Editor’s Note: This is the second post in a new, periodic series called “News that matters,” meant to highlight coverage in news articles and blog posts about important, current issues that affect those living in poverty around the world. Recent breaking-news headlines might lead you to believe that some of the less prominent stories lack significance and aren’t worthy of our attention. The truth is, there are many equally critical issues that directly affect the lives of the world’s poor and dispossessed – and so many of them don’t see the kind of coverage they really deserve. I’ll let you follow the breaking news on your own, and I’ll highlight some other stories that you may not see otherwise. As...
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“We’re all still alive”
Editor’s note: Last night, I received the following email from Laura Reinhardt, who is in Alabama: The man sitting next me on the plane looked out the window as we approached Birmingham, Alabama. He pointed out the path of destruction left by the April 27 tornadoes. “That’s the spookiest thing I ever saw,” he said. “It’s like someone took a giant vacuum cleaner to the earth.” Seeing it from the air and being kind of awed by nature’s power is one thing, but getting on the ground and seeing tin roofs curled up like ribbon, walls ripped away to reveal the inside of someone’s life, and then meeting people like 10-year-old Morgan Adams makes it all much more personal. Morgan...
When disaster strikes home
Editor’s note: World Vision’s Nathan Looney reports from his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, that while neighborhoods in his immediate area were spared, towns just 30 minutes north and south have been completely devastated. Nathan, who happened to be visiting his family for the Easter holiday, will connect with our incoming assessment team tomorrow as they jumpstart World Vision’s response. I’ve seen countless pictures of destruction and hundreds of video clips of unimaginable devastation. In my few years at World Vision, I’ve sat in meetings sifting through images and articles, looking for the ones that best tell the story. At times, those pictures and stories ended up just being a tool to me, a means to educate our donors, a device...
World Vision responds to storms and tornadoes in American South
Editor’s note: At World Vision’s office in New York, Mindy Mizell is coordinating media efforts concerning our response to the deadly storms and tornadoes in the American South. URGENT: World Vision is responding to the devastation left by deadly storms in Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Mississippi, as well as the levee break in Missouri. We are working with local partners to distribute first aid kits, hygiene supplies, and other essential products to some of the hardest-hit communities. An assessment team is also preparing to survey the damage in Alabama and look for ways to partner with churches and other local organizations to help the most vulnerable children and families....
Royal gift poll results
Elegant, regal, ceremonious, formal, beautiful — these are all words that might be used to describe Prince William and Kate’s wedding after this weekend’s royal wedlock. But as any married person (or former wedding party member) knows, it is not without great planning that a “dream” wedding comes to life. There are dress fittings, cake tastings, floral appointments, seating charts… and perhaps one of the more exciting pre-wedding activities — the gift registry. But the royal couple is obviously not registering for towels, kitchen appliances and luggage. Instead, we love that they asked for donations to charitable funds, which got our blog team thinking — if we were invited to the royal nuptials, what World Vision gift would we give...