heroism, poverty and transparency in child sponsorship

If you've been following social media this week, you probably know about the fire storm of response created by World Vision's decision and subsequent un-decision regarding World Vision USA's hiring policy. Absolutely everybody has weighed in on the debate spawned by the two announcements and I don't intend to add one more blog post to the already flaming pile. There is great danger commenting on the dynamics of an organization for which one does not work. Nevertheless, we are closely familiar with World Vision and other child sponsorship organizations having seen their work and impact first hand on the field. What follows is our honest observation, and we welcome any correrction if we are mistaken. 

I almost could have ignored the entire conversation were it not for the persistent stream of comments exposing a very specific point of donor ignorance.

It is unfathomable to me that people would choose to punish and drop the child they sponsor over a difference in doctrine… It's astounding to me that Christians would take food from starving children because a gay person might have helped in getting it there. (rageagainsttheminivan.com)

That poor child they are leaving behind sadly does not have a choice to eat, go to school or live a healthy life. (fb comment)

I will continue to advocate for the children around the world who are losing access to vital, elemental needs (like food, healthcare, education, clean water), because a bunch of Christians in America got pissed about an HR decision made in a corporate office. (Nishweiseth.com)

… a child’s monthly needs are at stake. (Jenhatmaker.com)

What does it say about our Faith when our response to a corporate policy change is to kick a needy child in the teeth? (jamietheveryworstmissionary.com)

It's very inhumane to cut off food to a hungry child because you hate gay people. (blog comment)

I fully affirm the concern being expressed for children around the world. God loves children. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Every child deserves clean drinking water and a chance at school. Every one of them deserves security and love. To all those standing on the side of children, BLESS YOU.

Nevertheless, I sense some confusion about the nature of child sponsorship, and I hope this post will clear some things up. The truth of the matter is that no one sponsor is solely responsible for any one child’s life. When a sponsor withdraws support for any reason – change in financial situation, or difference of doctrinal opinion – whatever the reason,fff the withdrawing supporter is NOT kicking a child out of school, taking food out of his mouth, ripping the shirt off his back or sending him out into the streets. 

No, no, no, no, no.

A "dropped" child is not being punished or sentenced to a life of destitute poverty. This is not how child sponsorship works – within World Vision or any other organization that I know of, including my own. Child sponsorship is a JOINT commitment on the part of the generous donor and the coordinating organization. When the organization takes on a child, they commit to provide a certain set of services to that child for a certain period of time – whether or not the donor keeps sending checks with that child’s name on the memo line. Funds for sponsorship are not matched one to one so much as they are pooled together to provide for ALL the children on the sponsorship roster, in addition to a host of non-child-specific activities. As much as it may be a let down to hear, World Vision is not anxiously waiting for your sponsorship check so that when they get it, they make a call to the field staff in Zambia informing them that, Praise the Lord, Mwewa can have dinner tonight!

Large, well-organized, fiscally sound child sponsorship organizations have certain structures assuring that YOU cannot ruin a child’s life. These organizations build into their budget a certain amount of financial margin to allow for fluctuations in donor support. They have in place contingency plans for seasons of drought. And they absolutely have a certain level of professional ethics whereby they are not blithely playing with children’s lives.

To tell donors that children will suffer if individual donors do not continue to give $35 a month is emotionally manipulative. Emotional manipulation is hurtful and wrong. As directors of a small non-profit, Jeremy and I are more or less professionals at working off of a tight budget. We can easily think of about 50 ways that most non-profits, World Vision included could save money (at least in Zambia) without the kids ever noticing. Internal politics, USAID grant restrictions and desirable media campaigns largely dictate to where and to what the dollars are going. Charging the already conflicted donor with the suffering of thousands of poor, needy children world-wide lacks integrity. 

It would seem that the lack of transparency within the sponsorship process has only served to reinforce the savior complex held by many Americans. Many families display their sponsored child’s picture on their fridge as a conversation piece, a reminder to pray, and – dare I say it? – because it makes them feel good about themselves. Is it possible that, in the recesses of our hearts, we actually want to believe that our child will die without us because of how important that makes us feel? And is it possible that the teams for raising millions of dollars to fund all the expenses of a sponsorship program want donors to feel indispensible so that they keep giving? Is it possible that organizations are too intent on garnering support that they “forget” to tell you that the birthday money you sent to Maria actually didn’t go to her?

Are we misappropriating a sense of accomplishment when we feel like we have made a difference in a child’s life? Probably not. Are we misappropriating a sense of accomplishment when we feel like we have single handedly saved a child and revolutionized her community? Probably so.

Self-righteousness is oozing out of the myriad comments expressing this sentiment in a different way:

“I can’t believe that people would leave children in poverty to make a point.”

 Does anyone else feel the slope getting really, really slippery? The question of financial stewardship is not cut and dry. What if we changed that comment to something else:

“I can’t believe that people would leave children in poverty to fuel their starbucks habit.”

 “I can’t believe that people would leave children in poverty to get a manicure once a month.”

“I can’t believe that people would leave children in poverty to buy another pair of shoes.”

If we are going to start throwing stones over $35 a month – regardless of the rationale – we ought to be prepared to account for ALL of our financial decisions. I have a hunch that if we all scrutinized the spending of every $35 increment, the previously felt sense of heroism might start to fade. Truth be told, we pass by the needs of the global poor EVERY DAY in order to satisfy our own preferences. Is withdrawing support because of difference of opinion any more deplorable than not sponsoring more because doing so might cut into the restaurant budget? Maybe, and maybe not. That is for each donor to decide.

Might I suggest that we all take the opportunity created by the World Vision media exposure to both contemplate and commit.

Contemplate…

            Who do I give to and why?

            What is my motivation for giving?

            Am I being the best steward possible with what I’ve been given?

Commit…

            To rejecting every notion that we are Savior.

            To give through an organization but freely and unto the Lord.

            To become informed donors, researching organizational methods and cash flow.

It's true that there is a lot at stake here as the culture war rages on, not the least of which is our own sense of self-importance. Let's leave emotional reactionism by the way-side and have a rational perspective about our importance, our dollars, and those we serve.

all my children

Today my family shrinks a bit... at least for the next three months. Every December, April and August, we become "camp parents" to about 20 kids at our farm. During these months that these students live with us, we provide food, housing, devotions, discipleship, work opportunities and fun to students in our school assistance program. Different from other child sponsorship programs, we provide an opportunity to students and their families to earn the money needed to go to high-school while also granting scholarships to students based on their orphan status and/or school performance. We have found that something for nothing actually doesn't benefit these kids in the long run. Making school possible, feasible and affordable has the ability to change their future. These students matter to us, and we pray that our impact on their lives makes a real and lasting difference for each student, their future families and the communities which they will go on to lead.

Somewhere along the way, the students started calling Jeremy and I "Ba Daddy" and "Ba Mayo" (Mother) respectively. It was kind of funny and cute at first, but gradually we have gotten into our roles more and more. I hear myself go all parental on them sometimes and its a little weird...

"Abby, hold your sister Bronwyn while I go to the bathroom."

"Memory, your skirt is way to short, go put some clothes on girl."

"Emmanuel, if you poke your eye out doing that, I'm going to cry. And then I"ll take you to the ER."

"Gershom, you have so much potential. Keep working hard! And stop flirting."

We've gotten a taste of what parenting teenagers is like. Sometimes they are totally attentive and responsive and I feel like I am speaking to their soul. Other times they look back at us blankly, as if to say, "you are so out of touch with my life right now." I find myself scouring the index of all of my Dobson books and wondering, "In 12 years when Bronwyn is a teenager, will I be ready for this?!?!?!"

These kids really are wonderful and we are thankful that we get to be a part of their academic and life education. We trust that the activities we run for them and the words we speak to them will matter now, next year and into eternity.

Perhaps the most important feature of our program is the evening discipleship. We emphasize to the kids that we don't want them to just finish school, get good jobs and be successful people. We start everything with a discussion of "gaining the whole world but losing your soul. We care about the kind of people these kids are becoming, and we say that over and over. It has been hard for me this past month to have to outsource a lot of the girls discipleship to our short-term volunteers. Since this time happens later at night, I'm usually found with Bronwyn, safely tucked under a mosquito net. Which is important for both of us right now. On a few occasions I wrapped Bronwyn up so that only her little nostrils and eyeballs were showing and I led the discussions. Those times were fantastic! We talked about witch doctors and giving all of your life to God, about why sin is so easy and why doing the right thing is so hard. Being out there with the kids was both invigorating and stressful as I wanted to stay forever, but also felt like I needed to take care of Bronwyn first. Each time I would say that I needed to get inside with the baby, the girls would counter, "Please teach us more!!!" Oh the ongoing tension of needing to mother my own baby but wanting to mother others as well! 

For now I take what I can get and look forward to opportunities in the future. Until April, dear ones, study well, focus on school and God and we'll see your shiny, ridiculous, precious little faces soon!

"the uncles"

Five and a half years ago, I was approached by a group of eighth grade boys who wanted help with their English. Every week, rain or shine, we met together to practice the English language and discuss school and life. I was new to teaching English as a second language and started every class the same way, “so… what questions do you have?” Haha. I have no idea why they kept coming back, but they did, week after week, year after year. We sponsored four of the boys through secondary school, continuing to encourage them in their studies. Last year, these four guys graduated from 12^th grade and we couldn’t be prouder of them. Somewhere along the way, they all blossomed. They went from shy, little boys, bumbling along in broken English, to confident, strong and articulate young men. 

We feel priviledged to have spent so much time with this group of guys and to be able to pour into their lives as we have. They were the inspiration for what has grown into our student sponsorship program at Choshen Farm. (http://choshenfarm.org/2012/09/26/sponsorship-students/)

Naturally, we were so excited and looking forward to bringing Bronwyn home to Zambia so these gents, who are like our kid brothers could meet their baby niece! One of the greatest gifts to us these past few months has been watching these four boys interact with Bronwyn, doting on her as if she were their own. They absolutely adore this child!

They stop by all the time just to see "Winnie," play with her for a while and hold her. They have competitions with each other to see who can get her to laugh first. They bicker over who gets to hold her, saying, “she doesn’t want you, she wants me!” They send her text messages to our phone telling her to have a good night. Its darling.

We are working hard to raise the funds to help these guys go to college. (college bound, we pray) They all want to be nurses or teachers and we know how much Zambia needs quality people like them! We recently sent one of the gang, Timothy, off to college and we miss him a lot. When we get together with the remaining three for supper once per week, we call Timothy to hear how he’s doing. “How’s Winnie?” is always his first question to us.

Bronwyn, you are so lucky to have an extended family who adores you!

So here’s to “the uncles.” Thank you, young men, for being a part of our family!