GIFTS OF COMPASSION | 2023-2024

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Income Generation

For youth and caregivers in Colombia, using income-generating skills to create opportunities is a life-saving skill to acquire. It means they are equipped with marketable skills and trained to think with an entrepreneurial mindset so that they gain economic independence. With this gift, you provide 60 youth and caregivers with the training to run craft workshops such as ceramics, woodworking and acrylic painting. Alongside that training, you equip them with entrepreneurship coaching to create more income for them and their families.

The event management business is on the rise near Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi. There are always weddings, birthdays, graduations and other important life events to commemorate. This means that there is consistent work available for many caregivers in the area if they are trained in providing these services. With your gift, you provide 150 caregivers with the various skills involved in event management such as rentals, photography, decoration services, catering and more to generate income for their families and uplift their community.

Farming provides food security and income stability for families living in poverty. Having the proper irrigation tools is essential for agricultural productivity, as are quality seeds and fertilizers. Good crop production means children have food on the table, and caregivers have access to more income. With your gift, you provide irrigation tools, seeds and fertilizers that will help meet immediate needs and promote long-term resiliency, so families not only survive but thrive.

Entrepreneurship is a powerful force for breaking the cycle of poverty, providing children and families with the skills and resources needed to secure a stable income and create opportunities for others. This gift provides essential skills training, financial education and the materials necessary to launch new businesses.

When you give Entrepreneurial Skills Training, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Income Generation Fund.

Technical skills can transform the lives of families with limited resources, meeting immediate household needs and opening doors to sustainable income opportunities. This gift empowers caregivers and youth with comprehensive technical and business training in fields such as technology, fashion, food service, the trades and more, equipping them with the tools to generate resources and build a brighter future.

When you give Technical Skills Training, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Income Generation Fund.

Backyard farms are a sustainable way to fight hunger and generate income. But many families in poverty lack the resources to start one for themselves. Your gift empowers a family in poverty by providing resources such as seeds, fertilizer, livestock, tools and education to help them create and sustain their own backyard farm.

When you give Backyard Farming, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Income Generation Fund.

When you give to the Income Generation Fund, you provide families living in poverty with resources to earn an income—things like livestock, seeds, skills training and more. This gift keeps giving, as it helps families overcome the desperation that lack of skills, resources and opportunities create and gives them the stability they need to build a future.
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Education and Training

Creating work opportunities is essential for youth in Burkina Faso, where the job market is oversaturated with the demand of young people entering the workforce. Entrepreneurship training gives youth the skills they need to start their own businesses and create jobs for others. With your gift, you provide 50 youth with 15 months of comprehensive entrepreneurial training and startup capital so they are equipped to create a brighter future for themselves and others.

Higher education and training opens the door to a future free from poverty for youth. But to have its full impact, students must be able to complete their program. For students from under-resourced families in Peru, finances are the primary reason for students to drop out before completing their training program. With your gift, you help 7 students complete the final year of their higher education—in trades like cosmetology, barbering, baking and more— so that they can overcome poverty and thrive.

Equipping youth with high-demand skills training helps them enter the workforce and shape a future for themselves. Combining that training with entrepreneurial coaching can multiply its impact by creating job opportunities for students and their communities. With your gift, you equip 30 youth with 12 months of training in high-demand skills such as leather-working, hairdressing or beauty services, as well as entrepreneurship coaching. This high-impact gift inspires big dreams and offers the tools to build a better future for youth and their communities.

The sports industry in Kenya has expanded to employ 12.9% of youth entering the workforce. Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the country and can provide work opportunities in schools, sports clubs and other youth-based organizations. This puts soccer coaches in demand and provides proximity to impacting the lives of youth in the country. With your gift, you provide 100 students from across Kenya with education and certification in coaching soccer. This gift also provides these same students with training to disciple and teach life-skills to other children and youth.

Education is a catalyst that breaks the cycle of poverty for a child. Educated children are the changemakers, forging brighter futures not just for themselves, but for their families and communities. This gift supports students from primary to post-secondary school, ensuring they have the financial means to pursue their education and achieve their dreams.

When you give School Fees, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Education and Training Fund.

Vocational training is a powerful catalyst for change, offering youth the opportunity to gain practical skills that lead to stable employment and economic independence. This gift provides essential training in high-demand trades and professions, ensuring participants have the knowledge and expertise needed to secure good jobs and support their families.

When you give Vocational Training, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Education and Training Fund.

Technology is a powerful tool in the fight against poverty. Computers are increasingly becoming a necessity for student success. This gift gives students access to computers at their Compassion centre in a computer lab designed to help them achieve their educational goals.

When you give Computers, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Education and Training Fund.

When you give to the Education and Training Fund, you provide children and youth in poverty with access to learning resources and educational opportunities to equip them for futures free from poverty. This includes computers, tuition for vocational training, college or university and other essential learning materials.
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Moms & Babies

In the region of Uraba, Colombia, a majority of families are headed by single mothers who are often victims of violence and forced displacement. They face challenges like limited access to jobs, a weak economic environment and low levels of schooling. With this gift, you help 60 moms attend a 14-month business and skills training workshop to help launch their small businesses in the beauty industry and provide for the basic needs of their children.

Empowering moms is crucial in breaking the cycle of poverty. With this gift, you provide moms with the training and tools they need to develop new skills and enhance old ones—all so they can confidently secure jobs to help them provide for their families. When equipped and empowered, moms can make better decisions and choices for themselves and their families.

When you give the gift of Job Skills Training for Moms, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Moms and Babies Fund.

Many new moms and caregivers living in poverty lack the essential items needed to care for a newborn baby. With this gift, you give caregivers the basic supplies they need—items like blankets, soap, lotion and diapers—to ensure their baby is healthy and thriving. This hand-delivered gift from Compassion centre staff helps new caregivers know they are supported, loved and not alone.

When you give a Newborn Care Package, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Moms and Babies Fund.

The first year of a child’s life is critical. Without proper medical care and growth monitoring, irreversible damage can be done. With this gift, you help ensure that new parents living in poverty have access to essential medical services for their baby in those first critical 12 months.

When you give the gift of Baby Medical Care, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Moms and Babies Fund.

Proper nutrition is critical for moms and babies living in extreme poverty. With this gift, you provide a mother and her baby with six months’ worth of supplemental food and nutrition, which is vital to ensure that moms and babies not only survive but thrive.

When you give the gift of Food for Mom and Baby, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Moms and Babies Fund.

The risks for expectant mothers in poverty are significant. And tragically, maternal mortality rates are unacceptably high in low-resource settings. But with this gift, you provide an expectant mother with the resources she needs to ensure a healthy pregnancy and delivery—such as medical care, regular check-ups, proper nutrition and education.

When you give the gift of Prenatal Healthcare, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Moms and Babies Fund.

Did you know that most of the millions of children who die every year do so in their first year of life from preventable causes? When you give to the Moms and Babies Fund, you can change this tragic reality. Your gift provides tangible care and life-saving support for moms and babies living in poverty. This includes prenatal healthcare, checkups, critical medical care, desperately needed food and newborn essentials.
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Health & Wellness

In rural Ecuador, 27.7% of children are currently suffering from chronic malnutrition. Many families in rural communities live below the poverty line and cannot access nutritious food. As a result, caregivers often overlook the importance of a balanced diet for their children. This gift trains 790 caregivers of Compassion children on the importance of preparing balanced meals and appropriate nutritional practices. This 7-month intensive workshop includes individualized support and resources so children can grow healthy and strong.

In June of 2022, Betty started having difficulty hearing. After a series of tests, doctors diagnosed her with bilateral profound hearing loss. Since her diagnosis, she has struggled with communicating with her family, friends and teachers. Her interest in school and social activities has diminished. With this gift, you provide Betty with cochlear implant surgery and one year of speech therapy to help restore her hearing and her speech, giving her renewed hope.

Mental health is crucial for the overall well-being and future success of children and youth, especially those living in poverty. This gift provides counselling, therapy and mental health education to children and youth facing the complexities of poverty. These initiatives reduce stigma and ensure access to necessary professional care, empowering children and youth to overcome challenges and thrive.

When you give Mental Health Initiatives, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Health and Wellness Fund.

Did you know that diseases carried by mosquitos, such as malaria, dengue and Zika, cause millions of deaths every year? These diseases are preventable. Your gift helps to protect vulnerable children from mosquito-borne diseases through mosquito net distribution and preventative education.

When you give Mosquito-Borne Disease Prevention, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Health and Wellness Fund.

Most low- and middle-income countries are unable to provide services to prevent and treat oral health conditions. This can have devastating effects on the lives of children, as common oral health issues only become more severe when left alone. Your gift provides children with immediate dental treatment, toothbrushes and oral health workshops to keep their teeth healthy for a lifetime.

When you give Dental Kits, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Health and Wellness Fund.

A diet lacking protein, fruits and vegetables is all too common for a child living in poverty. This is exacerbated in communities facing acute food insecurity. Your gift helps fight malnutrition in a child’s life by providing supplemental, protein-rich food, vitamins and medical care to help them grow healthy and strong.

When you give Food for Malnourished Children, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Health and Wellness Fund.

When you give to the Health and Wellness Fund, you provide children and their families with the resources to meet their most critical health needs and prevent disease and health complications in the future. This fund covers things such as mosquito nets, dental kits, food for malnourished children, access to medical care and preventative health education for children, youth and families.
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Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Access to safe water is essential, but unfortunately, more than half of the population in Burkina Faso does not have this necessity. There is an urgent need for sustainable clean water in four Compassion centres in communities struggling with high rates of waterborne illnesses. With your gift, you provide four solar-powered boreholes with handwashing stations, giving safe water access to 608 Compassion children and 1,900 caregivers, siblings and community members.

Did you know that in rural Nicaragua, 69.5% of families live without access to a safe drinking water supply? Much of this is due to widespread groundwater pollution. This leads to major health issues like infections, skin diseases, malnutrition and even kidney failure. Your gift will construct a drinking water purification and bottling plant at two Compassion centres serving families in the community. It will also help start a small water company providing bottled water to the community at affordable prices.

If you would like to fund the full cost of a Drinking Water Purification Facility, our team would love to support you. Connect with us today.

Water is essential to life. This means that access to clean water is a right that every child should have. With your gift, you ensure children have easy, consistent and safe access to clean water through boreholes, wells, rainwater harvesting systems or water filters. With solutions that fit with each child’s context for maximum impact, this gift helps children not just survive but thrive.

When you give Access to Clean Water, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund.

Did you know that more than half of the global population doesn’t have access to safe sanitation facilities? Access to a clean washroom is critical in preventing the spread of deadly infectious diseases like cholera. Your gift helps fund the construction of safe washrooms, giving hundreds of children dignity and protection from disease.

When you give Washrooms, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund.

Did you know that hand washing could prevent more than a million unnecessary deaths for children under the age of five each year? It is crucial for children to regularly wash their hands in order to stay healthy. This gift will bring life-saving access to hand washing facilities in the communities of vulnerable children and their families.

When you give Hand Washing Stations, your gift will go to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund.

Water, sanitation and hygiene are some of our most basic needs, and a lack of access to them can be deadly. With this gift, you ensure that children around the world have clean water to drink, the ability to practice good hygiene, and protection from deadly diseases through things such as washrooms, hand washing stations and hygiene education.

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Safety & Stability

Did you know that Guatemala has the fourth-highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world? Recently, Compassion Guatemala has seen a shocking number of children entering their programs with chronic malnutrition. This gift includes an 18-month training that teaches 400 families how to grow and prepare healthy food sustainably. It also provides access to local seed banks, agricultural plots and grain storage, as well as instructions for building their own fruit gardens so families have comprehensive resources to raise healthy and thriving children.

Because of the extreme poverty in many regions of Haiti, families are forced to live in muddy, unsafe and unsanitary homes that lack the most basic standards of construction. With frequent earthquakes, heavy rains and hurricanes, these homes leave families vulnerable to serious illnesses, injury and insecurity. With this gift, you build three well-constructed homes for the families of three Compassion children in Haiti, enabling them to have a safe and secure home to grow and thrive.

Poverty increases a child’s risk of abuse, trafficking, child marriage, child labour and other forms of exploitation. During times of crisis, these risks only increase. This gift enables Compassion centres to run child protection workshops for caregivers and community members, equipping them to ensure that children are known, loved and protected at home, at school and in the community.

When you give a Child Protection Workshop, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Safety and Stability Fund.

In times of hunger, it’s the most vulnerable who experience the harshest impact. Families in poverty often face acute hunger, sometimes surviving on as little as one small meal a day. Your gift provides a food pack to a family in need. Each food pack includes essentials like rice, oils, oats, milk, corn and meat.

When you give an Emergency Food Pack for a Family, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Safety and Stability Fund.

The reality of trying to put food on the table can feel like a challenge with no reprieve for those who live in poverty. The gift of a meal helps caregivers fill hungry stomachs and provides tangible hope to families amidst this daily struggle.

When you give a Meal for a Family, your gift goes to the Gifts of Compassion Safety and Stability Fund.

Economic instability combined with political turmoil and gang violence have led to a compounded crisis in Haiti. As a result, the country is currently facing widespread disruptions to critical resources such as food, clean water and shelter. With your gift, you can provide emergency support to children and families in Haiti who have been displaced or affected by the unrest and violence, ensuring that they have access to these critical resources at a time when they are needed most.

When you give to the Safety and Stability Fund, you provide vital essentials such as housing support, emergency food packs and infrastructure improvements to families and communities in need, often in the face of crises or environmental disasters. This fund also supports caregivers and communities in accessing training such as child protection workshops, ensuring safer communities where children are known, loved and protected.

Can't decide?

Give to our Where Most Needed Fund to enable our local church partners to respond to the most pressing needs of children and families living in poverty. Our church partners are uniquely positioned to know the needs of their communities and how to respond. Your gift provides the resources they need to do so.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How does Gifts of Compassion work?

Each gift in our guide meets a real need of children and families living in poverty, identified by our local church partners around the world. These gifts are designed to allow children and families living in poverty to have the resources, security, health, skills and opportunities they need to overcome poverty and thrive now and into the future.

When you give a gift in honour of a loved one, you can download or send an e-card to show your loved ones how their gift is transforming lives around the world!

Read more about Gifts of Compassion

What does it mean when my gift goes towards a “fund”?

When you give a gift that goes towards a fund, you are helping to meet some of the most common needs of the children and families we serve as identified by our local church partners. 

Because these needs are so common, your gift could go to any one of our 8,000 local church partners around the world at any given time, depending on the needs. This ensures that your gift is given to the right family at the right time. 

The word “fund” might make it sound like your gifts are sitting in a bucket somewhere, but rest assured it’s quite the opposite: fund gifts meet some of the most urgent needs identified by our local church partners.

Read more about fund gifts

Why do some gifts have a progress bar and others do not?

Gifts that have a progress bar raise funds for a specific need in a specific community as identified by one or a small group of our local church partners. These gifts have a goal that shows exactly how much it will cost to fund the entire project or program.

Once a specific gift is fully funded and the need is met in full, we won’t be raising funds for it anymore. Instead, we’ll add new gifts as our local church partners express the needs of their communities or we’ll invite you to give towards other related gifts. That means not every gift you see in our gift guide will be available forever. So, if you see something you want to give towards, make sure to do it sooner than later!

Read more about specific gifts

Where can I learn about Compassion’s financial integrity?

Financial integrity matters to us. We take your trust seriously and are committed to faithfully stewarding the funds you give.

No less than 80 per cent of funds raised will be used for program activities. No more than 20 per cent will be used for fundraising and administration.

Learn more about our finances

Who is Compassion?

As one of the world's leading child development organizations, Compassion’s mission is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Over the last 70 years, Compassion revolutionized the fight against global poverty by partnering with local churches to lift children out of spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty.

Today, Compassion partners with over 8,000 churches in 29 countries to deliver our proven child development program to more than 2 million infants, children and youth. Around the world, children, families and entire communities are being empowered to overcome poverty and thrive both now and into the future. 

Learn more about Compassion

Progress Circle

No less than 80 per cent of your donation will be used for program activities and a maximum of 20 per cent for fundraising and administration. If we exceed our funding goal for the initiative shown, the remaining funds will be used to fund other programs where the need is greatest.