Compassion Australia

Income Generation

Income Generation

Empower young people and their families to be economically self-supporting

Three billion people live on less than US$2.50 per day (World Bank).

WHY INCOME GENERATION IS SO IMPORTANT

Adults reading/writing skills

757 million adults still lack basic reading and writing skills. Two-thirds (63 percent) are women.

75 per cent of the world's poorest

75 per cent of the world's poorest people — 1.4 billion women, children, and men—live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihood

Women + Education = Reduced child mortality rate

A study found that, for every one additional year of education for women of reproductive age, child mortality decreased by 9.5 per cent

Bank account ownership

Across developing countries, there is a nine percentage point gap between women and men in having an account at a formal financial institution

Sources: UIS; UN; World Bank

The opportunity to learn a skill or understand how to run a business is an important key to breaking the cycle of poverty. However income generating activities are not just about providing finance for a family. They are about empowerment—teaching a young adult that they can use their God-given skills to plan for their future. It is coming alongside a family and teaching them to break the cycle of poverty for the following generations.

Through generous supporters, Compassion intervenes on several fronts:

Providing business and finance training opportunities for caregivers and young people
Identifying caregivers who would most benefit from income-generation help
Facilitating income generating workshops such as credit management, basic business and accounting
Linking caregivers with other micro-enterprise credit institutions

You can support young people and their caregivers to be empowered through income generation training and equipped with important skills for life.

For every $1 donated

80% goes to program, 20% to administration

80%

Program development and delivery

80% goes to program, 20% to administration

20%

Administration and fundraising costs

See exactly where your money goes

Income Generation Stories

Feature Story

5 Important Results of the Plastic Bag Ban in Kenya

In the slums of many African countries, children’s daily life involves dodging mountains of discarded plastic bags. Now that Rwanda and Kenya are fighting back against the bag, what does this mean for families living in poverty?.. Read more

FAQs

Why does the cost to support an entire Mums and Babies survival project vary between countries?
The care that families receive from Mums and Babies is specific to them, and differs between countries based on children’s needs and the availability and accessibility of government or other support services. This means the cost to support an entire Mums and Babies survival project also varies between countries ($15,000 - $25,000 per year), and has been determined by the price of local services, families' specific needs and currency conversions.

For example, in Thailand, free universal healthcare is available to families—but not always accessible, especially in remote areas. Instead of replacing existing services, your support empowers Compassion staff to assess and meet each family’s individual and most urgent needs. For children in Thailand, this includes providing educational and health support to increase rates of breastfeeding, helping to prevent undernutrition and stunting for newborns.

You can support Mums and Babies for $12 per month or another amount of your choosing. You can also give through a one-off financial contribution. These contributions are pooled to support mothers and babies all around the world.

If you are interested in supporting an entire Mums and Babies survival project, please contact us.

You can:
- Give to Mums and Babies
- Contact us for more information
Can I give to Critical Needs if I do not sponsor a child?
Yes, you can give to Critical Needs if you do not sponsor a child. Critical Needs is essential to overcoming obstacles for children living in poverty and your donation to Critical Needs will go towards helping thousands of children. Choose an area of need that you are most passionate about meeting, and then all you need to do is decide whether your donation is a once-only or a recurring gift. Thank you for your partnership to share a hope more powerful than poverty!

You can:
- Give to Critical Needs
- Sponsor a child
Can I sponsor a specific mother and child in Compassion Mums and Babies?
While you can now sponsor a child from age one through Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program, we cannot offer one-to-one sponsorship of mums and babies before a child's first birthday. Compassion Mums and Babies provides urgent survival support for young families in crisis situations. In a child's first year of life, Compassion staff are focused on helping babies survive and families adjust to life with their new arrival. Once the critical first year is over, Compassion staff can turn their attention to child development and establishing the invaluable one-to-one sponsorship relationships that help children grow in confidence and have hope for their future.

Donations of any amount to Compassion Mums and Babies are graciously received. You will be providing young families with critical support during the vulnerable prenatal months and first year of life.

Alternatively, Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program is specifically designed for one-to-one sponsorship, offering children and sponsors the opportunity to benefit from a two-way relationship.

You can:
- Give to Mums and Babies
- Sponsor a child
- Learn more about the Child Sponsorship Program
How does Critical Needs work with Child Sponsorship?
Critical Needs and the Child Sponsorship Program work side-by-side to equip Compassion's local church partners with the resources to provide holistic support and long-term, customised solutions for children, their families and communities. While the Child Sponsorship Program connects one child with one sponsor, Critical Needs giving is not directed to one child, but provides essential support to thousands of Compassion registered children when they need it most. Every child will benefit from Critical Needs during their time in Compassion’s program, as sponsorship funds alone are not sufficient to cover the varied and often urgent needs of the children we support.

You can choose to support children globally through Critical Needs or fund an entire project in a specific community. These projects are both reactive and proactive and could include water filters to provide safe water to a community, reconstruction of homes after natural disasters, or income generating activities for adolescents and children's caregivers. The right assistance is identified and provided by the local church in partnership with Compassion.

You can:
- Give to Critical Needs
- Sponsor a child
What is Critical Needs?
The effects of poverty are devastating and affect every area of a child's life. Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program sets the foundation for life-changing opportunities for every registered child. But every child will, at some point, require help beyond sponsorship's reach.

Critical Needs provides the additional support necessary for Compassion assisted children to be released from poverty in Jesus' name. Through Critical Needs, supporters like you who are passionate about particular issues, such as safe water, or caring for mothers and babies, can help children most in need worldwide, or support specific projects in vulnerable communities. There are nine Critical Needs areas that you can choose to support, each area addressing an essential aspect of a child's health and development.

The nine Critical Needs are:
Because we believe that poverty is best addressed through the transformation of the individual child, Critical Needs provides support alongside Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program, not as stand-alone community development activities.