Last Wednesday 31 May, two volunteers from Compassion came to visit our College and spoke with some Year 12 students about their aim, what they do and how they do it. Currently, we sponsor two children, Jenny from Peru and Hengki from Indonesia.

Mike, a youth pastor from the North Shore, drove down to deliver his first presentation to our students. He shared that he was not into Compassion in his younger years but developed an interest in their mission over time. Mike partnered with other like-minded people to bike a combined total of 4200km across Australia last September as part of a fundraiser Compassion ran. Unfortunately, he broke his leg in May, however he had caught the vision of helping the Compassion initiative and those children. He stressed that ‘catching the vision’ is the start toward intention, and intention then turns into action. Mike challenged us to envision our school sponsoring more children and left us with the intent to do so.

Spiro, alongside Mike, shared valuable insights into the inner workings of the organisation and the support that they give to families in need. For example, Compassion, through the teachings of Jesus, offers a curriculum to help children in their learning. This has introduced many kids to Jesus, many of whom come from places where Christian resources are lacking, and within this, they have expressed their newfound realisation of hope, purpose and feeling loved. Spiro also shared a story about a child named Abraham, who, through donated money, bought a simple bed. We in Australia would generally take this for granted, but Abraham shared that he had never slept in a bed before. Other examples of services offered by Compassion include giving meals and hygiene kits to their sponsored children.

In the videos that we were able to watch, it was heartwarming to see that the children had all found peace and strength through God as he works through the Compassion organisation. It reinforced their message: “Releasing children from poverty, in Jesus’ name.”

Finally, they encouraged us to send Christian-affirming letters and gifts, which we hope to do. We look forward to keep on helping our current Compassion children and hope to sponsor more in the future!

If you would like to learn more about Compassion, donate to people in need, or sponsor a child, please visit the Compassion Australia website link: https://www.compassion.com.au 

Mehak U and Mia Z (Year 12)