The Best Investment I've Made

Now, as many of you know, I love investing. I really do.  I'm 25 years old, recently married, and very passionate about being a good steward of my wife and I's resources.

Well, a few weeks ago, we decided to make an investment.  This investment, however, was new and different. In fact, this particular investment even goes somewhat against how we normally define and think of dividends.

Nevertheless, I believe this is the best investment I've made in quite some time. 

This article will be slightly different than most of my posts, but occasionally I like to highlight investment topics outside of my "strict dividend investment philosophy."  :) However, I can assure you of two things: you will learn something new, and perhaps this article will spark an interest in you to make a similar investment decision.

 Every day 30,000 children die from preventable causes.

Go back and reread that statement.  If my math is correct, that means 1 child dies every 2.88 seconds.  From a cause that could have been prevented.

The picture you see above is Juaquin Garcia, a four year old boy from Bolivia that my wife and I now sponsor through an organization called Compassion International.  To provide a brief description of Compassion International,

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.  Founded by the Rev. Everett Swanson in 1952, Compassion began providing Korean War orphans with food, shelter, education and health care, as well as Christian training.  Today, Compassion helps more than 1 million children in 26 countries.

My intention of this article is not to make you feel guilty.  My intention of this article is definitely not to bring any praise to me or my wife.  My true intention of this article is simply to help all of us realize how privileged we are.  There is a real person in that picture. A boy, struggling to make it each day.  Struggling to LIVE each day.  Let us shake off our numbness to what happens outside our personal bubbles and realize that thousands of real people are not going to make it and will die, if, we standby and do nothing. 

Don't believe me? Go back and reread the statistic above.  It took me 72 seconds to read this article from the beginning to this very statement.  That means we just lost 25 children.

Many of us daily read great websites about minimalism, and living frugally, and cutting back from the things we don't need.  I would encourage each of us now to make a change; to live without something we really don't need and to give the rest to someone who really does need.  And needs not just for their personal comfort, but for their very survival.

If you are able to read this now (essentially meaning that you have access to the computer sitting in front of you), you are more blessed than hundreds of thousands of people across the globe.

Where are you able to help give back? To take your passion of investing and your passion for dividends and apply those passions to another investment; a human investment. One that will reap huge dividends someday through a changed life. Through a saved life.

This link, Compassion Distinctives, provides more information, shows in real-time the number of children lost to poverty today, and is a good starting place to truly see the need that is out there.

Thank you again for reading this.

Only one question remains - what will you do now?

DivPartisan