Monthly Archives: January 2012

PHOTO BLOG: Child sponsorship reaches parents, too

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Jon Warren in Child Sponsorship

Children, children, children. Everything we do at World Vision is for children. But when I visited a sponsorship area in northeast India earlier this month, program staff first wanted to show me the work they were doing with parents. They believed the most effective way to make a difference in the lives of children was to care about the whole family, improve parents’ livelihoods, and involve the entire community in long-term problem-solving. As a parent myself, this made complete sense. My life centers around my kids. Make my earning more secure, and I’m better able to care for my family. Improve community structure, and everyone benefits. So I was first shown fish ponds and weaving groups, rubber trees, and orange...

Congress: Don’t play politics with child slavery

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Jesse Eaves in Advocacy

For almost a year, World Vision has advocated for the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVRPA), inviting our supporters to join us in advocating for this bill. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) — the cornerstone of U.S. policies to fight modern-day slavery — expired on September 30, 2011, because Congress did not vote to reauthorize the law in time. As a result, U.S. efforts to combat trafficking are essentially on hold until the law is reauthorized. Here is an update from our child protection policy advisor, Jesse Eaves....

PHOTO BLOG: Over the river and through the woods

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Maryann Zamora in Stories

Over the river and through the woods | World Vision Blog

I have worked with World Vision for nearly three years — yet I am still amazed by the things I see and the stories I hear. I am equally inspired by the drive and determination of people living in poverty to overcome their circumstances and build a better world for their children, their communities, our country, and the world. Recently, I experienced firsthand the struggles children in remote communities face just to get to school, and I wanted to share this experience with you....

An open letter to our generous donors

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Kirsten Stearns in Gift Catalog

In December, World Vision’s Kirsten Stearns traveled with our True Spirit of Christmas Trip to Sri Lanka and Zambia to see firsthand how gifts from the Gift Catalog are helping to change the lives of children and families in need. Here, she shares an open letter with our donors, reflecting on how your generosity has helped make stories like these possible. * * *...

The state of America’s children

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Romanita Hairston in Advocacy

Have you ever asked yourself, “What am I doing to make my community, my country, and my world a better place?” Perhaps you asked yourself something similar in your new year resolutions; or perhaps you ask it when you look at your own children. As a mother of three, I find myself doing this. As I reflect on the words of President Obama’s State of the Union address from last night, this is the question I hope we are all asking — and doing something about it....