Too many children around the world go day to day without enough food, water, shelter and protection. COVID-19 has made this reality even worse. This year alone, an additional 71 million people are expected to be pushed back into extreme poverty (living on less than $1.90 a day) because of the pandemic.
In response to this alarming need, Compassion Canada has designed its annual Gifts of Compassion gift guide to help Canadians direct their holiday giving in order to make real life impact in the lives of children living in poverty.
“We’re dedicated to providing stability to children, families and their communities in the most critical situations,” says Allison Alley, President and CEO of Compassion Canada. “Their survival depends on it.”
Gifts that will provide COVID-19 relief include:
Compassion’s global efforts to ensure children and families survive the pandemic have delivered more than 7.1 million food packs, over 4.6 million hygiene kits and more than 254,000 cash transfers to families in need. Compassion has also assisted more than 438,000 individuals access medical care.
Each gift in the guide is locally sourced and handpicked by members of the community, people that know the real needs of families who face new challenges in the wake of COVID-19’s destructive path. For women like Hanna L*, a pregnant single mother in Ethiopia who lost her job just as the coronavirus swept the country, these targeted gifts made all the difference. Compassion's local church partners were able to connect Hanna to critical prenatal care, food supplies and then medical care after she delivered her child.
“In addition to providing food supplies and paying rent for some, we thought it is only wise to think of a sustainable solution that enables mothers [like Hanna] to earn a living and support themselves," notes Munaye M*, a staff member at Compassion Ethiopia.
That's why this year’s gift guide also promotes long-term and sustainable income generation opportunities that empower families to escape generational poverty. Livestock gifts of chickens, goats and pigs along with fruit farming kits and seed start ups equip families to generate income, increase food security and attain economic self-sufficiency.
“I have always believed in working my way out of struggles. However, the pandemic made it hard for me to find work. So, I was excited to hear the proposal of the [Compassion] staff to start a small vegetable business so I can earn a living and feed my children,” says Hanna.
The 2020 Gifts of Compassion gift guide is now available across Canada. For a full list of giving opportunities visit Compassion.ca/gifts.
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ABOUT COMPASSION CANADA – A leading child development organization, Compassion revolutionized the fight against global poverty by working exclusively with the Church to lift children out of spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty. Compassion partners with more than 8,000 churches in 25 countries to deliver its holistic child development program to over 2 million babies, children and young adults. Compassion's child sponsorship program has been validated through independent, empirical research. Compassion was named by Maclean’s magazine as one of Canada’s Best Charities in 2020. Learn more at www.compassion.ca.
* For the privacy of this individual a pseudonym has been used
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