Critical Interventions

The effects of poverty are devastatingly unfair, and often unexpected. Because every obstacle that can hinder the healthy development of a child cannot be predicted in advance, Critical Interventions provide solutions to needs that exceed the reach of our other programs: Child Survival Program, Child Sponsorship Program and Leadership Development Program.

Our Critical Interventions aim to remove any obstacles that stand in the way of a child’s healthy development and their ability to reach their full potential. These barriers can include:

• Inadequate sanitation
• Natural disasters
• Health epidemics
• Issues directly affecting an individual child's family, such as a parent's unemployment.

In response to the specific needs of a child and their community, our Critical Interventions include:

• Toilets, hygiene and clean water, including wells and water purification systems
• Disaster relief following a natural disaster such as an earthquake or flood
• Education and training programs for parents of sponsored children
• Emergency medical care and/or surgery
• Extra nutritional support
• Extra support for orphans and highly vulnerable children
• HIV/AIDS initiatives, including education, prevention and treatment
• Income generation assistance for parents
• Infrastructure such as improvement to child development centres
• Immunisations and malaria prevention activities
• Support for registered children not yet sponsored
• Vocational training and non-formal education

Because we believe that poverty is best addressed through the transformation of the individual child, Critical Interventions are provided alongside Compassion’s programs, not as stand-alone community development activities. These interventions are also funded separately, not through contributions to our one-to-one Child Sponsorship Program.

You can contribute to our Critical Interventions by:

• Supporting Sponsorship Plus by adding an additional $12 to your monthly child sponsorship
• Giving a one-off donation or contributing reguarly to Critical Interventions
• Giving a one-off donation to our End of Financial Year Appeal
• Purchasing a gift from the Gifts of Compassion catalogue
• Funding a specific intervention. Please contact a member of the Church and Partner Relations team for more information at partner@compassion.com.au or call 02 4935 5000 / 1300 22 44 53.