SNOHOMISH — Families filed through a tent pavilion in a local church parking lot to be transported into the homes of children in the developing world.
One exhibit acquainted them with Yannely, a girl from the Dominican Republic aspiring to become a doctor. The other introduced Sameson, a boy from Ethiopia yearning to escape his lot as a child goat-herder and attend school.
Narrated life stories and replica homes sought to bring the youngsters to life, even though they weren’t present in the flesh. The experience was put on by Compassion International, a nonprofit devoted to fighting poverty and promoting child development. Sponsoring a child starts at $38 per month.
“Ultimately, we’re hoping for sponsorship, but the tour gives people a vision about what life is like overseas,” said Chelsea Vocal, a manager for “the Compassion Experience.” “We can’t all go over and help out. It’s like a trip to another country, without the plane ticket.”
Vocal, who hails from north-central Ohio, gained an awareness about living conditions in poorer countries thanks largely to her late father, who grew up in the Philippines.
She sponsors a boy and a girl in Honduras.
Compassion International is among the largest Christian humanitarian groups of its kind, with annual revenues of more than $700 million. Active in more than two dozen countries, its motto is “Releasing Children From Poverty in Jesus’ Name.”
The experience exhibit, which folds up into a truck trailer, opened at Snohomish Community Church on 13622 Dubuque Road from Jan. 29 through Feb. 1.
The tents are about the size of an average house — in the United States. Packed inside are 1,700 square feet of exhibit space.
Fabric overhead mimics the look of corrugated metal roofs. Visitors use headphones to listen to podcasts, as they walk through a series of rooms simulating cramped conditions. Visiting Sameson’s house, visitors learn that he’s one of 11 people living there.
“I can actually make a difference in another country with very minimal amount (of money) here,” said Bex Reiff, of Minneapolis, a staffer who traveled to Snohomish. “You really can, depending on where your priorities are — and where your heart is, too.”
Charity Navigator gives Compassion International a top four-star rating. Eighty-four percent of the organization’s budget goes toward services, as a opposed to administration, fundraising or other expenses that don’t directly reach beneficiaries.
The nonprofit partners with overseas churches already active where the children live. It takes a holistic approach, with money going to “a little bit of everything,” in Vocal’s words. That could include tuition or nutrition, medical care or education.
“It can be physical, social, economic or spiritual poverty that we work with,” Vocal said.
At the end of the experience, people saw pictures of kids awaiting sponsors, some 50 in all, held up with clothespins. Toddlers to teens, they hailed from the Philippines, Indonesia and Peru, Haiti, Brazil and Ecuador, Rwanda, Burkina Faso and Tanzania, among other locales.
Jeff Vale, a firefighter who attends Snohomish Community Church, took the tour with his wife and five children. They were already sponsoring two other children overseas through different organizations, but were moved to add a third that Friday morning.
After deliberating together, they settled on a 16-year-old from India whose case was marked “priority.”
An older boy “might not get picked that quickly,” Vale reasoned.
The family appreciated Compassion International’s approach to helping people from all angles, rather than focusing solely on food, housing or faith.
Sometimes, Vale said, “You have to meet a person’s physical needs before you can speak to their spiritual needs.”
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
Information
To learn more about Compassion International, go to www.compassion.com or call 800-336-7676.
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