Tag Archives: Caregiver kits

“Be a person who is love”

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Rachael Dill Boyer in Christian Witness, Stories

Have you ever met someone who just radiates the love, light, and peace of God? Last month, while traveling in Swaziland, I had the privilege of meeting Nomsa, a World Vision volunteer AIDS caregiver. She is one of those people — so full of the love of God that it can’t help but spill out to those around her. This Valentine’s Day, I wanted to share her story. Nomsa presented me with a new way of looking at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV): “Love is patient, love is kind…it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” In a society that often equates the word “love” with romantic love, I had forgotten that this verse is talking about the way we...

Where kids’ books meet the real story: Building a healthy village

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Katie Smith Milway, World Vision board member in Microfinance, Stories

Emily, the successful beneficiary of a World Vision microloan, with her children and niece in Zambia. ©2011 Collins Kaumba/World vision

In the afternoon of our first day with World Vision in Sinazongwe, Zambia, Emily Syabubila, a widow and mother of three, gives us a tour of her compound. It consists of a one-room house with two beds for her and her daughters; another one-room home for her son; three raised chicken coops; an outdoor cook hut; and a raised drying rack for her corn. In my last post, I shared how microloans (similar to those described in my book “One Hen“) had enabled her to restore her family to economic and food security after malaria claimed the life of her husband. She now invites us to share in rituals of harvest and shuck dried maize with her. Hard. Then she...

All in a day’s work for caregiver volunteers

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Miyon Kautz, World Vision Zambia in Causes, Christian Witness

In Uganda, Milly uses a caregiver kit to treat an HIV-positive family. ©2010 Simon Peter Esaku/World Vision

Editor’s note: This month is the five-year anniversary of the World Vision U.S. Caregiver Kits program — an initiative that equips volunteers with kits containing simple items that assist in caring for those affected by HIV and AIDS. To honor the outstanding difference this program has made in the lives of caregivers and their clients, we asked Miyon to describe how World Vision volunteer caregivers are an asset to their communities. The thing I love most about Zambia is the people. Sure, the landscape is beautiful — big open land dotted with crops and thatched roof huts, blue skies with fluffy clouds. The wildlife is fantastic — lions, giraffes, leopards, hippos. But it’s the spirit of the people who call...

Fast facts: Malaria [infographic]

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Lindsey Talerico-Hedren in Causes

In honor of World Malaria Day, observed every year on April 25 as a day of awareness and recognition for global efforts to end malaria, we challenge you to educate yourself on the facts, raise awareness, and take action against this deadly but preventable disease. Malaria is a disease of massive proportions that disproportionately impacts children. Each year, approximately 780,000 people die from malaria, 85 percent of whom are children under 5. World Vision works in 62 countries affected by malaria, 23 of which are in Africa. Impact on children and families Malaria is the 4th leading cause of death for children globally. According to latest figures, globally 8% of under-five child deaths are attributable to malaria and in Africa...

My liver’s new home

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Lindsey Talerico-Hedren in Child Sponsorship, Stories

Amanda with her stepson Cayden on her 42nd birthday, 19 days after the transplant. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Luce)

Editor’s note: I have the privilege of communicating with World Vision supporters every day, and I am constantly amazed and humbled by their larger-than-life hearts, generosity, and desire to truly make a difference in our world. Many of them are parents, athletes, or students — donors and beneficiaries of charitable work in this country and others. About a year ago, I stumbled upon a blog post from Amanda, a World Vision sponsor, Caregiver Kit assembler, and living organ donor to her stepson. She has rewritten her post here. As her story has encouraged and reminded me of the power of great faith, I hope it does the same for you. I am a wife, stepmom, second-grade teacher, and woman of...