Hi, neighbour! We’re refreshing our site to make your visit better. As you move around, you may see a mix of old and new designs.

Education and Training

Education and Training

Creating life-changing educational opportunities for children and young people

Give to help a child fulfil their potential

keyboard_arrow_left BACK TO DONATE

Education is a powerful way to reduce poverty.

Why Education and Training is so important

Leaving school

In developing countries, 200 million young people leave school without the skills they need for gainful employment

58 million children are out of school

58 million children are out of school. The poorest children are five times more likely to be out of school than the richest children

Female illiteracy

Female youths are 1.7x more likely to be illiterate than male youths

Student spending

Developing countries spend only 1% of the amount that developed countries spend on students. That’s US$40 in developing countries compared to US$4000 in developed nations

Sources: UN; UIS

Every child in Compassion’s program has the opportunity to go to school and receive an education. But for thousands of these children, breaking the cycle of poverty requires more than school lessons.

Through the generosity of our supporters, Compassion works through the local church to identify a tailored plan for each child and provide what is needed to continue their educational development. This could mean helping with:

  • Vocational training
  • University Education
  • Resources such as computer labs and books
  • Numeracy and literacy training

Compassion staff knows each individual child’s strengths, struggles and dreams for the future. They understand their specific education needs—and how meeting those needs can help them overcome poverty.



See your latest impact through Education and Training

See how your generosity changed the lives of children this year.
Download our Education and Training Impact Report.

See my impact

Education and Training Stories

Feature Story
02 Jul, 2020

How to Pray for Your Sponsored Child and Their Family

Want to pray for your sponsored child, but not sure where to begin? Here are three tips to get you started!.. Read more

03 Jul, 2019

17 Astonishing Journeys to School by Children in Poverty

How did you get to school as a child? Here’s a look at some of the great lengths children around the world, are going to everyday to get themselves to the classroom. .. Read more

22 Jan, 2019

9 Beautiful Photos Of Children Living in Poverty Doing Homework

It doesn’t matter where you live: teachers love to give out homework! In light of the International Day of Education, check out where these children study to improve their education. .. Read more

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.

  • Where does Compassion Mums and Babies operate?

    Compassion Mums and Babies works in over 25 developing countries to prevent premature death, secure good health and enable positive development in the youngest, most vulnerable children.

    Mums and Babies always operates through a survival project at the Compassion centre in local communities. It is the first phase of our holistic child development model. From age one, children will transition from Mums and Babies into the Child Sponsorship Program.

    You can

    • Give to Mums and Babies
    • Learn more about the 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
  • How much does it cost to give to Mums and Babies?

    You can give to 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. As a Mums and Babies supporter, you will receive updates containing highlights, stories and statistics.

    You can also fund an entire Mums and Babies survival project, or launch a survival project in a new community. The cost to support an entire survival project varies by country, between $15,000 and $25,000 per year. Please contact us to discuss these options further.

    You can:

    • Learn more about Mums and Babies
  • 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