Posted by Steve on April 17, 2013 under Uncategorized | 
Compassion projects HA738, HA396, and HA806. Map shows proximity to airport in Port au Prince, Haiti. Click to Zoom….
Through an exciting partnership opportunity with Compassion International, 10 children from Haiti have been sponsored by member of River Ridge Church in Charleston, WV.
Compassion International provided River Ridge Church with child packets of children who were in need of a sponsor in Port au Prince, Haiti. These 8 boys and 2 girls are registered at 3 projects in an area where River Ridge sends missions teams each year. [The map at right shows the location of the projects, with the airport as a major landmark at the top of the image.]
Due to the proximity of these projects, it will be possible for mission team members to visit their sponsored child while in Haiti on future missions trips. [Prior arrangements are required through Compassion.]
Below are photos and brief descriptions of the kids who were sponsored. Please join us in celebrating with them, as well as praying for them.
For only $38 per month, these children will have receive life changing opportunities:
- Food and clean water
- Medical care
- Educational opportunities
- Important life-skills training
- Most important of all, they will hear about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God.
When you sponsor a child through Compassion International, you’ll receive your child’s photo, personal story and a child sponsorship packet. As you exchange letters, send photos and offer encouragement in Jesus’ name, your love will bring hope to a child that will last a lifetime.
When children find out they’ve been sponsored, the joy they feel is indescribable. Just knowing that someone across the globe cares means more than you can imagine. Sponsoring a child will profoundly change the future for your child, and will change your own life as well.
Click here to learn more about child sponsorship through Compassion International….
Click here to learn more about River Ridge Church….
Kacy
UPDATE: Kacy has been sponsored!
 - Kacy
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 - About Kacy
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Robenson
UPDATE: Robenson has been sponsored!
 - Robenson
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 - About Robenson
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Mysenyou
UPDATE: Mysenyou has been sponsored!
 - Mysenyou
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 - About Mysenyou
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Dave
UPDATE: Dave has been sponsored!
 - Dave
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 - About Dave
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Dawence
UPDATE: Dawence has been sponsored! And on his birthday! Happy Birthday, Dawence!
 - Dawence
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 - About Dawence
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Fabrice
UPDATE: Fabrice has been sponsored!
 - Fabrice
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 - About Fabrice
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Jean-baptiste
UPDATE: Jean-baptiste has been sponsored!
 - Jean-baptiste
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 - About Jean-baptiste
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Ismael
UPDATE: Ismael has been sponsored!
 - Ismael
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 - About Ismael
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Michelson
UPDATE: Michelson has been sponsored!
 - Michelson
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 - About Michelson
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Shaina
UPDATE: Shaina has been sponsored!
 - Shaina
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 - About Shaina
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Posted by Steve on March 17, 2013 under Compassion, Uncategorized, Videos |
Steve Cunningham, left, with Emmanuel Opati at a Compassion event in 2010.
Guest blog by Emmanuel Opati
[Note from Steve: I first met Emmanuel Opati at a Compassion event in 2010, where he gave his incredible testimony. His story will inspire you and remind us all of how countless generations can be impacted through the sponsorship of just one child.]
For many people, sponsoring a child is something they had to be convinced to do or had to think about. For Emmanuel Opati, sponsoring a child was the natural thing to do.
Opati, 33, is originally from Uganda and currently works at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Opati is a sponsor of a twelve-year old girl in Rwanda whom he got an opportunity to go visit in January 2012. Mr. Opati says that his commitment to sponsoring a child is from his personal experience.
Growing up in the small town of Busia, Uganda, Mr. Opati’s family had lived through the turbulent years of wars and lawlessness in Uganda. Through all that, his mother had managed to send him to a good boarding school. But the year 1990, changed everything. His family was in hiding from political prosecution and his mother could no longer afford to pay for his educational expenses.
In 1991, Opati was sent to live with relatives in a village called Nangalama. While there, he was enrolled into a child sponsorship program. “I remember when I got the first letter from my sponsor, I was thrilled”, said Opati. “It felt like I now have an opportunity to continue my education”, he continued.
Opati’s sponsor was then a young man named John Cerny from Chicago. Mr. Cerny had just finished college and was looking for something meaningful to do with his life. He wanted to serve God in a more meaningful way, so he decided to try sponsoring a child.
With the help of Mr. Cerny, Opati went through school to become the first college graduate in the village of Nangalama. This inspired a generation of kids to believe in themselves and pursue education as a way out of poverty. Currently, there are half a dozen college graduates in Nangalama.
Emmanuel, bottom left, in Istanbul Turkey with Johns Hopkins MBA students and Turkey’s Minister for EU Affairs & Chief Negotiator, Hon. Egemen Bagis
Equipped with a university degree, Mr. Opati set out to explore and change the world. He worked for non-profit organizations and helped build an organization – the East Africa Association of Grantmakers based in Nairobi. “Having experienced the empowerment education gave me, I wanted to work with organizations that empower people”, said Mr. Opati. Through the years, he won scholarships from Aga Khan Foundation to Ford Foundation and eventually ended up at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
In Baltimore, Mr. Opati was determined to find his former sponsor, Mr. John Cerny – the person that gave him an opportunity to continue with his education. After going through the bureaucracy of getting the sponsor’s contacts, Mr. Opati was finally given Mr. John Cerny’s contact. “When I got John’s contact information, it took me two days to contact him”, said Mr. Opati. “All I wanted to do was thank him but I was scared to contact him”, he continued. Mr. Opati finally got the courage to email John and after a few emails, they arranged for Emmanuel to visit John and his family in Chicago.
On a snowy December afternoon in 2008, Emmanuel flew to Chicago to meet Mr. John Cerny for the first time. “I was nervous, it was like a blind date and I didn’t know if I could recognize him at the airport”, he said. “He was like a father figure to me, I had known him for over 15 years and not recognizing him would have been an embarrassment”, Emmanuel continued.
Emmanuel with John Cerny and family in Chicago
On arrival at O’Hare airport, John was waiting for him. “When I saw him, I ran and gave him a big hug”, said Emmanuel. “John had changed, he had lost weight and looked different from the pictures I had of him”, he continued.
For Mr. Opati, the visit to meet Mr. John Cerny and his family helped answer many questions that he had. When asked the one thing he wanted to find out from his visit, Emmanuel said “I wanted to know why he chose to sponsor me, a person he had never met”.
After the visit to Chicago, Mr. Opati decided to start sponsoring a child in Rwanda. “I decided to sponsor a child because I know what education has done for me”, said Emmanuel. “Someone gave me an opportunity and I would like to give someone else an opportunity too”, Emmanuel continued.
Since then Opati has appeared at a number of Compassion events including one in Westminster, Maryland, to tell his story. [Click here to read a newspaper account of that event...]
Mr. Opati believes education is the most powerful weapon to fight poverty and its related effects such as infant mortality. “My family has been lifted out of poverty because of what education and Compassion did for me”, said Emmanuel. “You can clearly see this when you go to my mother’s home in Busia; there are two houses, one built before I graduated and another built after I graduated from college. When you see the difference, you see what Compassion does for children all over the world”, continued Emmanuel.
Emmanuel in Kigali, Rwanda, with Valentine Uwimana, the girl he sponsors through Compassion International
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Mr. Opati says that he wants to give the same opportunity to the girl he sponsors in Rwanda. Emmanuel received Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Healthcare Administration degrees from the University of Maryland University College. He manages the executive and international programs at Johns Hopkins Business School and recently appeared on Voice of America TV to analyze the recent election in Kenya. [Click here to view a video of Emmanuels's interview on Voice of America TV...]
 The old house of Emmanuel’s mother |
 The house Emmanuel helped build for his mother |
Posted by Steve on March 16, 2013 under Compassion, Haiti |
Dawence
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Dawence is a handsome young man who lives in Port au Prince, Haiti. Today he turned nine years old. A very nice family, good friends of mine who also attend
River Ridge Church, celebrated his birthday today by becoming his Compassion sponsors!
Their monthly support will ensure that he receives good food and clean water, medical care, educational opportunities, and other important life skills training. He will also have the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God, all through a local church body who will love him. But most of all, their support provides him with hope. Hope for a future….
Join me in celebrating an awesome birthday for Dawence!
Other kids from Haiti like Dawence are awaiting sponsorship. Click here to learn more about them….
