Fighting the poverty plight

Liberty students partner with Compassion and sponsor more than 500 kids

During Global Focus Week, students had the opportunity to sponsor children from all over the world through Compassion International. Nate Ernsberger, regional director of speaker relationships for Compassion, said this was the largest partnership Compassion has had with college students in a campus setting. By the conclusion of the week, students had sponsored 588 children.

“I had wanted to (sponsor a child) for a while, but I didn’t think I had the money for it,” sophomore Autumn Campbell said. “But this time I just decided to trust God with it. I thought about all the kids I met when I went on a mission trip to Africa and wanted to continue to love on them and show them Jesus, even if it’s from across the world.”

“This relationship has a two-way benefit,” Ernsberger said. “Sponsorship is one way to conceptualize what is happening. What we have really learned over time is that (it) is a relationship between a child and a sponsor. My family and I find out from the children that we sponsor that they are praying for us, and that’s huge.”

Every child sponsored will receive access to the basic needs of life. Ernsberger shared there is only one sponsor per child.

“(The sponsored children) will gain access to nutrition and education and have the opportunity to develop life skills,” Ernsberger said. “Those are the practical pieces of it. (Also they gain) a relationship with someone, not just the sponsor but also the people at the church. … (They get) to say I’m advocating for you and there is a safe place for you. This adds so much to a child’s life.”

According to Ernsberger, Compassion partners with local churches all over the world. Each local church, whether that be in East Africa, West Africa, South America, Central America or Asia, begins by picking 50 children in their community who they believe would benefit from being sponsored. Then as the church grows in its ability to manage their sponsored children, it can begin sponsoring more.

“Kids are just kids, and they are full of joy and life,” Ernsberger said. “What I find when I go and visit children we are working with is a deep joy. Their surroundings want to beat that out of them, and they do beat that out of them until we get to stand in the way, until the church gets to stand in the way, until a sponsor gets to come in and say, ‘I’m going to make sure the joy doesn’t get beaten out of you.’”

Compassion also brought along the Compassion Experience, a mobile truck-and-tent based exhibit that allows participants to see and hear about the lives of people who have been released from poverty
through Compassion’s work.

From Feb. 9-13, the Speakman parking lot by the bookstore housed a large tented area featuring the interactive walk-through drama. Through a guided tour, students walked through elaborate sets and scenes depicting the vastly different lives of men, women and children across the world.

“Each person receives headphones and goes through one of four stories and learns about a particular life,” Ernsberger said.

According to Brock Eastman, the Compassion Experience regional manager, more than 4,788 people attended the experience Feb. 9-13.

“The stories brought feelings of encouragement to see that an (organization) such as Compassion could change someone’s life completely for the better,” sophomore Malaika Butler said. “It impacted the way I see organizations like Compassion and how they exist to sustain a life as well as draw kids closer to Christ.”

The four stories profile the true stories of children who have been saved by Compassion, including Jonathan, Kiwi, Samson and Yannely. The scenes displayed showed the penniless conditions of these
poverty-stricken children.

The Compassion Experience attracted the community as well. Christine Dunaway, a Rustburg, Virginia resident, and her son, Christopher Dunaway, 11, came to the Compassion Experience to gain a new perspective about poverty and reinforce their homeschool curriculum. After going through the Compassion Experience, Christopher Dunaway picked out a child to sponsor.

“I learned that God answers prayers every time even though (some) people go through hard times,” Christopher Dunaway said.

According to Ernsberger, when readying the Compassion Experience equipment for the Liberty location, the large unit they were planning to use, which houses three stories, was booked for a different event. Instead, two smaller units were brought in, which house four stories.

Compassion Experience has been available for four years. During this time, more than 200,000 visitors have experienced the walk-through in more than 90 cities.

Ernsberger said the inspiration to begin the Compassion Experience, a branch of Compassion International, was to give a visualization to those who have an interest in the organization but are unable to experience it for themselves.

“What if we try to do some storytelling, so people can be immersed in the story and can understand what life is like?” Ernsberger asked. “It is a hard thing to understand if you can’t see it.”

Ernsberger said students who want to get involved with Compassion International can volunteer through many different outlets. The Rock and Worship Roadshow is coming to Charlottesville, Virginia March 12. If students would like to volunteer, they can sign up at compassion.com/roadshowvolunteer.

“It’s been a real honor to be here,” Ernsberger said. “It’s very unique for Liberty to invite an organization like Compassion. It is asking students to engage really, really deeply. … It shows that students at Liberty are generous.”

Sponsoring a child costs $38 per month. To become an advocate for a child through sponsorship, visit compassion.com/sponsor_a_child.

Coleman is a news reporter.

Frost is a news reporter.