'Back to School'

So the new school term has started. For me that means that I'm back on the island and getting back into the routine of running youth groups, planning events, attending meetings and just trying my best to make a difference in the lives of the young people I work with.

For some of my friends this time of year means a new year at uni, complete with a new house and a fresh set of essay deadlines. For others it means that their kids are moving up into a new year group or starting a new school, and my Facebook news feed is littered with photos of children in school uniform. But for some people I know, the new school term means another bill to pay, because if they don't pay the school fees, then their kids will be sent home from school.

Unfortunately, for so many people around the world, education is not something that they can take for granted like we do. One of my best friends took his eldest daughter to school this week for the first time. Like many parents, he's had the experience this week of coming back for the first time to a quiet house and missing his daughter; hoping that she's getting on okay at school... but as well as that, and just like so many other parents around the world, he also is embarking on the beginning of a long season of bills and payments just to keep his little girl in school.

I know that it wont be easy for my friend, but I also believe that he'll be okay... I've seen God provide for him time and time again just at the right moment and often from the most unexpected of places. But for many others, the story isn't quite the same. According to UIS, in 2012 there were one hundred and twenty one million children of school age around the world who were not in school.

One hundred and twenty one million.

But God does provide. And often he gives us the privilege of being a part of the way that he does that. Child sponsorship gives thousands of kids around the world an opportunity that they wouldn't otherwise have - to go to school and receive an education that will empower them to have a better future.

My friend was one of the lucky few - he was able to go to school because he was sponsored through compassion as a child and now he's in a position to be able to send his own daughter to school. I asked him whether I could share his story in this blog, and this is what he had to add...

"It takes love and faith to make a difference in this world. Its not always about how rich you are or the surplus on your budget that you can give. Its a heart to help and share and love just as Christ did for us. You know it only takes you as an individual to make this world a better place for one person. It begins with you and the little you can put in - even if its only prayers; start with that and you can make a change."

So as you drive past the kids at the bus stop, or you wave your little ones off to school, or you sit and write your first essay of the new term, just take a moment to think about those who don't have the same privilege of education that we have in the UK...

And maybe take a moment to consider doing something about it?
https://my.compassionuk.org/app/sponsor/campaign/
http://www.smileinternational.org/sponsor-a-child.aspx