Compassion International President to Speak Oct. 2

Wess Stafford, president of Compassion International, a youth development organization, will speak at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 2, during Chapel-Forum in Waco Hall on the campus of Baylor University.
Stafford grew up in Africa's Ivory Coast while his parents were missionaries. During the 1960s, he spearheaded literacy and recreation programs for inner city youth, and later represented a number of relief and development agencies in Haiti. He now works for Compassion International, an agency specializing in Christian child development.
Stafford said he joined the organization because it has ideals he believed in, adding, "Compassion's philosophy of development dovetailed with everything my experience told me was true," said Stafford. "To preserve the dignity of those being helped, to focus on empowering people by equipping them rather than doing for them, and to enhance cultures through disciplining children; it was a perfect match."
Stafford spent 15 years with Compassion International both overseas and at headquarters before becoming its president in September 1993.
He now lives on a small ranch in Colorado Springs, Colo., with his wife Donna and their two daughters, Jenny and Katie.
For more information, call 755-3517.