Sponsor a Child

In November, 2009, Southview made a decision to partner with Compassion International, an organization dedicated to releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. We currently have a three-fold emphasis in our partnership:

1. Sponsoring children
2. Helping to provide clean water for communities in Rwanda
3. Helping to raise up Christian leaders in Rwanda

In addition to these three emphases, we have also raised over $6,000 for Compassion International’s relief efforts in Haiti following the earthquake there in January, 2010.

We continue in this partnership, and we look for ways to follow Jesus’ command to love God and love others. We want to be Jesus’ hands and feet, sharing His love and compassion with a world that is in desperate need of both. Have you plugged into our Compassion Ministry yet? Sponsoring a child is simple, and means so much for that child and their family. God may very well use your obedience and faithfulness in drawing that child to Himself. Stop by the Compassion Ministry update center downstairs and see how God would lead you to get involved today.

In the days ahead, we’re hoping to take a trip to Rwanda to meet the children we sponsor and to see the churches we partner with. More details will be coming in the days ahead. Pray with us that God would show us the next steps for our Compassion ministry partnership as we seek to grow in our obedience to His Word.

Sponsoring Children

Southviewers sponsor 54 Rwandan children, helping to provide food, clean water, education, clothing, health care, and a Bible, as well as telling them about God who loves them so much. You can see the church based child development centers we’re involved with marked on the map to the right. Sponsor a Child

Clean Water Project

We are tackling a clean water project in Rwanda. Thirty churches who host Compassion Child Development Centers need clean water – this will supply 8000 children and 120 adults with clean water every day. Each of these church water projects will cost about $4,400, and in December we raised over $14,000 with our first ever Christmas Eve service offering for this clean water project. By assisting this community in Rwanda, we will be enabling these kids to hear the gospel shared with them in these places. Through this partnership with Compassion and the local churches in Rwanda, we will be taking steps to get clean water to these children and families that are in desperate need of it.

Clean drinking water is essential to good health. Unfortunately, only about half of the population in Africa has access to clean water. Specifically, more than 70 percent of rural households in Rwanda—where the majority of Compassion’s child development centers are located—lack access to clean and safe drinking water. More often than not, even where clean water is available, unsanitary storage conditions contaminate it.

In 2008 Rwanda health reports found 4,011 cases of intestinal worms among Compassion assisted children, accounting for nearly 23 percent of all diseases affecting children during that year. Providing clean water to drink and wash with will improve the health of registered children by 60 percent in the first year.

Although health is critical, it is just one aspect of Compassion’s holistic child development model. In addition to improved health resulting from clean water, this activity benefits the children in other ways. For example, the Gahanga Child Development Center reports that 30 percent of the children arrive late for activities because they must carry water for their families—sometimes over long distances and under hazardous conditions. Access to clean water at the church will ease this burden for the children and allow them to receive the full benefits of Compassion’s programs.

Compassion Rwanda is combating this threat to improved health by enabling 30 church partners to install 10,000 liter water tanks. These tanks will allow the child development centers to safely store purified water and encourage collection of rain water. Each church partner will train three representatives in the maintenance of their water system, the detection and prevention of waterborne and communicable diseases, and proper hygiene techniques. From these 30 tanks, 8,000 children and 120 adults will benefit from using clean water. As of the end of January, Southview and another church had raised enough money for all 30 water projects!

Leadership Development Program

We have Sponsored Niyongabire Benoit, a Christ following student in Compassion’s Leadership Development Program, so that he can go to college in Rwanda and become a leader, changing his community and his nation for Jesus Christ.

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