Compassion Gives Thanks for Progress Towards Extending Our Work to Four More Countries

“We had a vision, but we didn’t know how to run such a complex programme,” says Pastor Joseph, who’d planted a church in central Malawi in 2007. He’d been immediately struck by the level of poverty faced by his new community, which was causing many challenges, from hunger and a lack of clean water to a high prevalence of infectious diseases and a lack of education and opportunity.

Pastor Joseph set about starting a school which opened its doors in 2012, seeing this as the best long-term solution he could offer. When Compassion’s Partnership Specialist, Timothy, visited looking for local partners ten years later, Pastor Joseph found an organisation that shared his heart for child development and could equip him with further means to grow the ministry he’d been working so hard to provide.

“Compassion took us through a comprehensive orientation – how to set up accountability structures such as a members committee, and how to recruit staff who would run the programme.” The community now has 135 children enrolled in their Early Years Programme and employs six caregivers to assist with teaching and childcare. Pastor Joseph says, “We’ve seen a difference in how our children behave – they are now active and bubbly.”

It’s thanks to the dedication of people like Pastor Joseph that we’re delighted to share about our long-planned efforts to begin work in Malawi. Our ongoing efforts to extend our work into Zambia, Cambodia and Myanmar are also progressing.

Committed for the long-term

We consider many factors when deciding where we can be most effective in supporting children and families. Need is the primary driving force: an estimated 333 million children live in extreme poverty, which the World Bank defines as surviving on less than $2.15 per day. We feel called to those most in need—and local partnerships are fundamental in enabling us to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Local teams have excellent understanding of their communities and are deeply committed to bringing about positive change. Together we make a proven difference in the outcomes of children, their families, and communities.

But building a firm foundation for high-quality child development programmes takes time. Compassion has been researching and prayerfully considering the possibilities for extending our work into new countries since 2019. Each different country presents different challenges and opportunities for this type of work. Sidney Muisyo, Chief Programme Officer at Compassion International, says, “Fighting poverty is hard work, and it matters that we faithfully lay the groundwork today so we can successfully deliver our programmes in the future.”

We would greatly value your prayers as we see how our plans progress.

‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build labour in vain.’ Psalm 127:1a