the good neighbour

FAQs

• What is Critical Needs?

  The effects of poverty are devastating and affect every area of a child's life. Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program sets the foundation for life-changing opportunities for every registered child. But every child will, at some point, require help beyond sponsorship's reach.

  Critical Needs provides the additional support necessary for Compassion assisted children to be released from poverty in Jesus' name. Through Critical Needs, supporters like you who are passionate about particular issues, such as safe water, or caring for mothers and babies, can help children most in need worldwide, or support specific projects in vulnerable communities. There are nine Critical Needs areas that you can choose to support, each area addressing an essential aspect of a child's health and development.  

  The nine Critical Needs are:

  • Water and Sanitation
  • Mums and Babies
  • Health
  • Education and Training
  • Infrastructure
  • Highly Vulnerable Children
  • Income Generation
  • Disaster Relief
  • Where Most Needed

  Because we believe that poverty is best addressed through the transformation of the individual child, Critical Needs provides support alongside Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program, not as stand-alone community development activities.

• If I give to Critical Needs, where will my money go?

  You can choose to donate to one of nine Critical Needs areas: - Water and Sanitation - Health - Infrastructure - Mums and Babies - Disaster Relief - Education and Training - Income Generation - Highly Vulnerable Children - Where Most Needed

  Your donation goes towards addressing that area of need for children in our program globally. For example, should you give to Water and Sanitation, your donation could go towards providing water filters, water tanks or toilets in any of the 25 countries where Compassion works. Funds are pooled so that children's most urgent needs are met first, as determined by local church partners who know each child and family in Compassion's program. You can also choose to support an entire Critical Needs project. Please contact us if you are interested in discussing this option further. 

  You can:

  • Give to Critical Needs
  • Sponsor a child
• Why does the cost to support an entire Mums and Babies survival project vary between countries?

  The care that families receive from Mums and Babies is specific to them, and differs between countries based on children’s needs and the availability and accessibility of government or other support services. This means the cost to support an entire Mums and Babies survival project also varies between countries ($15,000 - $25,000 per year), and has been determined by the price of local services, families' specific needs and currency conversions.

  For example, in Thailand, free universal healthcare is available to families—but not always accessible, especially in remote areas. Instead of replacing existing services, your support empowers Compassion staff to assess and meet each family’s individual and most urgent needs. For children in Thailand, this includes providing educational and health support to increase rates of breastfeeding, helping to prevent undernutrition and stunting for newborns.

  You can support Mums and Babies for $12 per month or another amount of your choosing. You can also give through a one-off financial contribution. These contributions are pooled to support mothers and babies all around the world.

  If you are interested in supporting an entire Mums and Babies survival project, please contact us.

  You can:

  • Give to Mums and Babies
  • Contact us for more information
• How does Critical Needs work with Child Sponsorship?

  Critical Needs and the Child Sponsorship Program work side-by-side to equip Compassion's local church partners with the resources to provide holistic support and long-term, customised solutions for children, their families and communities. While the Child Sponsorship Program connects one child with one sponsor, Critical Needs giving is not directed to one child, but provides essential support to thousands of Compassion registered children when they need it most. Every child will benefit from Critical Needs during their time in Compassion’s program, as sponsorship funds alone are not sufficient to cover the varied and often urgent needs of the children we support.

  You can choose to support children globally through Critical Needs or fund an entire project in a specific community. These projects are both reactive and proactive and could include water filters to provide safe water to a community, reconstruction of homes after natural disasters, or income generating activities for adolescents and children's caregivers. The right assistance is identified and provided by the local church in partnership with Compassion.

  You can:

  • Give to Critical Needs
  • Sponsor a child
• Can I give to Critical Needs if I do not sponsor a child?

  Yes, you can give to Critical Needs if you do not sponsor a child. Although Child Sponsorship remains our focus, Critical Needs is essential to overcoming obstacles for children living in poverty and your donation to Critical Needs will go towards helping thousands of children. Choose an area of need that you are most passionate about meeting, and then all you need to do is decide whether your donation is a once-only or a recurring gift. Thank you for your partnership to share a hope more powerful than poverty!

  You can:

  • Give to Critical Needs
  • Sponsor a child