Before 17-year old Bhey joined Compassion, her life had been an ordeal. Her father would always come home drunk, shouting and cursing while beating her mother up. And like a cruel twist to this all too familiar tale, Bhey eventually found out that they were not her father’s legitimate family.
But in 1999, Bhey became part of Compassion, an international Christian sponsorship organization that ministers to children in 24 countries around the world. Through its programs, children living in poverty are given the chance to live better lives, physically and spiritually. At present, Compassion reaches to about 33,000 impoverished Filipino children by either nurturing them or sending them to school.
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Compassion puts up students centers
all over the country where registered
teenagers, like Bhey, engage in
developmental activities. | | "Among the greatest lessons I’ve learned from Compassion were forgiveness and unconditional love. Through the help of my Compassion family, I’ve gathered enough courage to forgive my father and to love him again. At the Compassion student center, we are taught important Bible values aside from the traditional subjects we get from an ordinary school," shares Bhey.
Bhey and her father are now best friends. They had their last big fight, more than six months ago, when Bhey was thrown out of the house. But her student center director at Compassion urged her to come back home and straighten things out with her father. And so she did, and for the first time in her life, her father apologized to her and even promised her that he’ll stop drinking.
Bhey’s inspiring story is just one of the miracles Compassion performs everyday and everywhere around the world. For over 30 years, Compassion has been helping impoverished children from different countries spread in four continents: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Tanzania, Thailand and Uganda.
Just recently, Compassion launched its first-ever international alumni association in Manila. The Philippines has been granted the privilege of establishing the association, which shall serve as a blueprint for member countries when they put up a similar alumni relations program. Compassion International president Wess Stafford and over 1,000 Compassion alumni gathered for this major event with the theme "Committed to Pass It On." For more information about Compassion and its programs, you may contact Jairus or Jodan at (02) 373-3021 or email jaimelchor@yahoo.com or jfuentes@ph.ci.org.
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