“Talitha Cumi.” “Little girl, arise.”
With those words, Jesus showed the world that darkness does not get the final say. Jesus, Life Himself, reached out His hand and raised a child back to life.
At Compassion, we believe that Jesus is still in the business of helping children rise — and over the last few months, we’ve witnessed just that. Through our generous sponsors, children have come to know that they are seen and loved. Sponsors have echoed the Talitha Cumi story by stepping into the lives of 135 waiting children in 25 nations.
It’s not simply about the numbers, though. These children have names, faces, dreams and talents. Each of their lives matter deeply to God, and today, each of these children are experiencing the hope of Jesus in tangible ways.
Now, it’s time to celebrate that hope! Every child has a story — here are three of them, stories that have been rewritten by real hope.
Meet Carolie, age 11, from Haiti.
Carolie (right) and her twin sister Laurie found renewed hope when their new community and Compassion centre surrounded them with unwavering support.
“Our home was a place where laughter filled the air,” reminisces Anel, Carolie’s father. “The chaos of the outside felt so distant. Our daughters lived peacefully, enjoying the privacy of their own room. But one night, as we were in bed, the outside world crept closer and closer.”
11-year-old Carolie and her twin sister Laurie knew the safety and peace of a warm home. Their parents had built a simple but joy-filled life in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. Unfortunately, it only took one night to change everything. A long night of gunfire signalled that the country’s escalating gang violence had finally reached Carolie’s community. In the morning, the family fled, leaving all they had ever known.
Carolie’s new Compassion centre and local church stepped in for her family, meeting their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
Carolie and her family sought safety in a small town in southern Haiti, only to face the heavy challenge of rebuilding their lives. But they didn’t have to rebuild alone. Carolie’s old Compassion centre reached out to the centre in their new town, ensuring that she and her sister could continue taking part in Compassion programming. Their new centre and local church came alongside the family, offering psychological and emotional support, as well as assistance with food and small-business training for earning a sustainable income.
Carolie has seen hope come back to life — and through Talitha Cumi, 16 more children in Haiti have experienced hope through sponsorship!
Meet Emmanuella, age 1, from Togo.
Emmanuella has seen her share of challenges in just her first year of life. Now, she celebrates turning 1!
Emmanuella is a happy and independent one-year-old girl, who walks around with a big smile on her face and eats on her own. Mawulawoe, her aunt and caregiver, knows just how long the road has been to reach this point, and is grateful for Emmanuella’s remarkable little life.
At just two weeks, Emmanuella, already malnourished and barely breathing, was taken in courageously by Mawulawoe. Seeing that she had no financial means of providing for Emmanuella, Compassion’s local church partner came alongside the aunt-niece pair and enrolled them in the Survival program. Emmanuella received proper nutrition and care, and Mawulawoe picked up farming skills to earn an income.
With the help of her local church, Mawulawoe was able to throw a birthday celebration for Emmanuella.
Today, Emmanuella is healthy and deeply loved, by both her aunt and her local church community. “Emmanuella is [a] year old, and I am seeing her grow up,” says Mawulawoe. “It is a great joy for me because I had no means to help her survive. But with the help of the Compassion centre and the donors, Emmanuella has survived.”
Emmanuella’s story had hope written in from the very start. Through sponsorship, 16 more children in Togo have also found life-giving hope!
Meet Deborah, age 3, from Uganda.
Deborah was born deaf, but thanks to cochlear implant surgery, she can now hear and is learning to speak.
“Deborah! Deborah! Where are you?”
For the first two years of Deborah’s life, Sunday, her mother, didn’t have the option to call after her daughter like that — Deborah was born deaf. Her family had no answers, and the doctors they visited could not give a diagnosis.
After Deborah’s second birthday, her local church and Compassion centre stepped in to help the family find answers. They paid for Deborah and her mother to see an audiologist in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Diagnosed with profound bilateral hearing loss, the only option was cochlear implant surgery.
Sunday watches as her daughter writes. Now that Deborah can hear, Sunday hopes to have real conversations with her soon.
Sunday’s despair at hearing the cost was short-lived; she clearly remembers the immediate support of the Compassion centre staff who had travelled with them. The centre rallied around the family, covering the cost of the surgery, implants and rehabilitation. Upon recovering, Deborah was finally able to hear — and just a week after hearing, spoke her first word.
Hope sprang to life for Deborah when she could finally hear — through sponsorship, 11 more children in Uganda have experienced the hope of Talitha Cumi!
Sponsors, you help hope rise
Today, we’re celebrating the generosity of every person who took a step of faith into sponsorship! Each sponsorship inspired by the Talitha Cumi story has echoed new life to a child living in poverty. Because of our sponsors, the hope of God’s kingdom is becoming a lived reality for children across the globe.
This is what it looks like when the Body of Christ moves together: children released from poverty, in Jesus’ name.
We won’t stop until every life is transformed by a movement of compassion; until every child is seen, known and loved. Through sponsorship, children are experiencing the tangible result of the Church acting as the hands and feet of Jesus: hope.
