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Goodbye Jesus

Conundrum


ag_NO_stic

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So, I'll get right to it. As a Christian in 2015, I got suckered into sponsoring a child. The company (Compassion) did a legitimately bang-up job putting faces with names and convincing you that your money actually helped. They had a sponsored child as an adult talk about how having a sponsor transformed their life and they had some key-note speaker come out and talk about how skeptical she was of the company.... so she flew out to see their action at work and was blown away. I, at the time, really wanted to live my faith. I felt I was very fortunate and could afford to give some to help transform the life of a child, he has a name and everything. He writes me letters, draws me pictures, thanks me, talks about what he's learning......which is pretty much all about Jesus. 
 
I....really don't want to support the company, since it's tying basic human needs with Jesus instead of just feeding them and educating them and helping out the sick, etc. But either I am really helping this one child or they really have me fooled, because I have this mental image of this cute kid's face crumpling when he finds out I'm not sponsoring him anymore. I don't want to add to issues he has...I don't mind TOO much except I don't want to give to the organization anymore.
 
Should I wait it out and just....I don't know, stop when he's older? I really just want to help people, but I'm tired of the emails about spreading my faith and being a light for christ and "all that I'm doing for Estaban's walk with Jesus...." What are everyone's thoughts? I KNOW they will guilt trip me if I do actually try to cancel and I WILL be a sucker for it. Guilt is kind of a thing with many of us.
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My wife has been supporting the same child for the last 10 years thru Compassion Int'l. The girl will be 18 this year and the support will end. Don't lose focus on the main issue here. A kid in a horrible situation is getting food and clothing. The religious aspect, as far as I'm concerned, in this kind of situation, is irrelevant. 

 

I assume there are non- religious groups doing something similar, find one of them & help a kid in need. 

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11 minutes ago, Geezer said:

My wife has been supporting the same child for the last 10 years thru Compassion Int'l. The girl will be 18 this year and the support will end. Don't lose focus on the main issue here. A kid in a horrible situation is getting food and clothing. The religious aspect, as far as I'm concerned, in this kind of situation, is irrelevant. 

 

I assume there are non- religious groups doing something similar, find one of them & help a kid in need. 

 

Thank you so much. I really needed someone to get me out of my headspace.

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Perhaps you could inform the child that you are an humanist to show him/her that humanists are compassionate and turn other discussion more towards his educational interests, etc., demonstrating that there are subjects other than religion which are important.

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1 hour ago, sdelsolray said:

Perhaps you could inform the child that you are an humanist to show him/her that humanists are compassionate and turn other discussion more towards his educational interests, etc., demonstrating that there are subjects other than religion which are important.

 

Interesting concept. The letter is translated by Compassion so I wonder if they would even give him a letter that talked about such things. I have yet to say "I am praying for you" or "God loves you," I just say things like "How are your pets and farm animals," and "what do you like learning about," etc...

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I think you definitely are in a Conundrum. Just a quick check on the Compassion website, there is a breakdown of what your money covers (https://blog.compassion.com/financial-accountability-how-is-my-money-used-each-month/)

This section:

 

Quote

 

How Is My Money Used to Help the Child I Sponsor?

The money categorized as project grants is delivered directly to our church-run child development centers to cover the costs for providing the services and opportunities that make up our program.

  • regular Christian training
  • supplemental nutrition support
  • educational opportunities (e.g., funding school attendance and/or regular participation in alternative educational activities, as well as opportunities to learn life and job skills. )
  • health care and training (e.g., regular physical exams, dental care, vaccinations, referral for advance medical care, instruction in physical and dental hygiene, exercise, nutrition and preventive health care)
  • social and emotional development (e.g., learning basic social skills, teamwork, art, drama, dance, etc.)
  • materials and supplies including hygiene supplies (e.g., soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste), center supplies (e.g., paper, writing utensils, games, toys), fees or costs associated with field trips, camps, drama, art and dance activities, and snacks, food and supplemental nutrition each child may need
  • individualized care and attention (e.g., school progress reports, center attendance records, health records, home visits by social workers and adult supervision while at the development center)

Program services include activities undertaken by our staff to select, train, equip and oversee the church partners implementing our program, as well as programmatic research and evaluation. They also cover the costs of staff who direct and maintain the daily activities at the child development center.

 

The fact that it lists "regular Christian training" first is no accident. While everything on the list after the "Christian training" is worthwhile, the fact that its all poisoned with the Christian aspect of it all is bothersome (to me). I wish there was a way you could find the child outside of Compassion and see about help, however, I suspect that it would be more difficult to ensure your money is being spent well and Compassion has better resources (presumably) to make it more cost efficient.

Compassion has had a good rating over the past decade and seems to be pretty transparent about their financials, however, their ratings have taken a dip lately. It also bothers me that their CEO makes $330k per year.

I guess in the end, i suppose its better to provide for a genuinely needy child, even with the Christian poison attached to it, than to not support one at all.

Good luck.

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Write the letter and ask for a response from the child. Make them lie or be dishonest if they dont want to read it to the child. 

Truth is, the kid is gonna be religious but who cares. You saved a life. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/29/2017 at 10:51 AM, ag_NO_stic said:

 

Interesting concept. The letter is translated by Compassion so I wonder if they would even give him a letter that talked about such things. I have yet to say "I am praying for you" or "God loves you," I just say things like "How are your pets and farm animals," and "what do you like learning about," etc...

 

You could translate the letter yourself and send it directly to him (after getting his full name and post address).  You could even put money in the envelope and tell Compassion that you sent a monthly payment to him directly.  How Compassion responds might be entertaining.

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