Recent Posts

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....

What does true hunger look like?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Michele Tvedt in Causes

I am a textbook “hangry” person. When I get hungry, I get angry. It’s not a pleasant experience for those around me, and it leads me to snack about every two hours. My closest friends know that without food in my body, no decisions will be made, and the conversations will not be pleasant. So, I end up talking about the issue of hunger a lot — usually my own. The proper definition of the word “hunger” is “a compelling need or desire for food” or “the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food.” I recognize that my hunger pales in light of what others go through, and the endless access I have to food...

A cup of coffee? Or water for a village?

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Guest blogger in Partnerships, Stories

Kathy Williams dancing with villagers in Swaziland

In 2010, World Vision magazine published a story about Kathy Williams, a manager at Family Christian store in Killeen, Texas. Through a bottle of dirty water, she struck up conversations with customers — conversations that resulted in hundreds of child sponsorships. Because of Kathy’s voice of change in her community, she was invited to visit World Vision projects in Swaziland with Austin, Texas area pastors and community leaders. After witnessing World Vision’s work in Swaziland, she wrote the following reflection....

Is chocolate your guilty pleasure?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Jesse Eaves in Partnerships

Abdul is 10 years old. While many children his age are in school, Abdul spends his days harvesting a bean that is an essential ingredient to a symbol of decadence, love, and happiness in the western world. But to him, it represents pain, toil, and sadness. Abdul is a child slave working on a cocoa farm in Cote D’Ivoire — where 35 percent of the world’s cocoa originates — to make the chocolate you and I love. Abdul has never tasted chocolate. He says he does not even know how cocoa beans are used....

Whoever said fundraising had to be boring?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by James Addis in Causes, Stories

Here at World Vision, we deal with some heavy issues — famine, AIDS, human trafficking, war, natural disasters, abject poverty — the sort of topics that might easily have one reaching for anti-depressants. But there are a lot of fun jobs, too. One of mine is writing about donors who have found wonderful ways to raise money to support World Vision and help cure some of the world’s greatest ills. Here are some of my favorites of 2011....