Rev Dr Cris Rogers recently travelled to Uganda to better understand the work of international child development charity Compassion and see the impact of their partnership with Spring Harvest. What he saw challenged his perceptions of child sponsorship and he discovered something far richer than he expected.
For many years, I viewed child sponsorship with scepticism. I questioned whether it was an outdated model that created dependency and reinforced a saviour complex - Western Christians swooping into communities with a solution that, at best, seemed transactional and, at worst, felt colonial. It all made me feel very uncomfortable.
In a time where international development has rightly evolved towards locally led, self-sustaining solutions and partnership-driven models, does child sponsorship still have a place?
Local leadership
Stepping into a Compassion project in Uganda, based in a local church, I was struck by the sheer ownership of that local church. I had assumed the programs would be run by Westerners, imposing their vision of progress. Instead, I encountered Ugandan pastors, community leaders, and church members passionately committed to transforming their own neighbourhoods, delivering holistic care to children in that area.
And what I saw was a model of true partnership: A vibrant, locally led movement where churches are empowered to actively live out their mission.
