Sudden Shutdowns Create Crisis

Before COVID-19 surfaced, Compassion’s ministry was continuing to grow. Around the globe, 284 new Frontline Church Partners (FCPs) were in the process of visiting impoverished neighborhood families and registering children in their new church-based child development program. Each church was praying, planning and working hard to enlist up to 200 beneficiary children for each new Compassion center. Then, the pandemic halted everything.

To protect children and staff members from the coronavirus, all of Compassion’s 8,000+ child development centers were closed by mid-March. The virus’ threat compelled Compassion International to shift most of its global, regional and national workforces to remote working arrangements. Sadly, during this unprecedented time, the COVID-19 response caused indefinite delays in the child-registration process, leaving thousands of children in a holding pattern during a time of crisis.

Serious Challenge for New Centers

While Compassion staff members at all of our centers continue to creatively serve their sponsored children and their families remotely, consequences related to this global pandemic created serious fiscal and ministry challenges for our new FCPs.

Compassion’s child development centers and their programs are funded primarily through one-to-one child sponsorship. But with COVID-19’s sudden emergence, none of the roughly 284 new church partners had enough time to register a sufficient number of beneficiaries to maintain support and programming through sponsorship income.

At the time of the shutdowns, 136 FCPs worldwide had completed and approved registrations for between 1 and 99 children, and 148 FCPs were stalled completely before they could complete the official registration process.

As a result, all of these FCPs are far short of the sponsorship support needed to fund the first year of the holistic child development center ministry. Since Compassion specifically seeks to help those most in need, these 284 churches are positioned to reach some of the most disadvantaged communities in their respective regions. Children in these areas are desperately in need of assistance, especially during this challenging season.

Our new FCPs remain committed to serving the impoverished children and families they’ve been in touch with. Center staff members reach out appropriately, safely providing care and encouragement, food packages, hygiene kits and educational materials to grateful neighborhood children and their families. Your gift will help bridge the income gap and keep these new, under-funded centers going until they can safely reopen.

These churches know their communities, which is why they are best equipped to offer the love of Christ to suffering families and children in poverty. They are also ready to expand to these impoverished areas, reaching new children and families experiencing the ongoing fallout of COVID-19.

Poised for Ministry Growth Despite Disruption

Your gift will help ensure that Compassion’s new Frontline Church Partners can continue ministering to the children (and their families) who were registered or in process of registering for its child development center. With proper protective measures, center staff members will continue to reach out to these families and provide:

• COVID-prevention, education and care
• Child protection
• Food security
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) — education and supplies
• Medical checks and ongoing care, as needed
• Basic child development training and materials
• Prayer support and encouragement

Crisis and Opportunity in Honduras

While all 220 of Compassion Honduras' existing and new child development centers are closed, center staff members continue ministering to the children and families. As of January, they have delivered nearly 215,000 food packages and 142,000 hygiene kits. Additionally, they have facilitated medical care for more than 2,700 individuals.

Staff members also reach out to registered children and caregivers with weekly phone calls — and in a few communities they are able to visit homes while wearing masks and obeying social distancing guidelines. During these visits our staff members often pray with the caregivers and children and encourage them with God’s Word.

An Uncommon Challenge

But, in the midst of these outreach initiatives during COVID-19, six new centers in Honduras face uncommon hardship. Located throughout Honduras, the new FCPs had each committed to enrolling 180 children. Then came the shutdowns, and the new centers were unable to complete the official child-registration process due to COVID-caused delays. So, they face an uncommon challenge: They do not have funding that otherwise would come from a full roster of completed registrations and child sponsorships.

To bridge the gap, Compassion is raising funds to provide these churches with the steady flow of financial support they need in order to serve through a 12-month period. Funding levels for each child development center are being determined by Compassion Honduras' national office and are based on the projected number of registered beneficiaries and the capacity of the facility. In addition, some centers were able to register a few beneficiaries before the pandemic struck, so national offices are reviewing each need for the appropriate level of support until the FCP can be fully up and running.

Your Opportunity to Help

One of these six centers in Honduras is Una Esperanza (HO0384), in Cortes, Honduras. The child development center is located in an impoverished community of approximately 10,000 people. Parents and caregivers have been eager to register children for the Compassion program. Staff members at Una Esperanza project that up to 200 children will be enrolled once registration is officially completed. During the shutdown they continue to reach out and minister to children and families caught in the delayed registration process.

Despite these challenges, including diminished financial support, they continue to provide loving care for the children. They and their families need our help now. Through faithful supporters like you, we will be able to provide the financial support they need through June 30, 2021, when (we pray) the child development center can be fully registered and the children sponsored.

The gift needed to meet Una Esperanza's need through the fiscal year is $40,000 USD. Once received, the funds will be disbursed to the center’s host church on a monthly basis, providing Una Esperanza with the steady flow of income needed now and through the fiscal year.

Would you prayerfully consider this opportunity to help meet a very urgent need? Your generous gift will enable Una Esperanza to continue being “the hands and feet of Jesus” during the COVID-19 crisis —  as well as support the center as it completes the registration process and prepares to begin full ministry activity as soon as it is permitted to open its doors.

Amount Requested:  $40,000*

*Any excess funds raised through this effort or funds unable to be invested as originally intended will be invested in addressing similar pressing needs.

You Can Make a Big Difference

THANK YOU for your prayerful consideration of this urgent proposal to support the outreach of Una Esperanza in Honduras, currently under-funded due to the pandemic. Your gift will bridge the critical gap and make a world of difference — to our frontline workers and the children and families they serve.