How Alyssa Esparaz Of Compassion Canada Is Helping To Address The Growing Challenge Of Food Insecurity

An Interview With Martita Mestey

Doing perfect work is impossible. Doing good work is possible — and better.

In many parts of the United States, there is a crisis of people having limited reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. As prices rise, this problem will likely become more acute. How can this problem be solved? Who are the leaders helping to address this crisis?

In this interview series, we are talking to leaders who are helping to address the increasing problem of food insecurity who can share the initiatives they are leading to address and solve this problem.

As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Alyssa Esparaz.

Alyssa Esparaz is the Manager of Content and Public Relations at Compassion Canada, one of the world’s leading child development organizations working to end poverty in the lives of children and youth around the world. Alyssa studied International Development at the University of Toronto and is currently completing a Master of Communications Management at McMaster University. As a communicator, leader and advocate, Alyssa loves integrating her passions for youth, social justice and communications to make an impact for children and youth living in poverty.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I’ve been passionate about poverty alleviation and social justice since I was very young. In fact, my first connection to Compassion Canada was when I asked my parents to sponsor a Compassion child on my behalf as a Christmas gift when I was 12 years old. On the communications side, I’ve also always been passionate about storytelling, writing and speaking. I was delighted to discover these two passions could come together in a career that makes an impact. I recognize it’s quite a rare privilege to find such deep passion and purpose so early in life, so it’s something I endeavor to steward well.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

As I said, I was connected to Compassion before it was my full-time job. When I was a student, I had an opportunity to work with Compassion on a film series for youth called True Story. That experience was one of the catalysts to pursuing this kind of work as my career. Funny enough, there was a moment involving a time-sensitive email and a missed flight that could’ve completely changed everything for this project — one of those personal multiverse moments where we encounter how different life would be if we lived the alternate storyline. (We all have those, right? Or maybe I’ve just been watching too many recent popular movies and TV shows!)

Thankfully, everything worked out, and as a 17-year-old I had this incredible opportunity to travel to the Philippines, my parents’ birthplace, to host a film series that would get the topic of poverty in front of thousands of teenagers in Canada.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

I would say the COVID-19 pandemic was a critical juncture for me — as I’m sure it was for almost everyone reading this in a variety of ways. We saw the importance of clear and compassionate communicators in advocating for the most vulnerable.

At Compassion, we were humbled to see how generous people were. The ripple effects of the pandemic hit children living in poverty the hardest — and that continues to remain true today, especially when it comes to the topic of food insecurity. So, to see people generously respond to those needs was humbling and inspiring, and of course, it’s hard to find words for what it was like watching our local partners around the world respond on the front lines to deliver emergency food packs and hygiene kits to vulnerable kids and their families.

Being a communicator during the pandemic, especially in those early days, will always be a unique, career-shaping experience. I saw, learned and felt the power of good stories in bad times in a whole new way.

Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are?

There are so many — I’m such a big believer that each of us is a product of the people around us. In terms of my career at Compassion, one obvious person who stands out is our President and CEO, Allison Alley. She was the person who hired me and was my first boss at Compassion until she stepped into the role of President and CEO just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Talk about a time to step into a new leadership position! It’s perhaps another reason why I say that time was so pivotal for me — watching her step up to lead with courage and conviction was inspiring and instructive.

I also often say that I know it is very rare to have your first boss be a near-future CEO. That unique proximity to a quality leader instilled valuable leadership and communication skills in me that have profoundly shaped my career.

Which 3 character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Conviction: Sharing stories about poverty, suffering and injustice is not easy, and a lot of times people don’t want to hear about it, either. Doing this work is a privilege, but on the hard days, it also takes conviction to engage with difficult stories and invite others to do the same.

Care: Maybe this one is obvious, but it’s worth saying because there is great power in the capacity to care deeply. Of course, we care about our work and the people we serve. Beyond that, it’s so important to care for your colleagues, your donors, partners and supporters, and yourself.

Collaboration: Doing this kind of work alone is ill-advised. Fostering good relationships, prioritizing collaboration and investing in your team is really, really important work.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”?

I would say the quote that has been most impactful to me is: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young.” Of course, this will become less personally relevant as I get older, but as I continue to work to empower and enable children and youth to break free from poverty, it’s an important reminder that our role is to unlock the potential that is already there. I never want to be someone who looks down on youth. Rather, I want to be someone who knows that kids and youth are not just the future — they are now.

Can you describe to our readers how your work is helping to address the challenge of food insecurity?

At Compassion, you’ll hear us talk about our proven holistic child development program. It sounds super technical, but what it means is our program seeks to address poverty in every aspect of a child’s life. We want to achieve long-term, sustainable and whole-life outcomes for children and youth, giving them the resources and relationships to not only survive, but thrive.

Of course, an essential part of that is combatting food insecurity. As our Chief Program Officer Sidney Muisyo says, “To thrive, children and youth must first have access to the basics of life if they are to achieve their potential. And nothing is more basic and essential than access to food.”

We work with over 8,000 local church partners in 29 countries around the world to serve over 2.3 million infants, children, youth and their families. These local church partners know the unique needs of the children we serve and how to uniquely respond to those needs. That means that our food security efforts can look different around the world depending on the context and what will work best in each community. Our efforts include both relief efforts like emergency food packs and efforts to improve resiliency, such as helping families begin growing their own food.

Can you share something about your work that makes you most proud? Is there a particular story or incident that you found most uplifting?

In 2018, I had the opportunity to travel to Ethiopia and I met a single mother, Tigist, and her daughter, Yeabsira, who is a sponsored child in Compassion’s program. Their story is such a great example of how Compassion uniquely responds to the needs of the children and families we serve. Tigist had been diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure — overwhelming for any of us but devastating for a single mother living in poverty. She said this unforgettable statement to me: “I was prepared to leave my daughter orphaned.”

They had no food, so even when Tigist had access to medication, she would vomit it back up from taking it on an empty stomach. While working as a maid, she would faint. Thankfully this is not where the story ends. Around this time in their lives, Yeabsira was registered in the Compassion program at a local church.

The local church partner learned their story and intervened, providing food and covering rent and medical expenses for a season as Tigist got back on her feet. Today, she runs a small business baking and selling bread to her neighbours. Yeabsira is thriving, sharing that she is near the top of her class at school. They are far from a sickly single mother preparing to leave her daughter orphaned.

Their story really illustrates that access to food is one of the basics — the start of a foundation on which kids can thrive. Right now at Compassion Canada, we’re rallying around the phrase, “Bright futures. Compassion can.” That’s really what holistic child development is all about — whether it’s providing food, healthcare, education, mentorship or something else, we want to give kids what they need to take hold of a bright future. That’s what our compassion can do, together.

In your opinion, what should other business and civic leaders do to further address these problems? Can you please share a few things that can be done to further address the problem of food insecurity?

Lately, I’ve been feeling strongly about being an advocate for generosity. Especially after the past few years we’ve had, it can be easy to feel helpless and overwhelmed, and it can be tempting to become more insular. But we can’t afford to forget the power of generosity — not only how it makes a difference for others but how it inspires and uplifts us in return, as well.

There are certainly big and complex problems to solve, but let’s not forget the simple yet profound power of being generous with what is in our hands to help someone in need, right now. So, if there’s one thing I would say, it’s to remember to prioritize generosity.

Are there other leaders or organizations who have done good work to address the challenge of food scarcity? Can you tell us what they have done? What specifically impresses you about their work?

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to interview Palamanga Ouali, Compassion’s Vice President of the Africa Region. He highlighted to me the devastating and far-reaching effects of food insecurity — everything from sexual exploitation to school absenteeism. He also highlighted the importance of both short-term relief efforts and mid- to long-term mitigation and resiliency efforts.

Perhaps what was most impactful, though, was Palamanga’s hope and optimism, particularly as someone on the front lines of this work. He told me, “Yes, the situation is difficult, but there is hope. And I remain optimistic. I should say, very optimistic. This situation and this crisis will pass. We just need to be together, and we need to say, ‘What God has given me, it’s not little.’”

It really is a privilege to link arms with leaders and colleagues like Palamanga around the world, and I see it as an important responsibility to spread the word about their work.

If you had the power to influence legislation, are there laws that you would like to see introduced that might help you in your work?

Alongside fellow charities and organizations that work around the world, we are always happy to see international development efforts represented in the government’s budget, because the needs are so great, and ending poverty and hunger is going to take all of us. It really goes back to what I said about generosity. When we have the power to do something to help people in need, we should — not as an act of charity but as a practice of shared humanity.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?

1. Telling difficult stories is difficult. Plan for difficult days.
2. On many days, your “dream job” will just be replying to emails and attending meetings, and that’s okay.
3. Learn to lean into tension.
4. When the world feels despairing, one of the most powerful acts of resistance you can do is seek joy.
5. Doing perfect work is impossible. Doing good work is possible — and better.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

This is a big question! I would probably choose something related to education because I’ve seen how powerful education is for children and youth living in poverty. That’s really what efforts to combat food insecurity are all about — not just getting food into stomachs but enabling kids’ healthy development, ensuring they can play, learn, go to school and grow up to be leaders who will change their families, communities, countries and even the world.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?

I’d be lying if I didn’t say Taylor Swift (and everyone who knows me would know it, too). So, to connect it to food security, did you know she has been donating to local food banks in the cities where her Eras Tour stops? I love her generosity and that she is raising awareness for rising food insecurity amidst unprecedented demand at food banks across North America. I’d love to have lunch with her to ask her about being a writer, talk to her about her immense cultural impact and put a bug in her ear about addressing international food insecurity, too, as she heads on the international legs of her tour.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

We’d love to connect with you! You can learn more, get involved and give at compassion.ca. You can also find us on social @CompassionCA.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much, and we wish you only continued success.