Today John turns six years old. A couple of months I sent over an extra Compassion gift so they could get him an appropriate (age and culture) gift for his birthday. I hope and pray that he had a good time and was able to celebrate some with his friends at the Sainy Center.
I can’t wait to hear back from him the next time he writes.
I received a letter from John, my Compassion Sponsorship child in Kenya. It is handwritten by a translator and reads as if they interviewed John and wrote the letter with him. This seems age-appropriate for a 5 year old boy.
Dear William Murphy,
Receive greetings from your son John. He says “hallo and how are you?” He is so thankful for the letter you sent him. He says he feels happy to have that letter read to him and this makes him pray for you.
John says he lives with his grandparents all this home and that he goes to school and he is in his final year in nursery school. John would love to share with you his last results in school. He says, “I was number three and I was given a rubber as a present.”
“How was your Easter?” asks young John. “I went to church and we sang in church,” he says. He continues, “I also went to town with my friends and I ate ice cream for the first time and it was sweet.” He laughs.
He says he really loves you. “God bless you.” John says he would love to share with you his new song “Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so.” “Do you know this song?” he asks.
“Bye Bye” he ends.
Your son,
John Bosire
John also drew some weather pictures for me on the back of the letter. I thought this was really neat:
It is nice to see that in Kenya the trees bend a bit too when it is a windy day.
I was able to email a letter back tonight through the compassion.com website. Here it is:
John:
I received your letter from Easter, and I too had a wonderful time celebrating Jesus’ resurrection at my church. And like you, I really love to sing in church every time we get to. One of my favorite songs is also Jesus Loves Me. I just had to sing it again when your letter reminded me of it. The version of that song that I like has these verses:
Jesus loves me, this i know
for the Bible tells me so
little ones to Him belong
they are weak but He is strongoh, alleluhia, allelu
alleluhia, alleluhia
alleluhia, allelu
alleluhia, allelu, alleluhiaJesus loves me, He who died
Heaven’s gates are open wide
He will take away my sin
and let this little child come inalleluhia, allelu
alleluhia, alleluhia
alleluhia, allelu
alleluhia, allelu, alleluhiado you love Him, does He know?
have you ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear us say
that we love Him every day
so, help me run the race before me
strong and brave to face my foe
looking hourly onto Jesus
as each day on word i goalleluhia, allelu
alleluhia, alleluhia
alleluhia, allelu
alleluhia, allelu, alleluhiaamazing grace, how sweet the sound
once was lost, but now i’m found
once was blind, but now i see
amazing grace saved a wretch like mealleluhia, allelu
alleluhia, alleluhia
alleluhia, allelu
alleluhia, allelu, alleluhiaWhat other songs do you like to sing?
I am glad to read that you liked the sweet ice cream you had in town. Here in my town we like to mix fruit with the ice cream to give it different flavors. Strawberry is my favorite. What is your favorite fruit?
I am so happy to read about your grades, and I tell my friends where I work about how you were one of the best students in your class this last term. That is such wonderful news. Please keep up the good work at school, especially as you move up from nursery school. When do you start up your next term of school?
I hope you and your grandparents have a great week. I am always thankful for you and your family. May God continue to bless you as you learn how to follow Him in all you do.
I love you,
Bill
I am looking forward to continuing the conversation in the future through the letters. As I was listening to the song John mentioned and that I was reminded of, I thought to myself how amazing it might be if someday the Compassion children’s centers could have video chats with sponsors in the United States. I think it would be really neat to sing with John. Perhaps someday in the future. For now I can dream about the internet truly bringing us all closer together.
Today I sent off my introductory letter to John, my Compassion International sponsor child in Kenya. I sent it via the Compassion.com website, and it was very easy to do.
It was emailed by the website to a translator who will translate it for John to read. My guess is that the translation happens in Kenya. At this point, I’m not sure if Compassion emails my letter or sends in bulk it via mail once they have collected a quota of letters to send to the Sainy Center in Kenya. Either way I can’t wait to hear back from John. This is going to be a fun adventure!
I must admit, I’m probably better at communicating with older (than 5yrs old) children, but this was my first attempt at encouraging my sponsor child.
John:
I am so happy to be your new Compassion sponsor. I hope and pray for good things for you and your family. I am sure that God has big plans for you and your life. I am so thankful to be a part of God’s plans and part of your life.
I live in a town about 60 km north of Dallas, TX in the United States. I go to a good church and while there, I help teach the junior high students (grades 7-8). I am not married yet, but the people at my church are like my family. For work, I build web sites that help people. And I now, I have your photo on my work desk to remind me to pray for you and your grandparents.
I also like playing games with my friends, especially with the students at my church. What games do you like to play with your friends? If you want, I could send you instructions for how to play a new game with your friends at the Siany Center.
I love you and can’t wait to hear back from you.
Praising God for you,
-Bill
We don’t work in Chile & aren’t involved in relief efforts, but here are ways you can helphttp://bit.ly/bzggc9 (via @LivingGodsDream) #fb
The above twitter update was posted by Compassion International. I think it is a great twitter update for a variety of reasons:
I’m glad that some organizations don’t suffer from the Superman syndrome. Compassion doesn’t have ministries in Chile, and they are not asking for donations to Chile specific efforts. That is refreshing and honest.
How refreshing to think that Compassion trusts their Provider and His people to not run out of donation dollars by giving to other organizations who are helping meet a very large and very current need. Compassion doesn’t seem threatened by the promotion of other non-profits.
If you notice this twitter update is actually a “retweet” from another user, LivingGodsDream. Compassion is just promoting some one else and their organization. Why? Because people are in need and donors may want to help through Compassion International. Problem: Compassion doesn’t work in Chile and shouldn’t (legally can’t) ask for donations to a project they don’t support right now. Solution: redirect giving, caring people to another site where they can easily give.
The above twitter update doesn’t state that Compassion International will never work in Chile. It just states that they don’t now and aren’t currently involved in the relief efforts. I can imagine that if in the future there is a need and a way to partner with ministries in Chile, that Compassion might do just that.
Does this type of twitter update seem honest, true, and transparent or cleverly marketed according to social media best practices?
I ran across this video on Compassion’s website today, and I am impressed with what looks like a genuine concern for the country and people of Haiti. I saw their president emotionally choke up as he talked about the reality of sponsored children being injured or killed in the earthquake. This is not like some organizations’ leadership who polish and prepare for weeks what amounts to an uninspiring message that amounts to simply asking for more money.
After watching the video I noticed that:
In summary, I think Compassion’s president, Wess Stafford, modeled to non-profits how to be effective at “transparency,” which is the new buzz word going around the online fundraising folks who are embracing social media. In our instant info world, donors and interested followers and advocates of a non-profit demand that their organization be honest and transparent in everything — even having to bear bad news and show a little heart break in the process.
I think we all (people) could learn a little from Dr. Stafford’s example. I need to live with more compassion.
I’ve noticed a couple of places online mentioning a live benefit concert for Compassion International this Saturday. The are raising money for Haiti relief.
If ever there was a country on this side of the world that didn’t need an earthquake or any more natural disasters, it was Haiti. The only good thing to come from this disaster is the new awareness we Americans have about the daily poverty of this country. It looks like Compassion is now transitioning from relieving disaster needs to setting up more permanent care centers and programs to sponsor Haitian children.
One thing I have learned in the last 5 years of helping raise funds for humanitarian non-profits is that the need for help after a disaster lasts much longer than the headlines about the disaster. Remember the Tsunami in 2004? They’ll still trying to rebuild their lives and infrastructure. Remember Katrina? People in the U.S. are still rebuilding and are still in need.
Haiti will need help for years (not weeks or months) to come. I’m glad to know folks like Compassion are NOT blowing into town like a carnival — just to grab donations during the “headlines” phase of a disaster and then quickly leaving the disaster victims to figure it out on their own.
Part of the current need is to renew awareness of the lingering situation and sustaining needs. Compassion International is raising awareness through a benefit concert. But unlike other concerts, which by nature are localized to wherever the concert occurs, this weekend’s concert will be streamed live over the internet at Compassion’s event microsite: helphaitilive.com
Is it Help Haiti LIVE, as in “survive another day”; or is it Help Haiti LIVE, as in “a live concert” that is not pre-recorded? I think the name’s meaning is purposefully both; very nice play on words. Kudos to the UI of the event — even at the naming of the concert.
If you are into Christian music, it looks to be a fun event. The performer line up is:
Also featuring artists:
According to their website, 100% of the concert proceeds will go to Compassion’s Haiti Fund, and 100% of all the online donations will go to their Haiti Fund as well. This is 20% more than normal, so if you are going to watch the concert from home, plan on giving a little something to help.
I find myself now wanted to know more about John and where he lives. I wish the “thank you” email I got had info about the Siany Child Development Center. As a “web guy” I went to google to find out about the center.
I found this video about the Siany Child Development Center.
I need to complete the Getting Acquainted packet this week. But in the meantime I would want to communicate this to John…
Hey John,
I can’t wait to hear that you have been officially enrolled at the Siany Child Development Center. I bet it was exciting to hear the good news. I am so thankful for you and I have big hopes and dreams for you. May God bless you and your family and your community through you.
Praying for you,
-Bill
I signed up to sponsor a child through Compassion International at a conference last weekend, and yesterday made it official by sending in my first payment. I had my check book out reluctantly. “Reluctantly” because I was hoping for an online option. Even with the Business Reply postage prepaid envelope, I still prefer taking care of everything through a website.
Then as I was about to write out the check, I noticed a small url at the bottom of the page. I’m guessing most people wouldn’t see it. But I went ahead and went to http://compassion.com/firstpayment.
I was able to complete my transaction quickly, but ran into a small issue in that I could not sign up for a monthly EFT checking account transfer. Other details of the process I wanted to note are…
Obviously you don’t go to this url to browse around, so Compassion made it very easy to get started. I just had to enter my sponsor child’s name, number, and source code. All of this info was on the blue sheet in my packet, which I would have had to include with my check if I mailed in my first payment.
The landing page had helpful examples in text and image formats for each of the “user-foreign” terms that would be new and potentially confusing to a first time sponsor like myself: Child Name, Child Number, Source Code.
The form has 3 text boxes for Child Number, which didn’t match the printed data on blue Acceptance Form sheet where it is printed all together (no spaces). To make matters a bit worse, after I type the first 2 characters (e.g.: “KE”) into the first box, I could not type anymore into the first text box even though I can see more room to the right of the “E” in that textbox.
I would recommend either printing the child number with spaces on the blue Acceptance Form sheet, just like the example below the 3 text boxes.
If that is not an option with their printer, they could change the web form by adding some javascript that automatically moves the cursor to the next text box where I am supposed to type the first 3 digits of the Child Number. This javascript niceness would need to be repeated to move the cursor to the third box for the last 4 digits in the Child Number. This would allow me to type the 9 character Child Number without having to be confused by the 3 text boxes.
Since the main motivating factor of child sponsorship is putting a face with the need, when a user visually verifies the child’s data they entered in Step 1 of the process, the child’s photo should always be part of the top of the form — instead of generic Compassion logo.
Kudos to Compassion for presenting an user interface where I can enter all the rest of the info (name, monthly commitment, payment info) all on one page. Also, the form is attractively and intuitively laid out on the page.
Under method of payment, there is only one option: by credit card. I wish there would be a way to set up a Electronic Funds Transaction (EFT) monthly payment. The reason for this is because if I use a credit card, each month part of my donation goes to transaction fees. But, if I set up an EFT monthly debit from a checking account, there is only a one time set up fee. Over the course of 1-2 or even 5-10 years this is a better use of the funds that are sent each month.
I was given the option to send a comment with my transaction. I like that. So, I commented on the lack of an EFT option and that I’d like to move to EFT giving in the future. Hopefully they will contact me to set that up before next month.
I know this sounds quite cheesy, but after committing to sponsor a child each month for the foreseeable future, it was a really nice touch to see and hear children from all over the world saying, “thank you” and “I love you, sponsor.” A really nice touch was the mistakes and “out-takes” being part of the video. In a way that only children can do, the “out-takes” keep the video from becoming too polished and appear manufactured, even though that is exactly what a “thank you” video really is, right? Overall, I found myself feeling really glad that I had just signed up for this.
Let me know what you think of it as an initial “thank you” response to someone’s generosity.
I attended the Planet Wisdom conference on Saturday with our junior high students from church. Now, I have attended conferences like this for many years and frequently have heard the pitch from Compassion International about child sponsorship. I’ve seen the videos. I looked at the packets. I’ve thought that someday it would be a good idea to do that. Someday. Never that day.
So on Saturday during the first morning break, before the Compassion International video and pitch to the students, I found myself wandering around all the vendor display tables. I avoided buying another t-shirt and went straight over to the Compassion table and started looking at the packets. Because of the recent earthquake in Haiti I almost asked if they had any packets with Haitian kids, but then I remembered the country of Kenya.
One of our clients at work runs a school, a feeding program, and even an orphanage in the capital of Kenya. I have seen the raw video of what AIDS does to a child when they are orphaned because mom and dad have died of this horrible disease. I’ve had to edit video with unspeakable sights and sounds. I could say, I knew what that area of the world is like — well as best as anyone from America could know by just viewing it through the lens of unedited video. Someday I’d like to see it myself.
So, I tried to find a boy from Kenya, specifically one who had lost a parent or both. They are the ones closest to my heart, and my heart does really hurt thinking about not having my parents at a young age, especially in a place so impoverished. (Thankfully, both my parents are still alive and in their 60s.)
As I was looking through the packets, the guy at the Compassion table started pulling out bundles of the packets. I asked if they had any African kids. We started looking. I noticed the red ribbon on the cards and saw that it meant that those kids were living in an area heavy effected by AIDS. They may have AIDS, their parent(s) may have AIDS. Or, their parent(s) had died of AIDS.
He lives with his grandfather and grandmother. No parents. He most likely is an AIDS orphan, and may someday loose his grandparents, who are providing so much of life for him and his 3 siblings. I decided to sponsor John and filled out the paperwork to begin this wonderful journey.
Today, I made it official and sent in my first payment and signed up for monthly withdrawals on Compassion International’s website. During the process I thought to myself, I should keep a record of what this journey is like. As someone who earns a living building websites for non-profits, I have never wanted to go home and write in a blog — too much like work. But I feel like I need to write about my experiences. Maybe even to encourage others to become a sponsor too.
my desk now has a daily reminder
So for today I have John’s picture and info card in a photo frame on my desk. I’ll be reminded of him each day I sit down to help non-profits raise money to make the world a bit better. I used to joke that I was saving the world one click of the mouse at a time, but now I have a face to go along with that statement. I wish I could be there when John and his family find out John has a sponsor now and can benefit from the school and care center in the Siani region of Kenya.
