Recent Posts

[Bolivia bloggers] A dozen unforgettable moments

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Lindsey Talerico-Hedren in Child Sponsorship, Stories

A dozen unforgettable moments. ©2011 Matthew Paul Turner for World Vision

I saw this tweet from Rachel Held Evans yesterday morning: “Been back from Bolivia for a week now, and I’m just now unpacking. Anyone else out there an unpacker-slacker?” I’m the worst kind of unpacker… I let the task of unpacking intimidate me in a really silly way. I also think there’s something sort of nostalgic about an unpacked suitcase — it brings back memories of where you’ve just returned from. In this case, it brings back bittersweet memories of the seven days I spent in Bolivia with some of the most insightful and endearing people I’ll ever know — Elizabeth, Andrea, Joy, Nish, Matthew, Carla, Rachel, Amy, Michael, Jana and Deb — and all of the moments we experienced...

International Youth Day: 6 youth changing our world

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Lindsey Talerico-Hedren in Advocacy, Causes

Change our world — that’s this year’s International Youth Day theme. It seems more than appropriate in a year of ongoing economic struggle, debt ceilings, radiation leaks and famines. And there are issues of injustice that fail to make headlines but distress so many people — child abuse, abduction and trafficking, school drop-outs because of forced labor or need for income, neglect of children and youth, and an apparent lack of youth voice. But there are youth out there advocating against such injustices, making real differences in their communities, and changing our world for good. This post is a reminder, on International Youth Day, that youth are to believed in because through them, great things are possible. Don’t let anyone...

Scenes from a Kenyan refugee camp

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Peter Warski in Disaster Relief

A new World Vision report indicates that nearly half of the children surveyed in drought-devastated northern Kenya had eaten no food for a full day. Those separated from their parents have fared even worse. Children are now begging by the roadside as they fight for survival, putting themselves at risk of violence and sexual abuse. Students are failing to attend class as they work on construction sites or walk with livestock to find pasture. Young girls are being married off to raise money. Jon Warren, World Vision’s award-winning photo director, is traveling in East Africa to document the emergency hunger situation and highlight World Vision’s work in the region. The photos below are from Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in...

[Bolivia bloggers] Back at home, but haunted by their faces

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Elizabeth Esther in Child Sponsorship, Stories

Haunted by their faces | World Vision Blog

The following post was written on Day 1, back at home from Bolivia, from Elizabeth Esther. I did 26 hours of travel on two hours of sleep. I don’t recommend this. My body and mind feel sundered–torn apart. This afternoon I started shaking. I’m so tired–physically, emotionally, mentally–that my body started freaking out on me without sending a warning note first. And Mariela’s face haunts my emotions: I met Mariela at the special-needs center in Colomi. Her uncle, in the words of Mariela’s mother, “es muy malo.” Very bad–meaning, his special needs are severe, overwhelming for a family already entrenched in deep poverty. Mariela wouldn’t let go of me. She held my hand, asked me to draw pictures for her,...

A letter to the mothers and fathers of Bolivia

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Jana Melpolder, WV Bolivia blogger in Child Sponsorship, Stories

To the incredible mothers and fathers of Bolivia, This journey has been an opportunity to give a voice for the voiceless. To put a spotlight on the unseen. To shed light on what life is like through the eyes of Bolivians. I hope that I have shared and will continue to share your stories with the accuracy and thoughtfulness that they deserve. To the mothers who pray daily for the health and future of their children — you are the fortitude of your families. To the mothers who battle cultural discrimination because their children are born with disabilities — you are women of strength. To the mothers who took in children who were not their own because no one else...