Tag Archives: News

Tipping points: First famine of the 21st century in Somalia, East Africa

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Guest blogger in Disaster Relief

Editor’s note: Following yesterday’s UN declaration of famine in two regions of southern Somalia, Tristan Clements, country program manager with World Vision’s humanitarian emergency affairs team in Australia, comments on the complexities of drought and hunger, and their impact on vulnerable communities in East Africa. We hear the word “famine” a lot, particularly in reference to Africa and food-related problems. In fact, the word is often overused. Famine is a very specific event — a really, really terrible one — in which we see lots of people of all ages dying as a result of food shortages. For the United Nations, the word has a technical definition of two or more people out of 10,000 dying each day, and acute...

‘We may be poor, but we’re not stupid’ — the reality of life in Africa

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Bwalya Melu, World Vision U.S. in Conversations

The reality of life in Africa | World VIsion Blog

Stories are powerful. They can bring hope, or despair. Laughter, or sorrow. And, as we who work for World Vision and other humanitarian agencies know very, very well, stories can educate and enlighten people. They can help achieve a lot of good. One woman whose story last week received a lot of accolades and criticism is Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo. Her book, “Hitting Budapest,” has won what many consider to be Africa’s top award for literature, the Caine Prize. “The language of ‘Hitting Budapest’ crackles,” the prize’s leading judge commented to CNN. “Here we encounter…a gang reminiscent of ‘Clockwork Orange.’ But these are children, poor and violated and hungry. This is a story with moral power and weight [that] has...

Four days old: Many hopes, many challenges in new South Sudan

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Joyce Mulama, World Vision South Sudan in Stories

4 days old: South Sudan | World Vision Blog

Chants of “Republic of South Sudan Oyee” will forever be etched in the minds of many South Sudanese as they reminisce over their independence — today, only four days old. An overflowing crowd of people, both young and old, showed up at the John Garang Memorial to mark the historic event on July 9. Tens of thousands of South Sudanese endured the blistering sun, all along energized, as they erupted into song and dance when the country became the world’s 193rd country and Africa’s 54th. I saw men and women faint as the declaration was made. Others openly broke into tears as the new flag was hoisted....

Rich Stearns on Independence, God, and South Sudan

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Lindsey Talerico-Hedren in Conversations

Pre-independence celebrations in Juba. ©2011 Abraham Nhial/World Vision

God wasn’t the first thing on my mind on Monday, the Fourth of July. Truthfully, the only credit I can give myself is that I was thanking God for the three-day weekend. It’s not far-fetched to say that most Americans likely think of Independence Day as more of an outdoor show than an obvious reason to thank and honor God. That’s why articles like Rich Stearns’ in the Huffington Post are kind of a divine challenge for me — a reminder that peace and freedom are reasons to thank God, and that with Independence there is struggle, but also hope. May South Sudan’s first Independence Day be that of the latter. And may Rich’s article challenge you as it has...

South Sudan: Countdown to independence [video]

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Laura Blank in Conversations

South Sudan: Countdown to Independence | World Vision Blog

You can almost feel the excitement in Juba from half a world way here in our office in the United States. As I talk to our staff from South Sudan’s capital city nearly every day, I hear it in their voice and the stories they tell me. The city is on edge, eager for tomorrow’s independence ceremony, colorful banners hang in the streets and people wear t-shirts emblazoned with the new country’s flag. As the world watches and waits, I’ll be watching and waiting too, praying for a safe transition and peace for the children of South Sudan. South Sudan will become the world’s newest country tomorrow, July 9. As the South Sudanese prepare for their grand celebration, children are...