2013-05-25T00:44:15-04:00 Mark Hanlon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mark-hanlon Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Mark Hanlon Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1877524 2012-09-14T20:02:39-04:00 2012-11-14T05:12:01-05:00

Mark Hanlon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hanlon/
Those are two words we seldom associate with each other, yet as Tropical Storm Isaac gained momentum on its track over Haiti, I stood in a building that proved how excellence is taking root in this earthquake-ravaged, poverty-raked country. I was in Port-au-Prince for the dedication of a new facility built by Compassion International that will serve as a neighborhood school and Compassion Child Development Center. And, as I would clearly see, it was no typical Haitian school building.

First, a bit of perspective. In my travels to Haiti since the earthquake, much of the landscape has changed. Rubble that once filled the streets has been cleared. Many of the crumbled buildings are replaced by newer ones. The tent cities where tens of thousands of evacuees were forced to live are now gone from many of the city parks and street sides.

The interior landscapes of individual lives are changing, too. For a number of Haitians, fear is being challenged by hope. Optimism is battling against fatalism. I even learned a new Creole phrase, "Degaje" (pronounced day-gah-jhay.) It means, "We will overcome." You have to understand how important that is. In the past, you rarely heard that message in Haiti. In a country devastated by poverty for decades, fatalism and hopelessness kept the phrase off their lips. But on this trip, I heard "degaje" repeatedly -- a word of hope literally rambling around the city and hovering above the wreckage.

But full disclosure demands more. Everything in Haiti is not fine. Dig a little deeper and you discover that the tent cities in the middle of Port-au-Prince have merely moved. The government gave relief money that flowed in from around the world to Haitians in order to move somewhere else. They took the money and simply pitched their tents or built shacks on the same type of steep hillsides that proved to be death-slopes during the earthquake. And when the rains and hurricanes come again, those hillsides are prime targets for flooding and mudslides.

Even more troubling are the construction techniques I witnessed. The same low standards that brought Haiti to its knees are being used again in an attempt to help it rise. I saw one collapsed building that had used PVC pipe in place of rebar. No wonder it was flattened. Even today cinderblock and concrete aren't being reinforced with rebar. Lift a Haitian block and you'd be surprised at how lightweight it is. If you dropped it, you'd be alarmed at how easily it shatters. The price of poverty is paid in substandard materials.

But here, at the school built through the generosity of Compassion child sponsors and donors, it's a different story, but a story that's been challenging to write nevertheless. We had to tap engineers and architects from other parts of the world to design earthquake-resistant foundations, walls and roofs. We had to identify and train a supplier in Haiti to manufacture quality cinder blocks -- not just cinderblocks that were inexpensive. The iron for rebar and roof trusses required a meticulous search. And all of the materials have to undergo random inspection by the only quality-assurance testing lab in Haiti. Even during construction, project foremen live on-site to guide progress and quality. It took time and diligence, but the result is a building that is safe and sound within a reasonable cost per structure. It can be done.

As I stood on the platform during the ribbon cutting, the first few drops from Tropical Storm Isaac started to fall over Port-au-Prince. The Simonette Child Development Center has been built to resist the weather above and shakings below. What's more, it is the first of 30 to be built in Port-au-Prince. The design, materials and systems that brought her to completion are now being implemented six-schools-at-a-time until they are all completed in 2014.

As the rain intensified we sought shelter inside. It was a perfect picture of what Compassion International envisioned this and, indeed, all of our child development centers, to be: a safe place, an excellent place for children to grow.

Excellence and Haiti. You need to know the two words can go together.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1655185 2012-07-10T10:31:52-04:00 2012-09-09T05:12:04-04:00

Mark Hanlon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hanlon/
"What are they bidding on?" There was obvious tension between some of the bidders as they countered each other...

$800...
$900...
$1000.

By now I was hooked. I had to know what it was that they wanted so badly. Two rivals threw a little trash talk at each other as the numbers continued to increase. Finally, a winner emerged with the bid of $1600. That's when the camera pulled back to reveal the item he had won:

A storage unit.

I later learned that the bidders didn't even know what was in the storage space. They were bidding on stacks of unmarked boxes, furniture pieces and miscellaneous junk in hopes of finding something valuable inside.

We love "stuff" in our country, don't we? Apparently, we love it so much that we're willing to pay for someone else's stuff too, just to add to our own. And, as I later found out, storing stuff we don't have room for is largely an American phenomenon.

According to the Self Storage Association's website, there are a little over 58,000 storage facilities around the world. And 80% of them are here in the United States. In fact, one in every ten households in the US rents a storage unit. That's pretty interesting, considering just how large our homes have become. The average size of a house in the US is around 2100 square feet. But apparently that's not enough room for our stuff. Our stuff spills out of our homes, into our garages and, when that's not enough, into a storage unit.

I work for Compassion International -- a Christian ministry dedicated to lifting children out of poverty. We minister to nearly 1.3 million children around the world, most of whom have no idea what a storage unit is. The concept of having more stuff than you have room for is foreign to those living in extreme poverty. And the truth is most storage units are nicer than the homes our kids live in. Here in the US, we even have climate-controlled, air-conditioned storage units for our stuff, with cement floors, cinder-block walls and solid roofs. Our "stuff" gets better living conditions than moms, dads and kids in other parts of the world.

The more I dig into this reality, the more I have to put myself under the microscope. I admit I have more than I need in my life too. There's a closet in my house where I stored things years ago. They haven't been touched since. Shelves in my garage have items collecting dust. To be honest, I've been tempted to rent a space to store the overflow. But, for the reasons listed above, I have decided against it. Besides, maybe there's someone else out there who could make better use of those things.

Donating to Goodwill or another charity that takes such items is a good start. Or perhaps you could have a yard sale and donate the income to those who don't have enough. There are over 1.4 billion people on this planet who live on less than $1.25 a day. For them, some of our stuff -- or the proceeds from it -- could mean the difference between eating today and going hungry. While we have more than we need, they need more than they have.

Now, I understand that there are times when extra space is necessary. Our brave men and women fighting overseas often find themselves needing a place to keep things during their deployment. Families in transition sometimes need a space to store things until a new home is built or while waiting on a new stage in life. But many more of us use storage units simply because we don't have room for all of our stuff.

What about you? Is there stuff in your life that could go to better use? Are there items you've been holding onto, only to allow them to rust away? And perhaps we need to ask ourselves the question, "How did we get here in the first place?" What are we seeking from material things that drives us to accumulate more than we have room for? Maybe a lifestyle change is in order. Maybe it's time to clean out the clutter. I've heard a quote recently. I'm not sure where it originated but it's powerful: "Live simply so that others may simply live." Let's all take a personal inventory of our stuff and see if, somewhere on a forgotten shelf, is an opportunity to help someone in need.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1450218 2012-04-26T13:00:13-04:00 2012-06-26T05:12:01-04:00

Mark Hanlon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hanlon/ Compassion International intentionally works through the local church in communities and neighborhoods around the world in order to bridge that gap and reach remote areas where people suffer from lack of access and where children, vulnerable to this disease, suffer most.

In the 26 countries Compassion serves, malaria intervention plays a major part in our work because of its far-reaching, overwhelming effects on a large number of children. And because of its global reach and consequences, we have purposed an effective strategy based on education, prevention and intervention to combat it.

Sidney Muisyo, Compassion's Regional Vice President for Africa, says, "We want our malaria program to be holistic, just like the rest of Compassion's ministry. We know that bed nets are crucial in the fight against malaria, but we also know that a person cannot live under a bed net all the time. So we educate children and their families about issues like how to minimize the likelihood of mosquitos coming into their homes and how to avoid creating mosquito breeding grounds. By doing so we are filling in the gaps left by bed net distribution alone."

While enough nets have been distributed to cover nearly 80 percent of the at-risk people in sub Saharan Africa, just making bed nets available does not necessarily mean that they will be used correctly. Some people we've observed have used the nets as window curtains.

Compassion's malaria intervention strategy is different in that that we not only distribute nets to our sponsored children, but also provide education on using the nets, recognizing the symptoms of malaria, its dangers and risks, and how to prevent the illness. The results monitored on a community-to-community basis are encouraging.

In Togo, West Africa, malaria is the leading cause of death among its citizens. Compassion provided 4,555 nets, as well as education, to the parents of children at 20 Compassion child development centers. The attending physician at one Compassion child development center located in a malaria affected area said that the average number of children visiting the clinic each month for malaria treatment dropped from 40 to about six.

In Bangladesh, where 13 of its 64 districts are malaria prone, Compassion worked within these communities to educate people on malaria intervention, including the proper use of bed nets, recognizing symptoms and the importance of removing trash and stagnant water from their homes. Some had not heard of insecticide treated nets -- and none of them could afford one. Compassion ensured they received two per household. In fact, more than 15,000 bed nets were distributed last year.

In Uganda, more than 27,000 nets were distributed to Compassion beneficiaries last year. While approximately 35 percent of Ugandan households have bed nets, 68 percent of Compassion households in Uganda have bed nets. Because of this outreach, in the final three months of 2011, Compassion Uganda saw a 50 percent decrease in malaria cases among their sponsored children.

Aside from the obvious danger malaria poses, the disease takes a large economic toll on people living in poverty. Malaria can decrease the gross domestic product by as much as 1.3 percent in countries with high prevalence of the disease. In Africa alone, the disease costs $12 billion in lost productivity. And, while the cost of care attributed to malaria is one percent of the income of affluent families, it is 34 percent of the household income for people living below the poverty line.

But, in Compassion's world, the cost of malaria in the lives of children is almost immeasurable. Not only do one in five African children die from this disease, but for those who survive, school absenteeism can affect their cognitive development and education levels. And of course, no one would argue that education plays a significant role in a person's future income.

The cycle continues unless critical prevention strategies, such as those being used by Compassion International, are implemented. By working through the local church, we reach those remote communities and people who may otherwise be forgotten. Our country staff members know the details of each child and family Compassion serves and can intervene when necessary to ensure they are protected from this widespread disease.

In the wake of World Malaria Day, we are encouraged by the great gains being made to eradicate malaria; inspired by our staff who work tirelessly to ensure children and families are protected; and steadfastly committed to the challenge that remains.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1332129 2012-03-09T10:52:07-05:00 2012-05-09T05:12:02-04:00

Mark Hanlon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hanlon/ Christianity Today contained a cover story in which secular and Christian media should take increased interest. During this time of great need around the world, we must ask ourselves if our work to combat poverty is making an impact. The cover story examines that question: "Cost-Effective Compassion: The 10 Most Popular Strategies to Help the Poor."

University of San Francisco professor Bruce Wydick asked development economists to rank the impact of the ten most popular strategies to fight poverty. Clean water was clearly the top rated strategy followed by deworming treatments and mosquito nets. "Sponsor A Child" rated fourth in terms of impact, but was the top rated long-term strategy.

Wydick asserts that Compassion International's sponsorship program, in particular, showed "substantial impact on adult life outcomes" when studying the children who participated in the program during the 80's and 90's. From increased educational attainment and higher probability of white-collar employment to delayed marriage and community leadership, the empirical benefits of Compassion whole-life sponsorship were clearly seen. There are discernable outcomes when a child is known, loved and protected out of the cycle of poverty.

The findings reflect the individual and unique interventions Compassion provides through just one of our four core programs: Child Development through Sponsorship. The other three programs, Child Survival, Leadership Development, and critical life intervention initiatives are offered to provide for additional critical needs during a child's life. Therefore, the totality of Compassion's interventions can include any, some or all of the nine other popular strategies that were studied.

For example, clean water is critically needed in most impoverished areas. Compassion's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) strategy supplied 56,000 Compassion children in Haiti with water filters that will provide one million gallons of clean water per household. For those areas without any nearby water source, like a desert area of Tanzania, we partner with water organizations to build wells, funded by Compassion sponsors like Darcy Creech, a Nantucket native who has designed watches to raise funds, and awareness, regarding the world's water crisis.

At a Compassion child development center in Burkina Faso, Florentin is one of the registered children who line up to receive a dose of deworming medication. Florentin never took deworming medicine prior to being registered in the Compassion program. According to the nurse at the center, the children have very few cases of parasite-based diseases because of frequent preventive treatment.

In East India, losing two adolescent daughters to malaria in quick succession was devastating. But then, Joseph and Adila's only remaining daughter, Mary, contracted malaria. Although the symptoms were acute, the timely medical intervention from the Compassion child development center helped save Mary's life.

Children at Compassion centers in East India are given Chloroquine tablets to protect against malaria. When children are diagnosed with malaria they are taken to the nearby hospital and administered Primaquine tablets to ensure that it doesn't turn into cerebral malaria. This outreach is just one component of Compassion East India's Malaria Intervention Program.

Many Compassion beneficiaries receive income generation training taught at child development centers. Dorcus, an HIV positive teenager in Rwanda lost her parents to AIDS at the age of nine. After finding a foster family for Dorcus, the Compassion center provided $600 to Dorcus's new family through our Highly Vulnerable Children program. The family started a hair salon for income. They now earn USD$15 per two days a week as a profit, which they put in Dorcus's bank account.

And, this week, Compassion flew a six-year-old boy, Fatao, from Burkina Faso to India for heart surgery for a ventricular septal defect. This intervention, "Fund Reparative Surgeries" is number seven on Wydick's list of strategies.

All of these interventions are provided because of Compassion's Child Sponsorship and Development program. Sponsors in 13 countries around the world care deeply for each child they sponsor. Many of them not only maintain correspondence with their sponsored child but take trips to personally meet them. The dedication of these sponsors and their commitment to care for each child as a member of their own family enables the compelling stories you read throughout this post.

By working with over 5,600 local churches in 26 countries, the Child Sponsorship Program offers educational opportunities, health care and health-related instruction, nutrition, life-skills training and because we believe poverty is also a spiritual matter, opportunities to hear about and respond to the gospel if children choose. Each of these children are known, loved and protected by staff, church workers and yes, their sponsors.

Anyone who examines Christianity Today's compelling article would agree with the importance of every intervention in the battle against global poverty. However, in Compassion the strategy simply referred to as, "Sponsor A Child" is much more than a monthly rate and correspondence. For Compassion, it is a long-term, deliberate and strategic program designed specifically to meet the diverse needs of our beneficiaries, their communities and countries through the most strategic of places -- the local church. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1011679 2011-10-19T13:11:03-04:00 2011-12-19T05:12:01-05:00

Mark Hanlon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hanlon/
But what about food security?

The term is likely foreign to a many of us. Food security is about adequate supply and access to a sufficient amount of food. For any parent living in poverty, food security is defined much more simply as "having enough to feed my kids." As the world marks World Food Day this week, it is an appropriate time to ask how much food security people really have across the globe.

Food security varies greatly continent by continent, nation by nation and family by family. While every nation has, unfortunately, a percentage of people struggling with food security, some countries -- and indeed some continents -- experience a much higher and more deadly amount of food insecurity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the most food-impoverished are to be found in Asia and the Pacific as well as Sub-Saharan Africa.

In 1985, the issue of extreme food poverty was brought to light by the drought in Ethiopia. Images of skeletal figures were splashed across newspapers and magazines. The nightly news brought us glimpses of the reality of people starving to death. We as Westerners were shocked and appalled and many were moved to reach out to help with our time or our money. Eventually, the moment of crisis passed and the West turned its attention to other matters.

Today, we are in another moment of crisis in Somalia, but it isn't being reported to nearly the same degree. The current drought in this impoverished and war-torn nation is estimated to be far worse than anything they've seen in the last six decades. For those of us who saw the pictures of people suffering in the wake of the '85 drought, that is unimaginable.

But drought is only part of the equation. Food insecurity is also the product of economic realities. When farmers are unable to safely store their crops, they are forced to sell their harvests at low prices, leaving them without the resources to purchase additional foodstuffs. Many families face food insecurity as inflation rates drive us the cost of food and drive down the value of their meager incomes. An additional challenge to food security is that many communities don't have the knowledge or tools to cultivate their own crops and are therefore dependent on others for their food supplies.

The good -- but frustrating -- news is that the world produces enough food to feed everyone. Food security is achievable, but it isn't automatic. The solutions to food insecurity are obvious but they won't happen without some effort. Food security can be achieved by equipping people in fertile areas to cultivate their own crops, resourcing those with the knowledge of crop cultivation with the tools they need to tend and store their crops, and breaking down barriers of access to food supplies.

I've seen first hand that these strategies are successful at overcoming food poverty. My organization, Compassion International, has worked through our Complementary Intervention program to address food poverty in the communities where our sponsored children live. In 2009, Compassion International began working with the caregivers of Compassion-sponsored children in Uganda. The caregivers were equipped to grow several crops, shown how to successfully store their harvest and encouraged to share with their neighbors. Families in the project have reported that they have stored enough food to survive two or three years of poor harvest. For many families, this kind of food security has been life changing.

The effects of starvation may not be splashed across our nation's papers, featured on the nightly news or highlighted on online news sites, but food poverty remains a reality in the 21st century. Ending hunger--whether in our local communities or half-way around the world--should be a goal we all can embrace.

As a nation concerned with security, it is time to make food security a priority. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.907005 2011-07-26T15:48:18-04:00 2011-09-25T05:12:01-04:00

Mark Hanlon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hanlon/ study released by the Heritage Foundation about modern poverty in the United States. Political pundits are using this study to fuel the fire in the debate about the debt-ceiling crisis and the issue of entitlements.

According to the study, among Americans defined as poor by the U.S. government, "The overwhelming majority of the poor have air conditioning, cable TV, and a host of other modern amenities. They are well housed, have an adequate and reasonably steady supply of food, and have met their other basic needs, including medical care."

In reading the report, it is important not to minimize the real financial distress experienced by so many Americans, particularly in these difficult economic times. But the underlying truth of the Heritage report is that Americans in general don't really understand poverty.

Compassion International has created a website to bring about a better understanding of poverty in America -- and then place that knowledge into a global perspective. Because if we only look at poverty in our own country, we'll never quite understand how the poorest of the poor really live.

WhoAreTheJoneses.org allows users to anonymously input their annual salary into a custom, wealth/poverty calculator to see where they fit financially with the rest of the world. The results are enlightening, if not staggering. Take for instance the current U.S. poverty threshold of $21,954 USD for a family of four as cited in the Heritage Foundation study. Compared to the rest of the world, this family considered poor in the U.S. lives in the top 20th percentile for wealth globally, according to figures provided by the United Nations.

But since we at Compassion understand that poverty is about much more than money, the perspective offered through the Who Are the Joneses site doesn't stop there. The site encourages visitors to meet their global neighbors in Haiti, Ecuador, India and Uganda. These neighbors live in what are referred to as "primitive shelter," unable to protect themselves from disease-carrying mosquitoes and streams of rain that pass through a dirt floor.

Food is obviously in short supply for those living in extreme poverty, with most living on just one meal a day.

Further examination of our poorest neighbors' lifestyles exposes a water supply that is not clean and certainly not easy to obtain. Walking miles to wells to get a day's supply of water that may be contaminated and disease-ridden is part of the daily chores for millions living in extreme poverty around the world.

While many will use the Heritage data to advance their own political agenda, to do so would be a monumental mistake. As we think through what it means to be poor in the U.S., let us not forget to consider what it means to be poor around the globe.

But don't take my word for it, find out for yourself. Know your neighbors on four continents. See how you compare to them -- not the Joneses across the street.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.807858 2011-01-12T15:16:59-05:00 2011-05-25T18:25:24-04:00

Mark Hanlon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hanlon/
I once read an article that cited a relief and development organization who said that they couldn't rely on churches to do the work they needed to do in the third world. They claimed that the needed expertise and skill sets simply weren't there. It made me scratch my head.

In my three decades of experience in developing nations with Compassion International, I have witnessed the opposite. In the midst of chaos and fear, it is local churches -- rooted in the neighborhoods and anchored on the side streets -- that are actually some of the most efficient, most compassionate delivery systems available.

For Compassion International, Haiti is the most recent case in point of this often overlooked and unsung channel of relief.

When the earthquake struck, 21,186 Compassion-assisted children were in the areas of Port au Prince that reported severe or moderate damage. Within hours, Compassion's country staff worked to locate their own team and begin to connect with local church partners to undertake a census. Where were these children? How did they fare? What were their needs and the needs of their families?

Amid their own shock and loss, pastors, child center workers and country staff went home by home -- often, pile of rubble to pile of rubble -- to find Compassion assisted children. These church partners knew their neighborhoods and the families who lived in them.

Amazingly, Compassion's census ultimately accounted for 98.8% of its sponsored children. Despite the logjams at the Haiti airport, clogged roads and communities reeking with the stench of death, these on-the-ground churches did the seemingly impossible task of finding the littlest victims and survivors of Haiti's biggest disaster.

It is probably safe to say that more census data and case files exist for these children in Compassion's child development centers than in any government office in Haiti. It's even more incredible to realize that these churches achieved this feat while they suffered their own family losses and carried their own personal grief.

Additionally, because Compassion's local church relationships have been functioning for decades, these Port au Prince churches provided safer distribution points for food, water and supplies. While 69 of Compassion's church partners suffered moderate to severe damage, a remaining interior courtyard or fenced perimeter still made the delivery of relief to beneficiaries more orderly than in clogged streets. Amid panic and confusion, control and safety are paramount. These local churches provided both, and did so while honoring the dignity of those in need.

But nowhere did the local churches excel more than in meeting the individual needs of children and their families. In the days following the quake, Port au Prince inhabitants were understandably loath to leave the streets. Sleeping in a building that had not fallen was simply a psychological and physical risk that residents were not emotionally equipped to face. Children felt the fear the most.

So, with children located and relief supplies beginning to flow, the next challenge was to implement crisis counseling for children who desperately needed it. Psychologists trained church workers to meet with children individually and spot signs of emotional distress. Camps were established where children could come with parents and siblings, spend time in a safe environment, and simply begin to play again. Compassion partner churches created a growing sense of routine coupled with post-crisis counseling.

There's more to say about these local churches. Tents and building supplies for shelters flowed through them to children and their families. Temporary school facilities were erected to replace classrooms that fell amid the temblor. And purification systems were installed at 50 church locations to provide safe water.

With so much remaining to be done in Haiti, it would be easy to overlook the work that has been accomplished. Compassion owes its success in child development globally, and especially during the Haiti crisis, to local churches that don't have the public relations or communications abilities in place to tout their own success.

So we will do it for them.

The faithful, hard-working, often unheralded heroes of the Haiti crisis are the ones who were there before the 7.1 earthquake and who will be there for generations after.

They are the local Christian churches -- the most efficient, most compassionate delivery systems you may never have heard of.

Compassion International is a global advocate for children in poverty and the world's largest Christian holistic child development organization. Compassion works exclusively through more than 5,500 Christian churches in 26 countries to release children from poverty. Compassion's whole-life ministry addresses a child's physical, economic, educational and spiritual needs. Founded in 1952, Compassion now serves more than 1.1 million babies, children and university students. Compassion is known for excellence in stewardship. Charity Navigator, America's largest charity evaluator, has awarded Compassion with its highest four-star rating for nine consecutive years.

]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.751329 2010-10-06T14:01:03-04:00 2011-05-25T17:55:20-04:00

Mark Hanlon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hanlon/
For many of us, this was a huge shock. News like this sends a shudder through our collective spine. And for every family that finds itself now living in poverty, it isn't a headline at all; it is a personal tragedy.

But as we come to grips with this most recent statistic, we have a dual set of challenges. On one hand, we need to do all in our power to help those struggling here at home. But we also have the challenge of viewing poverty with "global bifocals." With one portion of the lens we see and attack needs close to home. With the other portion of the lens we focus on the realities of global poverty that may seem far away.

Here at home, poverty is a single mom in Detroit trying to keep food on the table. In Africa, poverty is a 14-year-old orphaned head-of-household trying to find fresh water for himself and his siblings. The challenge isn't to choose one over the other. The task is to view two harsh realities through a common lens of compassion and assistance.

In America, poverty is defined as living on less than $26.22 per day. In the rest of the world poverty is defined as living on less than $1.25 per day.

In America, clean water flows from our faucets and we still purchase designer water. In the developing world, clean water is kilometers away and more than 1 billion people lack access to potable water. In fact, 1.4 million children will die this year from waterborne diseases. That's more than 3,800 children every day -- yesterday, today and tomorrow.

In America, access to medical care, though often costly, is everywhere. Despite our challenges in health care, emergency rooms don't lock their doors to those in need. In the developing world, simply having a hospital or clinic nearby is uncommon, and transportation to remote medical care facilities is rarely available. People in developing countries accept disease, even preventable or curable diseases, as a way of life.

In most of America, we feel secure in our homes, our communities and our workplaces. We are free to travel from one place to the other without fear of being attacked or harmed. Americans also benefit from law enforcement driven by integrity and honor. In developing countries, gang activity and violence are commonplace, preventing children from attending school and people from going to work. Violence against women and children are too often accepted as daily realities. Yet, appealing to local law enforcement may be the last place one turns -- such are the fears of police corruption and retaliation.

In America, government safety nets exist to provide food and energy assistance, unemployment benefits and job training. In the developing world, few government programs exist to alleviate dire needs or the corrupt steal what benefits are available.

And of course, in America, food is plentiful and affordable. Countless overflowing dumpsters evidence the food that goes wasted each day in our grocery stores, restaurants and homes. Soup kitchens, shelters and churches work hard to provide food for those who need it. In the developing world, children still scavenge garbage dumps for half-eaten or spoiled remnants. And in the most abject cases, some will eat one meal a day -- or maybe not at all.

I write from the experience of traveling in the countries where Compassion International works with the poorest of the poor to rescue children who live in dire conditions.

Christian compassion should not be limited by geography. In the book of Acts, Jesus told His disciples that they were to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea to the ends of the earth. His challenge to Christians was not bounded by national borders. In an age without airplanes and Internet, Jesus still challenged His disciples to share His love and compassion far and wide. In light of today's technological advantages and modern conveniences, how can we justify an ethnocentric, xenophobic approach to compassion?

At the same time, we need not feel guilty for America's abundance. It is from our abundance that we share and invest and meet the needs of our neighbor down the street and the child in Uganda. But that is exactly our challenge at times like these.

When we are tempted by fear to pull back and only look at the statistics at home, it is exactly the time to use "global bifocals." We have the ability to meet needs at home and balance them with the needs of our neighbors far away.

We can see them both. To do any less is to squint at reality.]]>