Does one child really matter?

I had to write a persuasive paper for school. I chose the topic of children in poverty and of making a difference. I hope you like it!

SAVING LIVES

     “You don't matter. You are unimportant. You are ugly.” These are the lies that poverty tells children. Sadly, there is nothing we can do to help these children. They will forever live in poverty and hopelessness because we cannot help them all. A couple of us will try to help a child, but our efforts are useless because one child doesn't matter. If we cannot save the lives of all the children in poverty, it doesn't matter what we do because there will always be more that need help. Do you truly believe that? No? Then tell me why you are doing nothing. Edmund Burke once said, “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”
     Often we hold back and don't do anything because we don't think that we can actually make a difference. We think that whatever we do is not enough and that people will always be in great need. This is not true. If the we came together, we could eradicate extreme poverty in our life time. Yes, it may be one child at a time, but every child matters. If we even save only one child's life, it is worth it. That child will no longer be caught in the cycle of poverty. That child will be able to dream and hope and live. That child will have opportunities to grow and learn. That child matters.
     Edmund Burke also pointed out that “the only think necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Poverty is evil, and when we do nothing, poverty prevails. If we don't pick the side of the impoverished, we are picking the side of the evil. We are allowing evil to overtake lives and to “steal, kill, and destroy.” We must choose to save lives.
     I believe that holistic child development is one of the best ways to save lives. It helps the child as a whole. Holistic child development organizations do not just give out food and money. They help the child physically, socially, economically, and spiritually. Truly, these organizations save lives.
     However there are so many holistic child development organizations. Most of them are good and help others, but some do not. I personally believe in Compassion International. This holistic child development non-profit has been reviewed independently. In the recent study, Dr. Bruce Wydick researched Compassion's impact on the children they serve. He found out “. . . that children who participated in Compassion’s holistic child development through sponsorship program stayed in school longer, were more likely to have salaried or white-collar employment and were more likely to be leaders in their communities and churches than their peers who did not participate in the program.” After Dr. Wydick talked to adults who had graduated from Compassion's child development through sponsorship program as well as those who had not participated in Compassion's program, and intensively researched the program's effectiveness, he is confident that Compassion is an organization that you can trust.
     From my experience, I have to agree with Dr. Wydick. My sponsored child Mabel recently told me in a letter, “I like everything of Compassion, I like the support the most and when the tutors teach us the homework and we learn more and more of God.” Many graduates of Compassion's program say the same things.
     Methode from Rwanda said, “Through the regular development center activities like singing, games, praying together and reading the Bible, I started to realize that I could get peace from God.” Similarly, Godfrey states, “Without Compassion at the scene, I wonder who and where would I be and what my relationship with Christ would look like.”
     Michelle lives in the Philippines. She was also a sponsored child. She has not only been changed by Compassion's program, but now she is changing others' lives too! “Compassion hasn't just released me from poverty, but it has gotten me to dream big, to make a difference and never ever to forget my country, even if my country is living in poverty. They taught me to always give back, to always make a difference for the cause of Christ...I'm in ministry here, since I graduated from college six years ago with Trumpet, which stands for Triumphant Peoples Evangelistic Theater Society, because my passion really is in the performing arts and spreading the Gospel using the Theater arts....We go to orphanages, where we spread the Gospel.” Michelle is sharing the gospel with orphan children in her country, saving them from spiritual poverty. Michelle now sponsors a child as well. She is saving the life of a little boy in poverty. He will in turn, help another child out of poverty. Together we are not only breaking the cycle of poverty, but also making a cycle of releasing children from poverty.
     Poverty can be ended if good people do something. By helping one child at a time, we are saying to impoverished children, “You are special. You are important. You are beautiful.” The lies of poverty can be overpowered when we want them to. If we all stick together, we will be the generation that wipes out poverty. We will change lives. Are you with me?

Well, what do you think?  Are you going to go tell a child in poverty that she is important, beautiful, and loved?  Sponsor a child.

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Works Cited

http://www.positive- entertainment.com/interviews/michelletolentino/ (accessed May 1, 2013) 
http://www.hcd-alliance.org/ (accessed May 1, 2013). 
http://blog.compassion.com/holistic-child- development-means/#comments (accessed May 1, 2013). 
http://blog.compassion.com/charity-research-research-shows-that-child- sponsorship-through-compassion-works/ (accessed May 1, 2013). 
http://blog.compassion.com/anti-poverty-programs-without-christ-i-would-be-nowhere- and-nobody/ (accessed May 1, 2013). http://blog.compassion.com/how-do-you-forgive-your-familys-killers/ (accessed May 1, 2013). https://www.compassion.ca/what-meals-do-kids-get-at-compassion-part-two/ (accessed May 1, 2013).

http://blog.compassion.com/why-holistic- child-development/ (accessed May 1, 2013). 
http://issuu.com/compassioninternational/docs/does-child-sponsorship-work/1 (accessed May 1, 2013).