The Compassion Experience is an immersive program that lets people know how others live around the world. Image via Compassion Experience website.

The Compassion Experience will be looking to change lives by giving the people of the Central Valley the chance to see how three children sponsored by the organization live.

Between Sept. 15-18 in the Fashion Fair parking lot, Compassion Experience will have 3,000 square feet of recreated marketplaces, schools and homes from Uganda, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic, according to the organization’s press release.

Visitors will go through the exhibits at their own pace, guided by an iPod and headset, hearing stories and accounts from three children the organization helps.

The hope for the event is to expose visitors to the poverty from which many people across the world cannot escape.

One example is a young woman named Yannely from the Dominican Republic. Yannely was connected with the Compassion program, which supported her all the way through medical school, where she is now in her fourth year, according to the Compassion website.

Yannely now tutors at a Compassion center where she lives and serves as a nurse in the northern region of the Dominican Republic.

According to Compassion Experience, this is the kind of story visitors will immerse themselves in and will gain an intimate knowledge of the lifestyles people lead across the globe.

The event is free and appropriate for all ages. Attendees will have an opportunity to sponsor a child at the end of the tour.

The Compassion Experience is an arm of Compassion International, a Christian organization that connects children with donors through sponsorship.

Last year, the program raised $800 million, according to charitynavigator.org. Of the $800 million, roughly $650 million went to program expenses. Charitynavigator.org rates the charity with a score of 88/100.