Helping Babies Survive

I’ve briefly touched on the CSP’s in my previous posts. However, it is time to devote more information about these great outreach programs! The Child Survival Program (CSP) was started because Compassion staff realized that the first five years are crucial in the development of a child and this development directly affects the quality of adult life. Since infant mortality is extremely high in many parts of the world, the first priority in promoting effective child development is to ensure that children survive the early years. This means that educating the mother or primary caregiver, before and after her child is born is essential to the wellbeing of each precious little one. At each Compassion CSP education is being provided in the following areas:

Growth Monitoring
Oral Rehydration
Breast Feeding
Immunization
Female Literacy
Food
Family Planning

Additionally, Staff is involved in early interventions concerning:

Health/nutrition
Fine/Gross motor development
Cognitive stimulation
Socialization programs
Exposure to Christian teaching and the gospel

I’ve now visited two CSP’s, one with 50 mother/child units and one with 69 mother/child units. These women gather together one day a week to hear God’s word and receive encouragement in all of the areas listed above. I’ve sent along some photos from the most recent CSP I visited today. The cute little one I’m holding is Emmanuel. He had just awaken when it was time for a weigh-in and length measurement. I had him calmed down during his weigh-in and kept touching him through the measurement. I picked him up and all the ladies thought it was pretty funny for me to be holding the baby. When they heard I had eight children they seemed surprised and smiled…… and in the context of the lives of these women and children and what they need to do to survive each day I assume they were thinking that Lisa was a supermom (yes- she is!) to have eight children. In fact Emmanuel was so content in my arms that he decided to just completely relax…. all over my arm. 🙂 The picture was taken after his “relaxation” time and you can see he is much happier, and so am I!

When we questioned them about why they liked participating in the CSP, here’s what they said.

“Before CSP I did not know how to properly take care of my baby. I would take water from the Pond or not properly sanitize the utensils for the babies.”

“Before the CSP I did not know how to run my home. My husband and I use to get in lots of arguments. Since I’ve been in the CSP, there are no more arguments.”

“My child is healthy because of the CSP and now I know what to do if he/she becomes sick.”

“Before the CSP we did not know Jesus. I heard about Jesus at the CSP. We read the Bible and tell Bible stories. The Pastor is very kind and I accepted Jesus into my life and was baptized. My family attends church every Sunday now.”

“Now I am able to write my name. I have a greater confidence about my abilities to be a good wife and mother. Other women in the neighborhoods look up to me and ask me questions about their children.”

The last house visit we made today was to a young family of three and the baby was only three months old. Dad sometimes works as a plumber. This mother and father were in their early 20’s and had such a great joy and peace about them. They were so thankful to the Lord for allowing them to participate in the CSP program which allowed for a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery of their little girl. There were ten in the family who lived in the two dwellings on the property. This couple was shy and humble. They both said they came from Christian families (very unusual) and knew the Lord before entering the CSP program. Again, their smiles and joy was infectious. It was time to leave and I didn’t want to. I just wanted to sit for a couple more hours and talk with this amazing family. What an encouragement they were to me. Two of the cousins stood and used cardboard pieces to fan us the whole time we were in the home to cool us down. These were servants with big smiles! We left our basket of food thank you gift, I snapped the attached photo and we were off once more. I cried as we left not for any other reason than I was so in awe to see what God is doing inside this family, in this little home, in this little town 2.5 outside of Chennai, India. God is bigger than we can imagine.

The staff at the CSP’s help share Christ and empower these women to begin a life of joy and peace and confidence. For $20 a month you can help support one of the CSP projects around the world. Lives are being changed, families are coming to know the Lord, husbands and wives are reconciling! This is a stupendous program that needs our support. If you have more questions about the CSP program and want to know additional specifics, please send me an e-mail and let me know. I’m convinced more than ever that the Lord is using Compassion, it’s local staff and church partners to impact not only moms and babies but families and communities!

Soli Deo Gloria!

EK

Survival and Salvation

We had a very early Start on Tuesday morning as the van was ready to leave the hotel for our Rural CSP Project at 7am. Fortunately, the timing was not an issue as my body, still adjusting from travel, had me up at 4am local, and I couldn’t go back to bed.  Just ask Lisa and she’ll tell you, that NEVER happens to me.  🙂

The Compassion Child Survival Program (CSP) is making measurable, positive changes in the lives of thousands of women and young children all over the world.  It’s a relatively new Program for Compassion and has only been operating in East India for the past three years.  The goal of the Program is to identify pregnant women or women with young babies in extremely poor communities and give them the educational training, tools and skills they need to be better wives and moms.  The children benefit from at least one extra “square” meal each visit, free medical check ups and a nurturing community environment.  The moms benefit from instruction related to cleanliness, child health care, caring for the home, free medical check-ups, vocation training, writing instruction (as most of these women are illiterate and cannot even write their names) and a loving group of village women who gather together and share stories, problems, ideas and solutions.

After our three hour drive from Kolkata, we walked about 15 minutes into the rice fields which gave way to jungle like terrain at times and there we found the Project Center.

On this day we had the privilege of visiting the Kakdwip CSP.  This was a three hour drive from Kolkata through dozens of little villages that were just as busy as Kolkata except on a micro scale.  Everywhere we went you’d find a barber, many fresh fruit and vegetable venders, fish venders, and little stores (emphasis on little… I mean six feet wide and about 6-8 feet deep) lining the main road through the village.  The rickshaws and bicycles appear endless.  Most of the rickshaws in the countryside though did not carry people, but rather goods and foodstuffs.  They were the delivery drivers of rural India.  Every once and a while you’d pass a little store with three or four wooden benches set up in front of it and when you looked in you could see the glow of a small tv showing some popular Indian program.  For most of the kids and families in these communities, I’m sure it’s the closest thing they’ve ever come to a “movie theatre.”  And oh, have I mentioned the driving yet in my writing?  Some of the other team members who have traveled to Africa have told me India is tame compared to African cities, hmmmmm?  I’m sure that’s true, but I’ve never seen a group of people so happy to get off of a bus ride and praise the bus driver for keeping them alive!

If you know about Compassion’s church partnership model in their Child Development Centers (CDSP) and CSP’s you know that Compassion doesn’t just walk into a community and set up shop.  Existing churches come to Compassion and seek partnership providing programs, support and hope to the communities where they are already making a difference in the lives of the people.  The Kakdwip CSP and CDSP are outgrowths of the local Church of Nazarene that is in the community.  The Pastor of the church, church activities, and church finances are kept separate from the CSP & CDSP programs to maintain integrity for everyone involved.  Each CDSP & CSP has a Project Director and Manager and then a number of additional employees including a cook, social workers and in the case of the CSP, “Implementers.”

When we arrived we were warmly greeted by the women of the CSP who lined up on both sides of the entry with roses to give us.  Now I can’t tell you where they got the roses, but I will say they don’t grow anywhere near where we were.  They were all so thankful to greet us.  The women ranged in age from 16 to the early 20’s and all were married and living in the neighboring villages.  After the introductions we were welcomed by the women singing songs for us.  We then enjoyed 6 women who stepped forward and recited scripture passages that were important to them (remember – most of these women can’t read).  We were also blessed by two women who shared how important the CSP is to them, their children and their families.  They shared about importance of a strong Christian faith and were very thankful that we had come to meet them.  While all of this was happening some of the women Team Members had wiggled their way onto the floor and were snatching little one’s to hold during the presentations.  In the Indian culture, there are quite a few rules when it comes to men and women interacting and it would never have been appropriate for me to be down there with the women and children.

Thankfully the formalities concluded and we had “free time.”  That’s where we were able to interact with the mothers and children in a more casual way.  All of the mother’s wanted us to hold their children.  Various team members broke out toys, balls and bubbles to entertain and engage the children.  Lots of smiles!  It’s through these experiences I’ve found the camera has become a huge tool in bridging language barriers when interacting in large groups of non-english speaking people.  Whenever we took a photo of a mom or child we would always turn our digital camera around and show her or the child the photo.  There was always a huge smile when they saw themselves on the tiny 3 inch screen.  Most of these women have likely only seen themselves ever before a few times.  I found no mirrors while there so a reflection off of a pane of glass might be their only glimpse of themselves.  There are definitely no photographs of people or children, anywhere.  I believe they were all happy thinking that we were taking “them” home with us.

My emotions were mixed on this day.  I actually thought it would be harder than my time at the CDSP the day before.  However, though I was touched over and over again by what I saw, I think seeing the children with their own mother’s caring for them made it easier.  It was just the day before that our team had made a home visit to a 14 year old CDSP girl whose mother had abandoned her and whose father was too ill to work.  An aged grandmother was the sole caregiver and wage earner.  Though these little ones were vulnerable, there is something comforting about seeing them being held tightly and snuggled by their own mothers.

There are dozens of these ponds all throughout the villages. These ponds are a source of water for bathing, washing clothes and cooking.

These two photos were taken during our home visits.  The mother/daughter photo is taken in front of their home which is shared with four other family members.  They are fortunate as their home has clay tile for a roof.  The back of the home is made of brick and the front and sides are made of a thatched roof type of material.

Jharma and Mayna

The second photo shows the mother on the left in blue, her name is Latika and her daughter’s name is Soma.  Soma is being held by her mother in law whom lives with the family.  The other lady is a neighbor.  You can imagine what it’s like for a group of white people showing up in these neighborhoods.  All the kids and neighbors are out in full force watching….

Latika and Soma with her grandmother

After being involved with the CSP for just over a year, both of these two families have now given their lives to Christ through their exposure to the Word of God through the ministry.  The Hindu deities are gone from their homes and they have found true hope and freedom in Christ.

The photo is a one and a half year old little girl named Sushmita.  Her mother held her little hand in my Bible and I traced her fingers and wrote her name so I couldn’t forget.  Please pray for her and the 49 other mothers and children of the Kakdwip Child Survival Program.

Sushmita

Soli Deo Gloria!

EK