"That's me," my little sister Jessica said between bites of a chocolate chip cookie. She pointed to a photo on the refrigerator.

My mom put down the gallon of milk she'd been pouring into Jessica's glass and glanced at the refrigerator. "The girl in the pink shirt?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"That's not you, honey. That's a picture that came in the mail."

Confused, my 8-year-old sister left her chair and walked up to the refrigerator. Looking more closely, she saw that the picture wasn't her at all. She furrowed her eyebrows, and I could almost see the thought running through her head: Who was that girl?

The photo had come with a letter from a child sponsorship organization, asking me to sponsor one of the many impoverished kids like her. This little girl lived in Guatemala.

And Jessica was right: The girl in the photo did look a lot like a younger version of my little sister. The girl's smooth brown skin was just a few shades darker than Jessica's milky brown complexion. Disheveled strands of black hair, which Jessica must have mistaken for her own dark brown, framed her face and small shoulders. She had a round face and soft cheeks. She wore a fuchsia shirt Jessica would love.

Although they looked alike, as I sat at the kitchen table and compared the girl to my sister, I realized how strikingly different her eyes were. They were deep brown—the same color as Jessica's eyes—but they were sunken and glossed with tears. Poverty had made her eyes so sad, so unlike my sister's dancing brown eyes. And according to the letter, the girl from Guatemala didn't even own that cheerful fuchsia shirt. It had been given to her for the picture.

Seeing this girl who looked so much like my sister made me wonder what I could do to help kids like her, kids who gazed hopelessly up at the camera. I was reminded about how dramatically different our lives are. As I sat in the kitchen and ate cookies, kids like her hunted through garbage for scraps of food. My life—and my sister's life—includes a warm, safe home, plenty of food, and the chance to go to school. I knew I couldn't assume this girl had any of these things that are so basic to me.

Jesus tells us to reach out to "the least of these" who are hungry, thirsty, unclothed, and sick (Matthew 25:34-40). I've discovered there are so many ways teens can make a difference to kids living in poverty. For example, reading Youth Against Poverty's news updates helps me remember child poverty. I'm also sponsoring a kid, and I get to hear about his life through his letters. He's 18, wants to be an engineer, and is devoted to God. Sponsorship has made a difference to him and his dreams. If you want to sponsor a child, check out World Vision, Compassion International, and Kenya Children's Fund.

Recently, I learned about The Better Hour contest. It offers $40,000 in prizes to high school students who design and carry out projects that improve the world. Zach Hunter, a 15-year-old modern-day abolitionist and author of Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World, supports The Better Hour contest. He believes our generation has the power to make a genuine difference and succeed in eliminating injustices like slavery and poverty. I do, too.

I've read that nearly half the world's kids live in poverty. So now, I'm working to make a difference in their lives—and Jessica helps by collecting money to donate to UNICEF, an organization that helps kids in developing countries. We believe that our generation has the compassion to care for kids in poverty and the dedication to erase poverty from our earth. Because of our faith, we want to reach out to change lives.

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