Hope and Vision ~ Compassion Tanzania Blogging Trip {Day 2} Part 1

The one thing that stood out during our visit to the Buhongwa child development center with Compassion International today was HOPE.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

Hope from Samson, the project director that oversees the Buhongwa center {TZ 670} in Mwanza. He spoke of the future in anticipation and hope of what the next ten years would bring for the center. More children reached with the gospel. Hungry bellies fed. Families and lives redeemed. Lives changed.

We were shown around the center, which joined with Compassion in 2010. The children put on a short program for us and shared their testimonies in the church building which also serves as the meeting place for the after-school programs and their Saturday program.

The center has a wonderful yard for the children to play games together and is surrounded by the hope of future buildings ~ some already in progress. Others that are just a vision, such as a house for the pastor.

The foundation is being laid for two future classrooms and office area for the staff and volunteers . Although they currently use the church building for a classroom, if there are church meetings, the children are moved elsewhere for classes.

Already in progress is a new building to house the kitchen where meals are prepared for the 250+ children during their time at the center on Saturdays. The new kitchen will have a sink area, food preparation area all under roof. Below is the current kitchen area where they put together a meal for us today. Not inside one of the buildings below ~ but outside over the charcoal and wood piles.

Next to the kitchen area is a fenced in garden where the center teaches the children practical living skills, such as growing vegetables for meals and to sell at market, so they can learn a trade. They are planning to bring chickens to the center, so they can teach the children how to raise and care for chickens, another help for practical living.

In addition to serving children and families at the center, many families from the area currently walk to the center for access to clean water. One family we visited today has a 15 minute walk {one-way} to fill their buckets with clean, drinkable water to take home and use for their family.

Clean water from a pump outside the center

Although these are just the tangible ways that the center is able to reach out to the community through the Compassion International sponsorships, it is really just the visible. Bellies are filled with nutritious meals. Food is provided for families. Clean water is available. Education is given for practical living.

The intangible is also such an amazing part of the impact and the ministry that the Compassion center has in the community. Love and attention is given to each of the precious faces that enter the grounds of the center. Through sponsoring a child, families are changed when the gospel is brought into their homes and hearts are filled with a love for Jesus.

Compassion International is truly doing amazing work. Witnessing first hand the joy on children’s faces as they raise their hands in worship is something I will not forget. Looking into the face of a mother and seeing hope, because her child can receive medical attention through the assistance that Compassion offers leaves an impression on my heart.

Hope is such a small word but filled with such amazing potential.

If you would like to specifically sponsor a child from the Buhongwa child development center, follow this link to see the children that are available for sponsorship . These children have become a part of the Compassion program, but need families that are willing to open their hearts and sponsor monthly. Once all of the children from the Buhongwa center have been sponsored, you can sponsor any child in Tanzania.

Stay tuned for the second part of our visit to the Buhongwa Compassion center. We also had the opportunity to visit one of the families the center works with. I’ll be posting more later tonight, but sure to visit the Compassion Bloggers website to visit the blogs of others and read how others were impacted today during our time with Compassion.