Child's photo on Facebook Has Caused Me to Have Questions

Hi Shanna! Thank you for reaching out to us. :) And thank you for following the guidelines.

I completely understand where you're coming from! The clothing that your child is wearing in her official Compassion photos is oftentimes provided by the staff, and the photos are always taken when the child is wearing their "Sunday best", as it were, and that often includes that country's traditional dress.

I'm so sorry you've seen this as a hurdle, but I do understand. It's always definitely strange to see your child outside of the regular Compassion context. Do you have any questions we can answer for you?

Here are some rambling thoughts from another sponsor (me). Having grown up in a "have" culture where we're always told how lucky we are, I think it can be tricky to get our heads around what poverty looks like. In my first cross cultural experience, I was actually shocked by how much is the same. I always had had thoughts of poverty being a more "back in time" version of our lives, but more often (in my experience) it's a crazy mix of old ways and new technologies. So there may not be infrastructure so a home can have running water or consistent electricity --- but the cell service is great. Or we may expect their clothing to look a certain way, but of course, many people take much pride in their appearance and want to look good -- even if they don't have closets full. I spent some time in the Caribbean and one friend was always stylish and well coiffed. The first time we picked him up at his house, I was surprised to see the ramshackle little house he came out of. I had assumed he was well off. Other friends there were the same -- in the culture they were always very clean and tidy. And finally, our sponsorship does make a difference! I remember the guardians of one child once writing thanks for the years of sponsorship because it really had made a difference in their standard of living. In particular sometimes our not-terribly-significant extra gifts can be equal to a month's salary. One girl's family gift photos used to always have a bag or two of food in them -- but over the years that has changed and I rarely see food in the photos now. Now it is income-generating goods, or even savings for her future. I don't think I'll ever fully understand the impact!