APRIL 10, 2011SPEAK UP FOR CHILDREN IN POVERTY

ORDER YOUR FREE COMPASSION SUNDAY PLANNING PACK ATCOMPASSIONSUNDAY.COM OR CALL US TOLL FREE AT (888) 503-4585.

APRIL 10, 2011

COMPASSION SUNDAY

Compassion Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to speak from your heart — and a way for your church to plant seeds of real hope in the lives of children in need to release them from poverty in Jesus’ name.

You can make a big difference on Compassion Sunday, April 10, 2011 (or any date that suits your church). Start by taking a small step today and order your free Compassion Sunday Planning Pack.

We’ll send you everything you need to inspire others to help move the mountain of poverty by sponsoring a child. Visit compassionsunday.com and get started today!

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PAIDHICKORY NCPERMIT #104

m a g a z i n e

WinTeR 2011 | compassion.comVol. 5, no. 1

IN241 (1/11)

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About the Cover: Florence Rojo, age 16, a Compassion-sponsored child from the Philippines, looks for recyclable items in a dump near her home in Iloilo City.PHOTO BY Edwin Estioko

Compassion International 12290 Voyager ParkwayColorado Springs, CO 80921-3668(800) 336-7676

Page 2 Lessons From the Trash Heap A Message From Our President

Page 10 Hunger The World’s Greatest Health Risk

Page 12 Haiti: One Year LaterRebuilding and Restoring Hope

Page 19 Beyond the NumbersAnnual Report 2009-2010

We WeLCoMe Your LetterS AND CoMMeNtS!

Please e-mail compassionmagazine@us.ci.org or write to Editor, Compassion Magazine, Compassion International, 12290 Voyager Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80921-3668.

See and read more in Compassion’s online magazine — and share it with your family and friends! Go to compassion.com/magazine.

PreSIDeNt: Dr. Wess Stafford

eDItor: Leanna Summers

DeSIGN: Grey Matter Group

PrINt ProDuCtIoN: Michelle Dana

eDItorIAL & ProofreADING: Colleen Keeffe, Suellen Wenz, Debby Weaver

Compassion Magazine is published three times per year by Compassion International. © Compassion International 2011. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society ®. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

The daily grind of relentless, abject poverty damages children’s

developing sense of worth, smothers their dreams, and far too

often steals their health and life. As you will see in this issue, some

children grow up where no child should ever be — near the dangerous

environment of big-city garbage dumps, scavenging for survival. But

Compassion is there — and so are many of you.

I once took a group of Compassion supporters to Guatemala. I knew

that visiting the capital city’s huge dump would be a tough experience,

but I wanted them to have the opportunity to encourage the children

who live there every day — the poorest of the poor.

Our van came to a stop in that miserable wasteland, surrounded by

mountains of disgusting debris. The stench was overwhelming in

the sweltering heat. Hordes of flies immediately swarmed us, and we

could barely hear each other over the roar of the bulldozers. After

the visitors had been engaged with the children for a few minutes,

I noticed that one person in the group had refused to get out of the

van, and he was fuming.

“Wess,” he said, “you told me Compassion’s ministry is about hope and

dreams. Then you bring me here. There is no hope here. No dreams are

possible. I see only tragedy and despair. Nothing good could happen

here.” There wasn’t much I could say in that moment to calm him

down, so I left him in the van and breathed a prayer.

That evening we gathered for a small banquet with formerly sponsored

children who had qualified for Compassion’s Leadership Development

Program (LDP). We arranged for the visitors to sit at tables with

the LDP students. During the meal, I walked around the room to

greet people. I slowly approached the table of my angry friend and

tentatively asked, “So, how are things going here?” My friend, who had

been so upset earlier, looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said,

“Wonderfully. We have the best table of all.”

“Really!” I replied. “Why is that?”

“Because of her,” he answered, pointing across the table to a radiant

young Guatemalan woman. “She is amazing,” he continued. “Ask her

where she grew up.”

She smiled at me and said, “I grew up on the city dump you visited today.”

My eyes welled up with tears, and I thanked God for His divine

orchestration of the seating arrangements. I asked her name. “It’s

Aury,” she replied. “I have been accepted at the university as a

business major.” Amazing indeed.

“Aury,” I asked, “what do you know now from having grown up in that

awful place?” I will never forget her response.

“I know two things. First, I know what it feels like for people to look

at you and think you are garbage. When I was very small, the dump

trucks wouldn’t even swerve to avoid hitting me — the drivers thought

I wasn’t worth the effort. If I had been killed out there among the dogs

and vultures, probably nobody would have even dug a grave for me.

I was already where I belonged — garbage in the trash heap.”

It broke my heart to hear that. “And what else do you know, Aury?”

I asked gently.

She beamed and said confidently, “I know that nobody is garbage. We

are all loved by God and He has a perfect plan and purpose for every

life. That’s what I know.”

By now, everyone at the table was in tears. My friend, his anger

transformed to awe, whispered to me, “That’s not all. She doesn’t have

an LDP sponsor yet.” By the end of the evening he had sponsored her.

Aury has since graduated from college and started her own business.

She owns a store not far from the dump where she grew up. When she’s

not working, she often gives back at the Compassion child development

center she attended, on the dump’s edge. Because of her childhood

sponsor, she went to school, received health care, and had a safe place

to play and grow. She became a Christian and began to dream of a

better life. Her LDP sponsor made it possible for her to attend college,

where she developed skills to be self-supporting. Poverty was defeated

in Aury’s life because people who cared stood up for her. Now she loves

the children at that same center, and to them, she is a beacon of hope.

Some people don’t want to know that children live in wretched conditions

like these. Thank you for not looking the other way. Together we are doing

heroic things to serve the local church in these desperate places, enabling

them to lovingly intervene to save children’s lives and change their

futures forever. If you doubt it, ask Aury!

FROM THE HEART OF THE PRESIDENT WeSS STaFFoRD

2 3I have hated poverty ever since I understood that it was responsible for the deaths of nearly half my boyhood friends in the African village where I grew up. I especially hate that it is most cruel to innocent, vulnerable children. So I fight back. I cannot thank you enough for fighting alongside me at Compassion. I wish each one of you could see how powerfully God is using you to rescue and protect “the least of these” who need your help the most.

Poverty was defeated in Aury’s life because people who

cared stood up for her. { }

Aury

Compassion sponsorship gives children, like Hannah and Florence Rojo from Iloilo City, Philippines, opportunities to escape an endless cycle of poverty. Still, the environments where children in poverty live, play and work are often difficult and dangerous.

4 5Too CloSe To Home: This massive mountain of

garbage is just across a field from the girls’ home,

a half-completed structure owned by their aunt.

The stench of the dump fills the neighborhood

and is especially strong when it rains.

CHilDRen leFT alone: Florence and Hannah are two of six children in the Rojo family. While their mother and father work, the older children care for the younger ones while older relatives look in on them throughout the day.

Don’T look DoWn: Lusita, the girls’ mother, says one of the tricks to working the dump is not to look down at whatever is squishing under your feet. Lusita, accompanying Hannah and Florence in this photo, works here eight hours daily.

laST in line: On average, 14 trucks arrive daily with new loads of garbage. There is always a big scramble to be the first to go through the new loads. Men are typically first in line, women and children last.

Pig FooD: The girls find discarded food from the market. They will take it for the pig belonging to their neighbor, who has promised to give them a piglet from the next litter. Sometimes the family also eats scavenged food.

Taking a BReak: Exhausted from picking through garbage piles using a stick with a nail through the end, the girls scavenge garbage on a conveyer belt. There is not as much to find, but the work is easier and cleaner.

Iloilo City, where Florence and Hannah Rojo live, is located in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.

Population: 450,000

average family income: $17 per day

average daily income for the eight-member Rojo family: about $10–$12

no FRee Time: A city dump next to their home is where 12-year-old Hannah Rojo (left) and her 16-year-old sister, Florence (right), spend every weekend, holiday, and some early hours before school scavenging for plastic bottles, tin cans, and other recyclable items to sell.

By Edwin Estioko, Philippines Communications Specialist, and Cherie Rayburn, Contributing Writer | Photos by Edwin Estioko

(ToP leFT) SoRTing THe DaY’S FinDS: After making her way down the garbage mountain with a heavy basket of recyclables, Florence sorts her collection. Copper wire is the most coveted recyclable, since it brings the most money. But she didn’t find any today.

(BoTTom leFT) WageS FoR a HalF-DaY’S WoRk: Results from the scale, written on a piece of paper, indicate that Hannah and Florence have earned $1.44 from their four hours of scavenging today. On good eight-hour days, Lusita earns up to $5.50.

THe momenT oF TRUTH: Today, recycled-goods traders are at the dump with their scales. Each type of material brings a different price per pound. The girls hope their day’s work will result in big numbers on the scale.

A ChILDhooD fILLeD WIth Work The International Labor Organization defines child labor as “work that

deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.”

Worldwide, there are more than 200 million child laborers. Of these, 115 million work in the worst, most hazardous forms of labor.

Each year, an estimated 22,000 children are killed at work. The numbers of those injured or made ill are unknown.

The Asia/Pacific region has the highest number of child laborers in the world — 12.5 percent of the region’s 652 million children age 5–14.

In the Philippines, 11 percent of children (2.2 million) age 5–14 are engaged in child labor. Statistics: International Labor Organization (ILO) and International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC)

6 7

By Edwin Estioko, Philippines Communications Specialist | Photos by Edwin Estioko

Pastor Edwin

Araña in Iloilo

City partners with

Compassion to

create community-

based programs

for children near

the dump.

8 9

The Iloilo City dump in the Philippines is a double-edged sword to

the families who live next to it.

On the one hand, people scavenge its heaps for recyclable materials

like metal to sell so they can buy food. On the other hand, the dump

is dirty, hazardous and riddled with violence.

The Iloilo City government has considered closing the dump because

of increasing crime there. Recently, a girl was raped, murdered and

thrown into the trash.

This odd pairing of dependence and danger only serves to motivate

Pastor Edwin Araña and members of his Compassion partner church,

Christ Centered Fellowship, to work even harder to change their

community’s future. They have already sown seeds of change, and

opportunities beyond the dump are sprouting.

Compassion’s unique model of working exclusively through local

churches like Christ Centered Fellowship — which hosts a Child

Sponsorship Program and Child Survival Program — means that

pastors like Araña are from the community, and know the children

and families most in need and how to reach and help them.

Araña also knows the two-mile route from his church to the dump

well. The thatched bamboo homes, plowed patches of rice fields, and

makeshift shops with piles of metal scraps from the dump belong to

the families he has spent the last 28 years serving.

In the 1990s when the government began using the area as a dump,

Araña says, “very quickly the ‘mountain’ grew higher and higher.

I used to hitchhike on bulldozers to reach the families.”

Since community members have a great need for other opportunities,

the church created a crab pond and garden where families of

registered children come to work and earn extra money. The church

also lends money to parents who want to begin small businesses,

which help them become self-sufficient.

“We also teach them livelihood and entrepreneurial skills, as we

nurture them in God’s Word.” { }“A number of our parents are now earning money from selling rice or

snacks,” says Hayde Villanueva, director of the Compassion-assisted

center at the church. “Some have tried food processing, others now

drive their own motorcycle-taxis, while others have tried making and

selling peanut butter.”

These activities also help parents provide for their kids.

Today, 274 children are registered at the child development center, and

they, too, are learning ways to create brighter futures for themselves.

“We train our registered children to excel in academics and do

well in life,” Villanueva says. “We also teach them livelihood and

entrepreneurial skills, as we nurture them in God’s Word.”

Villanueva uses curriculum called “My Plan for Tomorrow,” in which

Compassion-assisted children are encouraged to think beyond the dump.

They write down what they want to do when they grow up and the steps they

need to take to reach their goals. Florence Rojo wants to be a teacher

when she grows up, and her sister Hannah wants to work in ministry.

Pastor Araña and Villanueva believe the girls will achieve their goals

and are determined to help them any way they can.

“We are a community-conscious church,” Araña says. “It is what

Jesus would do.”

go To ComPaSSion.Com/magazine/PHiliPPineS To ReaD moRe, inClUDing a Blog BY THe RePoRTeR

on HiS exPeRienCe in THe DUmP.

The quest for success often keeps our focus on that next raise, that next house, that next new thing. But if we think we have some catching up to do, we should consider how the other 90 percent of the world lives. See how you stack up to the rest of the world at:

Client: Compassion InternationalPublication: Outreach Magazine Jan-Feb 2011Agency: Grey Matter Group 616-458-8750 www.greymattergroup.com

whoarethejoneses.org

of the WorLD’S huNGrY liVe in RURal aReaS, PRimaRilY in VillageS in aFRiCa anD aSia.

MILLIoN PeoPLe WoRlDWiDe aRe CHRoniCallY HUngRY – almoST one in SeVen.

MILLIoN ChILDreN in DeVeloPing CoUnTRieS aRe UnDeRWeigHT, THe ReSUlT oF CHRoniC anD aCUTe HUngeR.

oF THe WoRlD’S HUngRY aRe CHilDRen.

MILLIoN ChILDreN DIe eaCH YeaR BeFoRe age 5. in 53% oF THeSe DeaTHS, malnUTRiTion iS a FaCToR.

MILLIoN ChILDreN eaCH YeaR aRe BoRn UnDeRWeigHT, “inHeRiTing” malnUTRiTion FRom THeiR UnDeRnoURiSHeD moTHeRS.

98% of the huNGrY PeoPLe LIve IN DeveLoPING CouNtrIeS

More people in our world are affected by hunger than by AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Daily, hundreds of millions of children and adults live with the effects of chronic malnutrition, of not having enough food to meet the body’s minimum requirements for a healthy, normal life.

53 MILLIoN

IN LAtIN AMerICA AND the CArIbbeAN

42 MILLIoN

IN the NeAr eASt AND North AfrICA

578 MILLIoN

IN ASIA AND the PACIfIC

265 MILLIoN

IN Sub-SAhArANAfrICA

Statistics: UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

the effeCtS of huNGer oN the boDY NOrmAl grOWth IS COmPrOmISEd.

PhySICAl ACtIvIty IS dIFFICUlt.

rESIStANCE tO dISEASE IS lESSENEd.

lEArNINg AbIlIty IS dImINIShEd.

HaiTi57%

Tanzania

34%

RWanDa

34%

kenYa

31%eTHioPia

41%

CouNtrIeS Where CoMPASSIoN WorkS Where More thAN 30% of the PoPuLAtIoN IS uNDerNourISheD:

10 11NutrItIoN CoMPArISoNS

On average, the body needs at least 2,100 calories per day to allow for a normal, healthy life.

In 2007, these three countries averaged the

most calories consumed per person per day.

UNITED STATES: 3,770

AUSTRIA: 3,760

GREECE: 3,700

{these three countries where Compassion works have the least calories consumed per person per day.

HAITI: 1,850

ETHIOPIA: 1,950

TANZANIA: 2,020

}

12 13

Compassion staff in Haiti, with the world and its attention turned elsewhere, dares to believe the struggling nation can rebound and re-emerge stronger than before.

A shrill whistle from the streets of Port-au-Prince outside my hotel

window jars me awake. In a fog from two days of travel that put

me into Haiti in the dark and rain the night before, I throw open the

curtains of my Spartan room only to be confronted by the sight of a

jam-packed tent city a scant 20 yards from me. An elderly woman stoops

over a bucket of murky water, washes the night’s grime from her body,

and pats her face with a grungy handcloth. She is standing in the mud.

“It doesn’t sound like much has changed down there,” friends and

colleagues had told me in the weeks leading up to my return to

Haiti. My last assignment here was a few weeks after the Jan. 12,

2010, earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and drove the

poorest country in the Western Hemisphere even deeper into poverty.

They may be right, judging by the million people living on the streets

and the sheer volume of rubble and collapsed buildings that still

clutter the city. Residents estimate that less than 2 percent of it has

been cleaned up. Slinging my camera over my shoulder, I hit the

streets of Port-au-Prince to find out.

“Nine months after the earthquake, we are still in a desperate

situation,” Compassion Haiti Country Director Gilbaud Saint-Cyr

tells me from Compassion’s headquarters in Haiti.

“The Haitian people are very brave and strong, and they want to do their

best to have a better life,” he says. “But in general, it is really a nightmare.”

Yet there are signs of progress: Gone are the U.S. Air Force C-17s

carrying emergency supplies and soldiers. In their place are commercial

jetliners carrying returning citizens and church folk eager to help on

mission trips. The bodies and smell of death are gone. And so is much of

the fear that surrounded the country in the weeks after the earthquake.

But one thing has remained the same: Compassion’s presence, and their

resolve to equip this country to pull itself out of poverty. As I visited

Compassion child development centers around the area, every sponsored

child and parent I spoke with told me they have survived because of

the one-on-one care they received from Compassion — the food kits,

the shelter, the access to medical care, the psychological counseling,

the ability to go back to school, the clean water, and on and on and on.

Stepping into each Compassion center, where I can see these things

and the hope that goes with them, is like stepping into an oasis.

None of this is by accident: Elissant Jean Jacques, a former

Compassion-sponsored child and Leadership Development Program

student, is directing a strategic plan to help Compassion-assisted

children and their families rebuild and become self-sufficient.

By Sean Sheridan | Photos by Sean SheridanA Reporter’s Perspective

immeDiaTelY aFTeR THe QUake Medical attention, food kits and tents were provided. Trauma counseling was provided for all children.

DaYS aFTeR THe QUake Mobile medical clinics and supplies were made available. Revitalization camps were set up.

monTHS aFTeR THe QUake

Transitional shelters for 6,000 children/families were made possible by supplying materials to rebuild.

one YeaR aFTeR THe QUake

Transitional housing and schools are being rebuilt. A water, sanitation and hygiene strategy is being put in place at 44 centers.

A GRIEVING COMPASSION STAFF

WORKED AROUND THE CLOCK TO

PROVIDE AID AFTER THE qUAKE.

DURING THE NExT FEW WEEKS

AND MONTHS, FOOD, SUPPLIES

AND OTHER FORMS OF AID WOULD

GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY.

Most rubble in Haiti still clogs streets and buildings.

Earthquake survivors receive hot meals at Compassion student centers.

Elissant Jean Jacques, a former Haitian LDP student, is leading Compassion’s rebuilding efforts.

Poor people living in the slums often pay five to 10 times more per liter than wealthy people living in the same city.

$

the Wealthy

$$$$$$$$

$$

the Poor

The cost of water

one in five children worldwide die from diarrhea – that’s more than AIdS, malaria and measles combined.

50% of the world’s hospitalizations are due to water-related illnesses such as cholera.

TOP PHOTO: Haitian children drink clean water provided by Compassion. SECOND PHOTO: Water filtration systems set up in Compassion child development centers in the Dominican Republic bring affordable water to poor families. THIRD PHOTO: Villagers in Addis Hiwot, Ethiopia, line up to fill buckets with clean water from Compassion-installed

water pumps. BOTTOM PHOTO: A Compassion-built latrine in Honduras helps keep children and their families healthy.

Compassion Provides Clean Water and Sanitation for Assisted Children

14

leaRn moRe aBoUT HoW ComPaSSion iS HelPing CHilDRen anD THeiR FamilieS in HaiTi aT HaiTi.ComPaSSion.Com.

15eVeRY STeP oF THe WaYBy Ephraim Lindor, Haiti Communications Specialist,

and Leanna Summers | Photo by Ephraim Lindor

meDiCal CaRe anD TemPoRaRY SHelTeR giVe one FamilY oF eaRTHQUake SURViVoRS a HealTHY oUTlook on liFe.

On Jan. 12, 2010, Rosemita Jean was in Port-au-Prince, selling soap, when the earthquake struck. Her sons were at home studying, and the walls and roof crumbled down on them.

Rosemita ran home to find her sons, Compassion-sponsored children Wesley, 12, and Kerby, 9.

“When I looked at the ruin, I had no idea that my children were alive,” she says. “I cried out for help, but nobody came.” Stunned mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers were desperately digging to find loved ones trapped under one crumbled home after another.

With bare hands, Rosemita dug and pulled the rubble for three hours until she heard Wesley’s muffled cry. After more digging she saw Kerby’s head. It was bloody. Then she saw Wesley’s legs. They were broken. But the boys were alive. The home’s metal door had fallen over them, protecting them from the heaviest debris.

Rosemita hoisted the boys from the rubble and gently laid them in a patch of dirt, where they made a bed for the night and fell asleep. The next day, Rosemita picked her way through the clogged city streets to a hospital. It was overflowing with patients, and no one could help her.

Then Rosemita remembered how Compassion had always been there for her kids, so she carried them to their Compassion child development center. There, a nurse who works at the student center administered first aid to the boys and quickly got them into a medical center.

Compassion also provided the family with a tent, and Rosemita tried to get her family back into a normal routine. She returned to selling soap while Compassion provided the boys with trauma counseling and school.

Then in August, rain pounded Port-au-Prince and swamped the family’s now disintegrating tent.

Because of the outpouring of financial help of sponsors and donors received in the days following the quake, Compassion provided 6,000 families of Compassion-assisted children — including Rosemita’s — materials to build sturdier temporary shelters.

Rosemita began building their new home the same day she received her voucher for supplies.

Life isn’t fully back to normal for Rosemita. The long-term challenges of rebuilding in Haiti are still daunting. But the boys’ injuries have healed and they are happy to have a clean, dry home. Rosemita knows they face more challenges, but she is confident that Compassion will be there to help her every step of the way.

Compassion staff members in Haiti, who want to bring change to

the country, are carrying it out. The plan has four categories: food

security, permanent homes, health care and financial assistance.

“The most important strategy, in my mind, is to help parents

generate income,” Elissant tells me as we sit on a mound of rubble

in Leogane, near the epicenter of the earthquake. We are outside

Compassion’s Leogane Child Development Center, where funds from

Compassion donors have been used to set up a temporary school.

“We also are helping church partners rebuild,” Elissant says,

nodding at the interim classrooms filled with benches, desks and

blackboards that Compassion has provided until repairs of the

damaged school are completed. “Before, we saw children sitting

on concrete blocks, and now they have a place to learn.”

All this is happening through help from Compassion sponsors and

donors, Elissant says.

“It is possible to defeat poverty,” he says, “because poverty is in the

mind.” He tells me that by providing help and encouragement, people

can change their world. “I was born in it,” he says, “and I am not poor.”

As I witness Elissant and other Compassion staff in action, it is clear that

the strategic plan is working, that little by little, hope is taking root.

“The Haitian people are very brave

and strong, and they want to do their

best to have a better life.” { }

Wesley helps Rosemita carry a bucket of soap out of their new Compassion-provided shelter. She will sell it in the city.

Statistics: UNICEF, water.org

2.5 billion people do not have adequate sanitation facilities.

800 million people do not have access to clean water.

1.5 million children die of waterborne illnesses every year.

1,000 parasitic worms often reside in poor children’s bodies at any time due to unclean water.

16 17

Heavy Rains and Flooding Devastate Northern Uganda

THe iSSUe // Since Oct. 16, 2010, heavy rains have washed out roads and flooded the gardens and homes of many Compassion-assisted children. Cassava and sweet potatoes, the major food and cash crops, began to rot, forcing families to dig them up. Maize, millet, beans, soybeans and groundnuts were waterlogged and wilting. Latrines also were destroyed, and the main water pipe broke. Many villagers were sickened from drinking contaminated river water. Children are also suffering from malaria and pneumonia.

ComPaSSion’S ReSPonSe // Compassion is preparing for a possible food crisis and providing health care and emergency food items to critically affected families. For the next harvest season, Compassion will provide families with seeds, and coffee and eucalyptus trees for replanting.

Fighting Along Border Strains Thailand Refugee Camps

THe iSSUe // Burma’s first elections in 20 years caused fighting to erupt between Burmese soldiers and Karen rebels fighting for democracy. In November 2010, an estimated 20,000 Burmese fled to neighboring Thailand to escape the violence, adding to an estimated 150,000 refugees already living in cramped camps. Refugees cannot leave the camps and are often discriminated against by Thai business owners, who take advantage of their inability to speak Thai and ask them to work for lower wages than Thai workers.

ComPaSSion’S ReSPonSe // Five Compassion-assisted child development centers along the border are located near the violence. Compassion’s church partners are conducting safety drills for children so they know where to go when violence breaks out. Compassion is also partnering with International Justice Mission to advocate for refugees’ rights, and church partners are sharing Christ’s love, providing educational opportunities, and working with children and their families to teach them Thai.

Cholera Epidemic Sickens Children in Haiti

THe iSSUe // The cholera epidemic continues to sicken tens of thousands and has killed more than 3,500 people in Haiti. Two Compassion-assisted children and one Compassion tutor have died from the illness. In addition, 158 Compassion children have been affected by the cholera epidemic, and 18 have lost relatives. Cholera is caused by bacteria and is contracted from drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food. Without clean water sources, Haiti’s poorest citizens are forced to drink contaminated water from rivers, and many are unaware of how the illness is contracted.

ComPaSSion’S ReSPonSe // Compassion is providing emergency medical care for affected children and distributing water filters and bottled water to Compassion children and their families. Nearly every center has been equipped with an intravenous rehydration kit. Previously many have died because such an item was missing in treatment centers. Compassion’s church partners have also begun an awareness campaign to teach children and their families how to prevent cholera.

CoMPASSIoN’S CoMPLeMeNtArY INterveNtIoNS PROvIDE fOR EMERgENCIES aND NEEDS THaT aRE BEyOND THE SCOPE Of THE CHIlD SPONSORSHIP PROgRaM, SuCH aS PROjECTS TO PROvIDE ClEaN waTER OR COSTly MEDICal CaRE TO CHIlDREN. lEaRN MORE aT COMPaSSIONMODEl.ORg/COMPlEMENTaRy-INTERvENTIONS.PHP.

UganDa {STaRTeD in 1980}ComPaSSion’S RegiSTeReD CHilDRen = 71,615CSP = 1,666lDP = 340

inDia {STaRTeD in 1968}ComPaSSion’S RegiSTeReD CHilDRen = 114,063CSP = 3,033lDP = 187

HaiTi {STaRTeD in 1968} ComPaSSion’S RegiSTeReD CHilDRen = 65,375CHilD SURViVal PRogRam (CSP) BeneFiCiaRieS = 2,302leaDeRSHiP DeVeloPmenT PRogRam (lDP) STUDenTS = 87

THailanD {STaRTeD in 1970}ComPaSSion’S RegiSTeReD CHilDRen = 33,849CSP = 744lDP = 65

Cyclone Jal Causes Flooding and Mudslides in India

THe iSSUe // As Cyclone Jal moved through the Bay of Bengal in November 2010, all 145 registered children from Compassion’s Chinnathottam Student Center (IN-466) were forced to evacuate their homes and take shelter in a government school and the center.

ComPaSSion’S ReSPonSe // Compassion provided affected children and their families: • fuel for cooking • materials for temporary shelters, including tarps and sheeting,

for 15 families whose homes were destroyed • medicine for families who are sick • bed sheets and blankets for all registered children • fishing nets for 15 families whose nets were destroyed

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“The one-on-one relationship between the sponsor and the child makes it very meaningful for our employees. Each is making a difference in the life of a child.

“We have a greater sense of unity and give people a greater sense of purpose beyond just coming to work every day. That’s one of the benefits we’ve seen in our partnership with Compassion.

James A.WarrenPresident and

Managing DirectorWarren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino, LLC

VISIT WAKM.COM TO LEARN MORE!

“It’s good for your company. It’s good for your employees, and it’s good for the children you sponsor.”

PARTNERING WITH COMPASSION MAKES GOOD BUSINESS SENSE.

THESE BUSINESSES ARE MAKING

A DIFFERENCE WITH COMPASSION. SEE HOW YOURS CAN TOO.

“We picked Compassion because it’s the right thing to do. “Compassion changes kids lives. Compassion really has helped our employees to identify with our purpose and what we stand for. This is a good way for us to show a good example to all our employees.

“Compassion has just been phenomenal to work with and has really been a blessing to our company. It’s one of the best things you can possibly do.”

Ray Hendrickson President and CEOChristian Book Distributors

VISIT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM TO LEARN MORE!

CONTACT OUR BUSINESS RELATIONS GROUP AT (800) 526-4501 EXT. 5681.

Make an eternal difference in the life of a child! Please remember your ministry — and children in need — the

next time you review your will or estate plan. Your decisions today will infl uence generations to come.

You’re already giving children hope today. Please brighten their tomorrows, too.

To learn more, call (877) 830-9756. Or, return the enclosed response piece to Compassion. Thank you!

Batey BaseballSt. Louis Cardinals star Albert Pujols and his wife, Deidre, delivered brand-new sports equipment to hundreds of Compassion-assisted children in Batey Aleman, a severely poverty-stricken area of the Dominican Republic. Nike and Rawlings helped provide Pujols with the equipment. Pujols also created a baseball camp there to teach children about character, leadership and God’s love.

Compassion Explorer Compassion is piloting a new magazine for kids called Compassion Explorer. The magazine is a wonderful way to help your children learn about poverty and Compassion’s work. If you’d like to receive the magazine, please call (800) 336-7676.

Natural DisastersSadly, 2010 will be remembered as a year of terrible disasters. Burkina Faso experienced fl ooding. The Philippines was overrun with two tremendous hurricanes. And none of us will forget the earthquake that hit Haiti. Praise God that through your support, Compassion was able to provide immediate assistance. Please pray that these countries will fi nd hope and healing.

Dear Partners in Christ,

As we closed out Compassion’s fi scal year in June, I couldn’t help but look beyond the numbers. Behind each number is a precious child, born into poverty and dearly loved by God. Behind each number is a faithful sponsor or donor, often giving sacrifi cially. And, especially in this past year of economic diffi culty, I humbly recognize God’s hand of provision that is so evident behind each number.

I have often said that God hasn’t promised to bless organizations, but He has promised to bless individuals who honor Him. Compassion has been blessed this past year. And I believe this is largely because your generosity to children in need honors our Father in heaven.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude to God and to you, our ministry partners, as I share the following highlights of the 2009-2010 fi scal year:

• Compassion’s worldwide revenue exceeded the half-billion mark to reach $507 million. This represents a 26 percent increase over last year!

• The Child Survival Program grew by 50 percent and now addresses the needs of 21,298 little ones and their caregivers in 449 locations around the world.

• More than 2,100 promising university students are now participating in the Leadership Development Program across 18 countries. Since its creation, this program has graduated 1,238 students who are now prepared to demonstrate godly leadership in their communities.

• To better equip our church partners around the world who deliver Compassion’s programs, 86 percent of our child sponsors agreed to increase their monthly sponsorship rate to $38. We were once again amazed by your remarkable generosity!

• Our hearts were broken by the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12. In response, Compassion sponsors and donors worldwide contributed more than $27 million in relief funds, resulting in the largest disaster response in Compassion history.

I hope it brings you great joy to see what the Lord has done through your faithful support. It is a privilege to partner with you in releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

Sincerely in Him,

Dr. Wess StaffordPresident and CEO

A Letter From the President

Other Highlights From the Year

1.2 Million Children Around the World

Loudemie Mérové gratefully receives a food kit from Compassion. Her home started collapsing as she was giving her 3-year-old son Kenny a bath. But they were able to narrowly escape during the earthquake. “This means a lot to me,” she says in Creole. “Compassion helped me before the quake, but they don’t quit.”

On Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. More than 220,000 people were killed, 300,000 were injured, and nearly 290,000 buildings were destroyed. More than 1.5 million people were left homeless.

Caring Compassion sponsors and donors contributed $27.7 million to help children and families devastated by the earthquake. Through your gifts, Compassion provided more than 600 tons of relief supplies. Our Haiti staff acted heroically, working day and night to save lives. They immediately began distributing food, clothing and temporary shelter materials to children, families and churches. Mobile health clinics vaccinated nearly 15,000 children and distributed 4,000 hygiene kits. Post-trauma counseling also was provided, and families who lost everything found hope in Jesus Christ.

Over the next few years, Compassionwill work to create more housing for families and improved infrastructure for churches. We will also provide families with income-generatingopportunities, ongoing counseling and spiritual guidance.

Compassion will continue to stand by our Haitian brothers and sisters — no matter how long it takes. Please be in prayer for these precious children and families, as they search for the courage and strength to rebuild.

A Special Look at Haiti

Compassion, a Christian child advocacy ministry, tackles global poverty one child at a time. The ministry serves more than 1.2 million children in 26 of the world’s poorest countries. Recognizing that poverty is more than a lack of money, Compassion works holistically through the local church, using a unique combination of spiritual, economic, social and physical development programs in more than 5,250 child development centers.

Compassion has four core programs designed to serve children throughout their lives:

Birth through preschool: For many mothers in extreme poverty, pregnancy is a matter of life and death. Compassion’s Child Survival Program, which serves more than 21,000 mothers or caregivers and their babies, not only saves lives but also helps ensure healthy pregnancies and gives vulnerable children a healthier start in life. Mothers receive prenatal and ongoing health care, nutritious food and vitamins, job-skills training, and the loving embrace of a local church.

Preschool through teen years: Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program, which offers life-changing hope to more than 1.2 million children, provides children with medical care, educational opportunities and nutritious snacks. Children also learn about God’s love. Each child is paired with a sponsor, who provides monthly fi nancial support as well as encouragement through letters.

College age: Compassion’s Leadership Development Program helps graduates of the Child Sponsorship Program who demonstrate outstanding leadership skills to attend college and receive Christian mentoring. Many students go on to transform their communities for Jesus Christ — for example, by working as doctors, teachers and pastors.

Through Complementary Interventions, Compassion tackles barriers to healthy development, such as natural disasters, widespread health epidemics, inadequate housing and unsafe drinking water.

About Compassion

CENTRAL AMERICA& THE CARIBBEANChild Survival Program: 4,752Child Sponsorship Program: 254,141Leadership Development Program: 345

SOUTH AMERICAChild Survival Program: 4,929Child Sponsorship Program: 262,163Leadership Development Program: 544

AFRICAChild Survival Program: 4,891Child Sponsorship Program: 390,915Leadership Development Program: 767

ASIAChild Survival Program: 6,746Child Sponsorship Program: 298,693Leadership Development Program: 443

1.2 Million Children Around the World

A word on stewardship from Robert Hawkins, Chairman of the Board We consider it a great joy to partner with you in this work that is so close to the heart of God — a work that we know could not be done without your generosity.

We also know that we have a great responsibility to be good stewards over the funds that are entrusted to us for the benefi t of the children. Good stewardship, one of our core values, compels us to strive to achieve the highest industry standards of integrity and accountability.

We work diligently to limit our overhead costs, while maximizing quality child-focused program activities. As a result, less than 20 percent of funds are used for administration and fundraising.

This commitment to stewardship excellence has been repeatedly recognized by independent charity evaluators. For example, Compassion is listed in the top 1 percent of fi scally responsible charities. And this is the ninth consecutive year that Compassion has received Charity Navigator’s four-star rating — its highest rating for fi nancial integrity and the most it has awarded to any charity of our kind nationwide!

Because Compassion does not receive any government funding, your faithfulness makes this ministry what it is. So, thank you for your trust and commitment. Your gifts are truly making an eternal impact on the lives of children. I pray God’s continued blessings upon you in Jesus’ name.

compassion.com

Francisco J. BatresGeneral DirectorPresident, Practical Business Strategies Consultants, LLC

Jean-François BussyGeneral DirectorPastor and Musician, Switzerland

Dr. Judith B. GolzGeneral Director Principal and Director of Research, Kendal Investments

Robert L. Hawkins, Jr., Esq.Chairman Principal, Hawkins Counsel Group, LLC

Ron Mathieu SecretaryExecutive Director, First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu

David A. RidderGeneral Director Dean, Bethel Seminary

Dr. Wesley K. StaffordGeneral DirectorPresident and CEO,Compassion International

Hugo VerwijsGeneral DirectorOwner,Ofi r Consultancy BV

Julie Weller Vice ChairCompassion Advocate/Homemaker

Karen K. WesolowskiGeneral Director Attorney

To see Compassion’s 2010 audited fi nancial statements and Form 990, please go to compassion.com/about/fi nancial or call (800) 336-7676.

Board of Directors

Statements of ActivitiesYears ended June 30, 2010 and 2009

Program Expenses $390,008,461 (82.7%)

Child Development Program $364,842,037 (77.4%)Sponsor/Donor Ministries $25,166,424 (5.3%)

Administration $35,826,758 (7.6%)

Fundraising $45,932,098 (9.7%)

Total Expenses = $471,767,317

ExpensesExpenses

LISTEN.CHILDREN ARE RAISING THEIR VOICES IN GRATITUDE!

THANK YOU, WAY-FM AND LISTENERS, FOR CHANGING LIVES.

WAY-FM has helped find sponsors for 5,000 Compassion children over the years. Now WAY-FM stations are working to find sponsors for 1,600 Haitian children. To sponsor a child in Haiti through this campaign, visit wayfm.com. While you’re there, read about Compassion’s upcoming concert tours. And be sure to tune in to the WAY-FM station in your area!

In a harrowing story of survival, Compassion International employee Dan Woolley recounts the nearly three days he spent trapped beneath the rubble of Haiti’s Hotel Montana after the massive quake of January 12, 2010.

Dan details his experiences — using an iPhone app to treat his life-threatening injuries, having life-changing conversations with strangers buried nearby, writing farewell notes to his family, and receiving encouragement from God in the darkest of times.

Readers will learn new truths from the author’s themes of spiritual and marital renewal, gain a deeper understanding of Compassion’s work, and be challenged to embrace every opportunity God gives.

Unshaken is available through the Compassion store:

store.compassion.com • (888) 678-3267

Unshaken: Rising from the Ruins of Haiti’s Hotel Montana By Dan Woolley with Jennifer Schuchmann