Colombia Day Two: Child Survival Program

Day two of our trip took us to a coastal community southwest of Santa Marta. The church we visited has been in the community for the past 20 years and has partnered with Compassion for 7 years now. Currently, they are making a difference in the lives of 340 children and their families.

CSP moms and their babies

Today, we learned about the Child Survival Program, or CSP. Currently, the Child Survival Program is in operation in all 26 countries where Compassion is partnering with the local churches. This program is a little different from the child sponsorship program. The CSP functions to assist pregnant and new moms until their child is three years of age, and it is more of a home based program.

On this particular day, the moms and their babies spent time with us at the church, entertaining us, helping us with a craft, and answering questions we had for them. The one thing that really impacted me here was one mother's answer to a question about what they are learning as part of the CSP:

 "We are learning to love our children."
Child Survival Program baby

These moms and their families are learning about the importance of the church in their community. Many of the families are now attending church...together. They are realizing the hope of the Gospel and how it can transform their lives, and the lives of their children.

Child Survival Program home visit

In the afternoon, we split up into groups to visit homes of the CSP moms. Our group visited Jamie and her family. Jamie was a gracious hostess and gladly welcomed us into her home. She told us that she likes spending time learning about God and Psalms is her favorite book of the Bible. Luis, the father of her two children, is really happy that Jamie and Luis David can attend the CSP. Jamie told us that she receives a lot of encouragement, is learning income generation skills, and is learning how to help Luis at home.

Jamie and Luis have dreams for their children to finish their studies and find a good career. They are really no different than any other family. Don't you have the same dreams for your children?

By partnering with Compassion's Child Survival Program, you can help give moms and babies a chance to thrive. And not only thrive physically, but to thrive spiritually as well. In the past year, over 4200 moms came to know Christ as part of the CSP around the world.

For $20 a month, you can help support a CSP and help moms and their babies today!

Give Babies a Strong Start on #GivingTuesday

After the rush of sales and deals over the past few days, each one of us has the opportunity to make a difference by giving a bit that will last a lifetime. And this year, for Giving Tuesday, Compassion is looking to do something absolutely amazing

Giving Tuesday Compassion CSP

Children born into poverty have no guarantees of making it to their first birthday. And In India, nearly 1 in 3 newborn deaths occur in India. To help give new moms and their newborn babies a fighting chance, Compassion has a big goal on this Giving Tuesday! The goal? Raise $25,000 to open a new Child Survival Program in Gujarat, India.

So what exactly is a Child Survival Program? Like the Child Development Program, the Child Survival Program (CSP) works through the local church with pregnant and new mothers to ensure they receive proper medical care, nutrition, training to care for their new babies, and sharing with them the hope of Jesus. This program is helping over 30,000 mothers and babies in over 700 centers. Babies are being born healthy because of this program, and over 4,000 mothers came to know Christ in the past year through the Child Survival Program!

So what do you say? Can you give $5, $10, $25, or more to help build this new center in Gujarat, India? Let's help give babies a strong start on this Giving Tuesday!

Be the voice for a mom today

As I sit in my comfortable home, having just mopped my kitchen floor, I have to wonder what life is like for a mother living in extreme poverty: Mothers Carrying Water Containers

The sun has just come up and I know I must get out of bed to fetch water for my family before they all wake up. The journey to get water each day is tiring, but I know that my family needs water to drink and there is a pile of laundry that needs to be done today, as there always is.

I am concerned that my children will stay healthy, so many children in my village have died because of the water and lack of food that we have here.

But I am also hopeful. My children have been attending the Compassion project and they come home excited, sharing about God the Father who takes care of His children. I am trying to learn more about God, but there are so many things I must do to take care of my family each day.

This new baby that I am carrying, I want him or her to be born healthy. Before my children starting attending the Compassion project, I had lost two babies because they got sick after they were born and we did not have the ability to save them.

With the help of someone I have never met, I am able to attend the Compassion project also once a month. They teach me about God. They teach me about nutrition and ways to help me be a good mother. I am so thankful for the many women who take the time to pour into my life. Maybe it is time for me to accept God as my Savior too.

This is a fictional story, but one that could be happening in one of the countries where Compassion helps moms and babies through the Child Survival Program. Many children in impoverished areas do not even survive until their third birthday. But with the help of Compassion and the Child Survival Program, many moms are receiving pre-natal care, get proper nutrition, and learn about the love of Jesus.

This Mother’s Day, would you consider helping a mother and her family? You can make a one-time donation or you can make an ongoing monthly contribution. Whatever you choose, I pray that you have a blessed Mother’s Day!

This post has been written as part a Compassion Blogger’s assignment. You can learn more about Compassion Blogger’s here.

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