Acting for Compassion: It's Time to be a Survival Superhero starting February 19thIt’s time for Bridgeway Academy’s annual community service project! Once more we are partnering with Compassion International through our “Acting for Compassion” educational series, fundraiser, and Act Day. As in prior years, our National Beta Honors Club students have helped put this event together for us through their research and action. Breaking the bonds of poverty is very difficult, especially if you are born into it. Just surviving the first year of life can be an insurmountable task. In Compassion International’s early years, they noticed that the children coming into the sponsorship program were suffering from years of malnutrition and had numerous developmental delays. They soon implemented a program for those under sponsorship age, and, over the years, the “Survival Program” was refined. All week, we will be diving deeper into the various parts of this incredible mother and baby program. There will be videos, blogs, amazing stories, and learning how you can be a Survival Superhero! Each day’s activities are detailed here in the Bridgeway Learning Center! Follow each day’s schedule below to participate. Does your student still need to meet the high school Community Service hours requirement? When your student fully participates in Acting for Compassion “Survival Superheroes”, they can earn 24 community service hours by completing these steps: Students will read the daily lessons here in the BLC and the attached links or videos Journal their thoughts which they will send in to their advisor (a couple of paragraphs each) Donate any amount through Compassions Gift Catalog for the Infant Survival focus of their choice Participate in our Act Days starting Friday, February 23rd Send a copy of the donation receipt and the journal entries to their advisor Our goal is to donate over $2000 to help Mothers and Babies! Questions? Please email your advisor. Monday, February 19th:The birth of a baby is a time for celebration, the joy of a new life and a new member of the family. There is so much hope wrapped around the tiny fingers of a newborn. But in developing nations, that joy also comes with great fear and giant obstacles. In those countries, 2.4 million infants die within their first month of life. Even if they make it beyond that, over 5 million die before their fifth birthday, and 83% of those deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It’s heartbreaking. However, those numbers have declined over the last 15 years, and we can be part of the reason why! Read why Kanti’s Story is one of thousands of examples of how Compassion International, in its over 60 years of existence, has helped children survive and thrive. Then watch and listen to how with these two videos. The first is a heartwarming story called A Journey to Survival and the second is a mother whose baby was in crisis - Knowing There is Help Tuesday, February 20th: Yesterday, we learned some of the statistics facing mothers and babies who live in developing countries. There’s also little in the way of employment, access to food options and clean water is limited, infrastructure like maintained roads and access to medical care isn’t easy, and poor education has left many in dire situations when trying to raise a child. Yet, there is hope! Today, we’re meeting the heroes of the Child Survival Program, like these midwives who are helping to save the lives of both babies and their mothers. Then, there’s a whole group of people working together so mothers and fathers get a chance at that beautiful First Hello! And, finally, how you can be one of these heroes. Wednesday, February 21st:On Friday, February 22nd, students who are involved in this amazing community service opportunity with Compassion International will be starting our Act Days. So, what is it? Starting on Friday, and over the weekend, we step foot into the world of a child living in poverty. You need to complete at least TWO of the activities to earn Community Service hours for this event, though we challenge you to try all of them. These are to help you get a small taste of what life is like for these children. As you are preparing for these days, watch Maureen's story of how hopelessness turned to beauty, and then the formation of Mercy House to help mothers and babies. Spend two nights sleeping on the floor with just a couple blankets or mats Explore recipes from all over the globe. Use a recipe like the ones in the Compassion Explorer magazine to try some ethnic foods Use just 10 gallons of water for your entire household that day and the smallest amount of electricity Better yet, use no electricity at all Bike or walk everywhere you go for two days instead of driving Lay out a 10 x 10 space in your yard or in your house and try to figure out how a family of 4 could live in such a small space. Then graph it on paper. You can take it to the next level and try to stay in it for everything from cooking to schoolwork to bedtime and more. Make and serve meals to area homeless or assist in serving meals at a shelter We also encourage you to take this time to get to know the work of Compassion International through their kids Explorer magazine and the main website. While there, consider sponsoring a child. On Act Day, you’ll be reading more about what that experience is like. Thursday, February 22nd:By now, you’ve been learning so much about how vital it is to help mothers and babies survive the first critical years of life. We wanted to share one more story about the Child Survival Program before showing you what happens afterward. The help doesn’t end! When the child turns three, they are given a sponsor, and that is where their lives get so exciting. The holistic child development ensures not just physical needs are met but emotional and mental too. Even the parents are often taught better ways to provide for their families. They’re able to graduate with skills to be successful in life all around. As you can see from Emmanuel’s story, the most amazing shifts happen. And because Compassion works locally, buying what is needed for the children locally, sourcing equipment locally or regionally, the entire area ends up transforming! Skilled graduates from the training programs open their own businesses or improve local ones. They give back to the ones who helped them too. The cycle of poverty breaks. Remember those statistics from the beginning of the week? Those in Compassion-assisted regions are crushing them. Friday, February 23rd:Today starts our big Act Days! Before you start, though, we want you to read what people in poverty want you to know. Then, if you are interested in earning Community Service hours credit for this event, you need to complete at least TWO of these options. Spend two nights sleeping on the floor with just a couple blankets or mats Explore recipes from all over the globe. Use a recipe like the ones in the Compassion Explorer magazine to try some ethnic foods. Use just 10 gallons of water for your entire household that day and the smallest amount of electricity Better yet, use no electricity at all Bike or walk everywhere you go for two days instead of driving Lay out a 10 x 10 space in your yard or in your house and try to figure out how a family of 4 could live in such a small space. Then graph it on paper. You can take it to the next level and try to stay in it for everything from cooking to schoolwork to bedtime and more. Make and serve meals to area homeless or assist in serving meals at a shelter Being with Compassion International since 1996, Holly, one of our advisors, wanted to share some of her Compassion Story. Her heart is big for the children who lost their first sponsors. These are usually teenagers who need someone to see them through to graduation from the program on their 22nd birthday. Here are three of those teenagers, as well as the child she saw from entry to graduation. Asha – From age 7 to graduation she was “my girl.” I watched her thrive in school, graduating with a certificate in accounting as well as a high school diploma. She led her mother to the Lord and taught her mom how to better manage her market stall with the goats and chickens Compassion gave them to raise on top of what her mother farmed. Ishmail – He's long graduated from high school plus has taken college courses and now is just 1 month from graduation and is taking classes for Theater. He has already won regional awards for his acting skills and has a bright future in that field. It was a rough road being raised by just his father, who struggled to find work, but Ishmail overcame the challenges. Jose – This is my little special needs teenager. He hasn’t been able to attend school in-between his low scores and a large family disruption. Currently, a tutor works with him on the weekends, and he is in vocational training, and he helps his mother out in a farm camp during the week. He works so hard, and his letters reflect the hope he has now that he is in a program tailored to his needs. Efua – Is my shining star. She had fallen behind during COVID but still managed to graduate high school. I recently received a three-page letter from her describing life helping her grandmother and working as a seamstress using the skills she gained at her Compassion center. She’s preparing for university exams, and I am praying she gets in! Monday, February 26th:By now, we’ve covered a lot of what Compassion International is doing to help mothers and babies with Child Survival and how that is taken to the next level with Child Sponsorship to carry the child through to adulthood thereby breaking the cycle of poverty. We also had our Act Days over the weekend. We hope you learned a lot from the experience of taking a tiny step into the world of a child living in poverty. We are thankful to all who have donated to the fundraising side of this community service event and sent in the receipts. For those who completed their weekly journal reflections and participated in our Act Days as well, please forward those to your advisor for the full 24 hours of Community Service to be added to your transcript. This is due by March 10th.
