Tag Archives: HIV & AIDS

I’ve met the face of AIDS

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Ange St. Hilaire, World Vision Experience: AIDS Tour in Causes, Stories

My name is Ange, and this is my story. The first time I stepped into Africa was in 2004. It was in Kitale, Kenya, on a mission trip. I met a young boy named Andrew. He captured my heart and my soul, and I still think about him often. The first time I “Stepped into Africa” was in 2007. It was at my church in Southern California. I met a boy named Kombo. He captured my heart and my soul, and I think about him often. I know both of these kids’ stories. I’ve seen where they live. I’ve seen their families. I’ve learned their stories. And I feel a strong connection and compassion for both of them. But what’s...

Where kids’ books meet the real story: From malaria to microloans

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Katie Smith Milway, World Vision board member in Microfinance, Stories

Lodiaís smiles because she is healthier now that she no longer suffers from malaria because she sleeps under a mosquito net from World Vision. ©2009 Collins Kaumba/World Vision

I had the privilege last month of traveling with World Vision to the district of Sinazongwe, Zambia, where rolling hills covered in acacia, cacti, and fruit trees look remarkably like parts of Southern California. But tucked among them are mud brick huts with thatched roofs, small vegetable gardens by muddy pools, and high racks where cobs of maize dry beyond the reach of animals. We pass a small roadside market, where women sell tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and stalks of sugar cane beside a banana grove. The statistics of this region belie the bucolic scene. Malaria plagues a quarter of children under 5, often fatally, and affects 9 percent of the overall population, according to Rose Zambezi, World Vision’s technical adviser...

News that matters: HIV and AIDS, South Sudan, and maternal health

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Amy Parodi, WV News Bureau in Conversations

News that matters, World Vision blog, HIV and AIDS

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated our periodic series, “News that matters,” but I’m heading out on maternity leave here in a few weeks and wanted to post about news coverage on some of today’s most relevant humanitarian issues. In this post: HIV and AIDS, South Sudan, and child and maternal health. I hope the coverage below can offer some insight into these issues and provide some good food for thought. Back in October! Amy HIV and AIDS On June 5, 1981, doctors reported the first cases of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Over the past 30 years, HIV and AIDS have changed the way that many people — both in the...

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...

GIK and development programming

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Carol, WVUS GIK Operations in Conversations

In our ongoing series on Gifts-in-kind (GIK), today’s post covers how GIK resource fits into the broader work of community development programming. Specifically we’ll look at: * Uses of GIK, including as match for grants * Standards for managing GIK * Evaluations of projects with direct provision of goods Uses of GIK World Vision operates in nearly 100 countries with 1,600 development programs and 1,200 sector projects that integrate education, health, economic development, advocacy, microfinance, agriculture, and water and sanitation. Our programs go through intensive assessments and planning, beginning with a country macro-assessment and strategy and continuing with local area assessments, a comprehensive design document, baseline survey, and regular audits and evaluations. These...