Recent Posts by James Addis

Q & A with USAID’s Raj Shah on the Horn of Africa and foreign assistance

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Q & A with USAID's Raj Shah | World Vision blog
On Tuesday, Dr. Raj Shah, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), visited World Vision’s U.S. headquarters in Federal Way, Washington, to talk to our staff about faith and global development. After his speech — which included a call for Americans and the American church community to continue supporting the United States as a leader in bringing relief to those suffering from poverty around the globe — I had the great privilege of talking to Dr. Shah for a little more in-depth Q & A. Here is the transcript of our conversation: JAMES: Did Horn of Africa governments respond quickly enough to early warnings [of the food crisis and famine]? DR. SHAH: It’s important to put this in...
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Anatomy of a 100-mile race

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Anatomy of a 100-mile race | World Vision blog
Fourteen hours before the start of yesterday’s Chicago Marathon, four friends set off to run a total of 100 miles (74 miles to the start of the Chicago Marathon) in a bid to secure sponsors for 400 children. World Vision writer James Addis followed their progress on his own little adventure through part of the night and during the marathon itself — sometimes by taxi, sometimes by bicycle, and sometimes by train… The assignment What a mission! Our four runners will run 74 miles mostly along the Chicago lakefront all through the night, before reaching the Chicago Marathon starting line in time for the beginning of the official race. The four runners are: Paul Jansen Van Rensburg, 37, a pastor...
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Your chance to fight human trafficking [Livestream]

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Your chance to fight human trafficking | World Vision Blog
It’s easy to get disillusioned with political debate. Frequently, it degenerates into petty point-scoring and partisan bickering. Constructive dialogue, it seems, often disappears out the window. So it’s nice when an issue comes along on which nearly everybody can agree. One such issue is the problem of human trafficking — the use of fraud, force, or coercion to exploit a child or adult for profit. It’s estimated that there are more than 12 million trafficked people in the world today — a $32 billion industry. Every day, children are forced to perform sexual acts or work long hours in filthy, dangerous conditions for the financial benefit of someone else. Sometimes, I imagine my own children forced into this position, and...
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The success of the world’s greatest to-do list

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The success of the world's greatest to do list | World Vision blog
Every morning, I begin my day by writing a to-do list in my diary. I can’t remember when I started this habit, but I’m certain my productivity has increased exponentially as a result. I write down irksome duties that nevertheless must get done; I break down complex tasks into several simpler ones — and, whoa, what looked like an impossible mountain to climb suddenly appears as a series of manageable mole hills. Every time I complete a task, I put a check next to that item on the list. I’d be lying if I said I manage to get everything done every day. If I did, I’d probably be running for president by now. All the same, at the end...
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What does famine teach us?

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What does famine teach us? | World Vision blog
The thing that has moved me the most about the current famine in the Horn of Africa is learning of the women and children who have been robbed and assaulted as they have fled Somalia. Their plight reminds me of a boy called Maror Bol. He was about 13 years old when I met him in Sudan. Maror was in similar dire straits and was also robbed. He also taught me one of the most important lessons of my life. In 1998, bad weather and factional fighting had provoked a famine in Southern Sudan. Maror had walked about 50 miles to reach a World Vision feeding center for malnourished children — located at a rough camp in the middle of...
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