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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.

• How does Critical Needs work with Child Sponsorship?

  Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program and Critical Needs work side-by-side to release children from the four forms of poverty: spiritual, socio-emotional, physical and economic. Together, they equip Compassion's local church partners with the resources to provide 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. You can choose to give to Critical Needs supporting children globally, or fund an entire project in a specific community. These projects are both reactive and proactive, and could include things such as water filters to provide safe water to a community, reconstruction of homes after natural disaster, or income generating activitites for adolescents and children's caregivers. Every child in Compassion's program will benefit from funding through Critical Needs at some point during their time with Compassion.

  You can:

  • Give to Critical Needs
  • Sponsor a child
• Can I sponsor a specific mother and child in Compassion Mums and Babies?

  While you can now sponsor a child from age one through Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program, we cannot offer one-to-one sponsorship of mums and babies before a child's first birthday. Compassion Mums and Babies provides urgent survival support for young families in crisis situations. In a child's first year of life, Compassion staff are focused on helping babies survive and families adjust to life with their new arrival. Once the critical first year is over, Compassion staff can turn their attention to child development and establishing the invaluable one-to-one sponsorship relationships that help children grow in confidence and have hope for their future.

  Donations of any amount to Compassion Mums and Babies are graciously received. You will be providing young families with critical support during the vulnerable prenatal months and first year of life.

  Alternatively, Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program is specifically designed for one-to-one sponsorship, offering children and sponsors the opportunity to benefit from a two-way relationship.

  You can:

  • Give to Mums and Babies
  • Sponsor a child
  • Learn more about the Child Sponsorship Program
• What is Mums and Babies?

  Compassion Mums and Babies gives young children critical support during the vulnerable prenatal months and first year of life. It cares for mums and their little ones in their own homes, the centre of their lives.

  Combining Compassion’s expertise and the local church’s loving support, Mums and Babies aims to prevent premature death, secure good health and enable positive development for babies and their mothers across 25 developing countries.

  Your support provides:

  Home-based care for mothers and babies, with perinatal specialists visiting families monthly to offer healthcare, education and emotional support.

  Advocacy for mums to ensure they are treated fairly by local services and can access the essential support they need to thrive, including medical care and birth attendants.

  Community support networks that bring mothers together to combat isolation, learn new ways of earning an income and provide each other with long-term support.

  Compassion centres, where mothers can always turn for support, learning opportunities and expert advice on how to monitor their child’s healthy development.

  When a child turns one year old, the focus shifts from survival to early childhood development, and the child is eligible to join Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program while continuing to receive personalised home-based care until age three.

  You can:

  • Give to Mums and Babies
  • Learn more about Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program
• 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