Water and Sanitation

FAQs

• 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
• 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
• 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.

• 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
• 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