This summer we took the family to Bolivia to meet the children we sponsor through Compassion Canada.
Our sponsor children (Anny and Gerard) and their respective moms
Compassion organizes tours to their various countries. We have kids we sponsor in Bolivia, and the timing of the Bolivia tour this summer worked very well for us.
Teaching kids how to draw
It was quite an experience. Also a “bucket list” thing I wanted for my own children. I wanted to expand their world view, and open their eyes to how the majority of the globe lives. It was a very good experience. We toured five of Compassion’s projects in and around Santa Cruz, as well as shared a meal with three families of sponsored children.
Playing ping pong
We were in areas where the family income ranged from the equivalent of $400/month, down to $40/month.
Our first home visit
One of the projects we visited helps out new and expecting moms. They were just learning about vaccinations, and there was a chart on the wall describing what they all were. I happened to have my kids immunization records in my pocket, so I pulled them out and showed them to a couple of the moms – you could see their faces make more sense about why we get immunized, and that even here in our opulent western world, we do this too.
We had a couple tours of Bolivia, and saw some amazing architecture.
Cathedral Basilica of St. Lawrence
There were a couple of things that really struck me:
- Compassion went to great lengths to show off their financial accounting, their personal accountability, and the effort they put into the child’s life, as well as the child’s family’s life.
- A large number of the workers for Compassion WERE kids in the program, and spoke highly of the difference it made in their lives.
- I had no idea just how much the letters mean to these kids.
- I had no idea just how much a difference my meager support made.
My wife had been sponsoring kids for years, and to me, it was just a supportive “It’s my wife’s thing; I write the cheques,” but this trip really opened my eyes to just how much a difference this makes!
On our return to Canada, we had a 12 hour layover in Panama, so…. a tour was in order! We toured the old part of Panama with lots of old old buildings being restored
We got to watch a ship go through the locks. Took about 10 minutes.
A wonderful experience for our family!