculty and staff stretch our pennies and live with exceedingly less than the general American, and I want every one of my dollars to count. What Does It Mean To Be "A Man After My Own Heart"? During that time, I have sponsored as many as 8 children at once. I love my Mimi . My mother was sponsoring 3 kids and having me write letters to 1 of the kids because she couldnt think of anything to say. All the proof of Compassions sincerity was within the first few months of becoming a sponsor. They are excessive. My child is in Peru and the first letters I received were original letters with drawings. Please know we take financial integrity very seriously to ensure we are caring for our beneficiaries the best we possibly can. As an ESOL teacher (in the US), Ive also found that to be true. The money for sponsorship goes so far in these countries whereas, it would buy so little here in the U.S. Organization should be investigated based on complaints. We are happy to help! But they have help with a tutor. Essentially all these organisations are just multinational begging organisations and we , the sponsors, pay the top beggars a lot of money to beg for money from us. c.Values/Worldview We sent an inquiry last week to make sure everything is alright with Pamela and ask her to write back as soon as possible. Please also take note that Compassion NO LONGER HAS A 4 STAR RATING from Charity Navigator. Hi Barbara! Does his sibling have special needs too? Hes one handsome little man! Two more will be out of the program in June, 2017. Couldnt make me happier. Junk King Colorado Springs is the eco-friendly, fast, touchless junk removal solution in Colorado Springs, CO for all of your personal or commercial junk removal needs. They have strict guidelines on what they can and cannot do. We so appreciate all that you have done for Prasanth, but if you are no longer able to continue we will understand. Maybe try sponsoring a new child in a different country? Debra, I am truly so sorry that your generous Christmas gift to Susi and her family was not processed the way you had clearly requested it to be. Was the money used for a Christmas gift?? Please know that you are in my prayers. When children are registered into our program, the parents often times dont know the exact birth date of their child as birthdays are not as important in other cultures as they are here in the US. -recreational activities to development self-confidence and social skills Top Ranked Companies I truly believe that Compassion International is the best child sponsorship program out there. I just read your post from 2010.what I wouldnt give to go back to that time when everything was working smoothly and I was still receiving letters from Gadiel and I felt like I KNEW him. No kid should go without. ? I have never doubted my hard-earned money given for child sponsorship was well-spent! I found it very rewarding; however, I was very disappointed the way it ended. How much you wanna bet she spends more money on sponsored children than you do and you supposedly work for the company. For this reason, we take financial integrity very seriously. We look forward to earning your trust and proving our heart for serving our sponsors and children with excellence. I have a question that you may be able to answer. Please send us an email at [emailprotected] with your sponsor number and we would be happy to see whats going on. However, we are so thankful to know you are still praying for your sweet child, which is one of the best ways to help anyhow. The initial information that was given to me was that he lived with his mother. Since this is a very generous gift we want sponsors to be able to see how the gift was spent. Our wonderfully hardworking processing team will ensure that Lilibeth is placed on your account as soon as possible. If you really help kids you wont get something good paid from the sponsors that love the kids! It can be frightening for children to get their picture taken as it isfor children in all cultures. Therefore, it is common to see older children in younger grade levels. We feel that in order to develop quality staff at Compassion while at the same time managing our financial resources with great care and wisdom, we must seek to offer competitive salaries for the various positions necessary to successfully execute Compassions mission statement. Dont get me wrong, it makes my day when they arrive and they are all over my refrigerator. I am able to send inquiries when it has been longer than six months since you last heard from your children. I will have to trust my intuition and send my support to other organizations that I feel good about. While we in the US might go several months without thinking of the Child outside that monthly credit card charge and thank Uncle Sam for the tax write-off but those children and their families are playing to God, speaking your name, thanking God for you, calling you mommy and/or daddy. I write my child often and have received photographs and wishes and prayers on occasion . Thankfully, God opened up doors for us to update our systems and make our letter process more digital. Management & General $80M. The system wont allow us to view the letters that are currently in translation, but they will show up on your account as soon as they are complete. You all are amazing letter writers and always are so generous in what you send to your kiddos which is why our children write thank you letters for the gifts they receive to give their sponsors assurance that they received it. In no way did we expect or intend to force you to give more. I have written several letters mentioning his mom and their relationship. I am going to email it to you right now! Heres the financials chart used by Ministry Watch so you can see how Compassions numbers line up with other organizations: Industry average vs. Compassion: I sponsor a little girl from the Phillipines.When I send extra money as a gift,does she or her family receive the full amount that I send? To make sense of the salary we pay our president and CEO, please understand that his income is well under the average salary range of other presidents and CEOs of other organizations who are within the same categorization as Compassion. And that we be at peace with unbelievers too. Their smiles are natural and genuine. Will you please email us at [emailprotected], so we can help you further? and as compassion says its the Lords money so why panic if you know its going directly to a child in need. Feel free to visit our website (https://www.compassion.com/donate-to-charity.htm) to learn more about Compassion and our different giving opportunities. There is clearly something wrong somewhere. In March 2010 we also sponsor Daniela from Ecuador. 1. Which one is correct? You didnt help. I want to encourage you that your child is very real and that you truly are making an incredible difference in his life. I do apologize for that! Hes probably wondering whats wrong with us. At first the representative said there were computer issues but then seemed to indicate the child was already receiving aid or had previously. (And for those of you who are wondering no, I dont work for Compassion. I never received a reply from Compassion UK. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email our team directly at [emailprotected] and we would be happy to help! It definitely sounds like you had a very legitimate concern in your childs letters since they were inconsistent. Thank you so much for sharing your honest story about your experience with Compassion! . I started with 1 about 2 years . Thank you all I loved reading all your stories, God bless all of you and especially the childrenJesus loves them all. Oh hey! God bless! Did I understand you correctly that you have never received third party letters from us about your childs center or church? It seems this post is still being read by a lot of people who also post concerns about their sponsor ships and getting answers and help here, so I shall try and post my question and maybe Ill get some help and answers here. The world spirit in ways compassion international fake letters sponsorship alone can not send, you ' re finances actually. I would think by this time, he could have learned to write a few words. We love you always, Elisa (your sponsor mom) Become a Child Sponsor! We usually compare our CEOs compensation to World Visions President, who has a reportable compensation from that organizationas $466,685, because they are an organization of comparable size and mission. Once youve sponsored the child, you can sign up for either a group sponsor tour going to the Philippines or an individual visit through our Tours and Visits page: https://www.compassion.com/newsponsor/visit.htm. You probably would not make it one day. or give you a full refund? Please know that we care deeply for the children in our program and are grateful for the time and resources youve chosen to pour into helping release Lenilson from poverty and encourage him in his potential in Christ. 3-stars on Resource Allocation Efficiency Do you recall if you received this one? However, I just want to encourage you to keep writing to your kiddos. Now Im off to prepare a new birthday letter with his correct age to celebrate his new double digit number. Nevertheless, this miniscule calculation impacted Compassions overall 4 Star rating. Is Compassion a trustworthy organization? The letters appear to be written by someone else. Now I am getting stuff about taking a trip to hug my child. To whom in may concern, I am trying to be patient and to understand that the new system of letter sending/receiving has changed, but I am pretty worried. Letter writing tends to be a foreign concept to most of them, and they do not always know how to express their thanks or communicate their feelings, plans and dreams. #compassionletter C Compassion International However, you always have the option to designate your donation as a child gift specifically to Leo, instead of to the Christmas fund. I also believe the CEO salary is excessive . Anyways, the response the second time said that it normally takes 3 to 6 months to receive the first letter.hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. She wasnt in school One and 1/2 years later? Please know that we would love to be able to provide more photos and even videos of the children. Also, please note that our leaders are faithful sponsors and donors as well, and personally and financially support the ministry. Thank you so much for your kind words and support. Heart is broken over all this. We updated our system in April and have seen a slow down of letters as we work through the kinks in the new system. I havent heard from my child for almost 10 months! Please let me know if you would like us to research this gift further for you. Let me explain something about the monthly. I think those are the only third-party letters I have received. If Christians truly believed in this companys good works then every church goer would be OFFERING their time and talents and energy into translating letters for the sponsored children and sponsors. And finally, Charity Navigators new methodology for calculating fundraising efficiency on a three-year average came within thousandths of a percentage point of achieving another 4 Star rating. Also please provide me with the childs full name, or child number, and the dates of these letters. As I understand it, part of our sponsorship money goes toward our sponsored child going to school in the area as well as being able to visit the center, right? I am writing to verify that yes they know gender but our pronouns get mixed in conversation. You are welcome to send us an email at [emailprotected] if you would like to speak further with us. But here are some other resources for you to review if you want more information: Note from the Editor: Financial accountability is so important to us, we want to show you our books. I received a letter from the project director in the Dominican Republic, several years ago, telling me that one of my girls was away from the project for a few months, because of problems in the family. To date I know next to nothing about the children I sponsor which is a sad reflection of the antiquated and poor service Compassion UK operates. There are so many things that seem strange about the letters I have recieved.Then all the other mail I get from Compassion is bothersome! The same is true of Uganda. I do absolutely believe these are written by my children. I have cherished all my letters, drawings, prayers and every connection I have had with Iddi these past few years. Hats off to them for wanting to apply their unique talents to the giving process. I am so sorry to hear that you are feeling disappointed in the letters you have been receiving from your kiddo, and that they are making you question if he is receiving your letters. Hi Chrystie! He showed me all the things I had mailed to him over the years, keeping it all in a small picture album. I just checked the site. Lisa, I am deeply sorry for the concerns you have that have caused you to doubt the integrity of Compassion. My attitude was oh well, a tax write-off if anything else. They were at once the lay face of the church, the spiritual heart of civic government, and the social kin who claimed the allegiance of peers and the obedience of subordinates. God used Compassion International to change my life. Thank you! First off, thank you so much for choosing to change the life of a child in poverty! Private Donations $1.1B. Article content. Hi Todd! I have wondered what St Paul would make of this? Will you please send us an email at [emailprotected]? As far as the letters, we see personal pronouns often mixed up by our translators. The website of Compassion is much improved these days, which allows us to easier communicate with the children from time to time, by writing them letters. I am from Kenya and am an alumni of the Compassion Sponsorship Program, I graduated from the program at the beginning of last year. I do apologize for this as our intention is not to deceive you or make you hesitant in the integrity of our ministry. Im questioning the validity of all of this now because not even the most renowned artists can draw the exact same thing, with the exact same dimensions, without deviation at all. In that regard, Compassion does well. We are still working through all the bugs in this new system (which I am guessing you will understand as a programmer yourself). 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