Category: World Vision

According to UNICEF, more than 250,000 children worldwide are involved in armed conflicts. Some of these children are as young as 7. Over 2 million children have been killed in the last ten years, and an estimated 6 million have been seriously injured or permanently disabled.

You can read the rest of the story here.

Ten things you need to know about human trafficking:

1. Girls are trafficked into many industries beside brothels

2. Trafficking is visible; trafficking is accepted

3. Dirty jobs fuel trafficking demand

4. People smuggling is not considered trafficking

5. Trafficking victims most often “rescue themselves”

6. Adoption is still a trafficking risk

7. As many as one in five trafficking survivors fall prey a second time

8. Boys and men are trafficked too

9. Disability is attractive to traffickers

10. There is no one profile of a trafficker

For a far more detailed explanation, go here.

Jan and I are going to be at the Charlotte site for the Willow Creek Leadership Summit simulcast tomorrow and Friday. We will be at the World Vision table. If you’re there, stop in and say hello.

In the country of Niger, students normally register for school by the age of seven. If they are not registered by then, they may not be able to get into school. The older they get, the less chance they have of going to school.

World Vision is changing that in one village. You can read more here.

In the Darfur region of Sudan, fighting has forced millions into temporary camps, threatening food security. World Vision is providing emergency assistance and agricultural training, helping women rebuild their lives.

Read more here.

As you may know, the G8 Summit is going on in Italy. At the meeting in 2005 the leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations made a commitment to fight extreme global poverty and disease. World Vision and the One campaign are asking these nations to keep the promises that were made in 2005.

You can read all about the policy positions and how you can get involved here.

I had some problems with my computer last night, so here is Wednesday’s post on Thursday.

When most people think of World Vision, they think of children in Asia, Africa, or South America. Did you know that the organization also ministers to those in need in the United States? According to Census Bureau estimates, 10 percent of the U.S. population lives below the poverty line. World Vision works in 11 major urban and rural areas to help some of the least of these in our own country. World Vision works with local churches, businesses, and individuals to bring relief to their areas. They do this through 3 programs.

In urban areas, The Storehouse provides school supplies, clothes, toys, household goods, and even building supplies. Emergency response and disaster relief helps those affected by disasters in the U.S. The education and youth development program ministers to high-risk youth by providing mentoring, tutoring, and life skills training.

In rural areas, interested individuals can help by participating in Appalachia service trips, or mission trips to areas in Mississippi or Georgia.

To see how World Vision helps transform an urban area go here.

I’m going to try something a little different here. On Wednesday, I’m going to share something from or about the work of World Vision. Jan and I have been sponsoring children through World Vision for a number of years and have volunteered at concerts sponsored by the organization. We appreciate the ministry of World Vision as it helps provide for the least of these.

This week, I have an excerpt from an article titled, “Rwandan Genocide 15 Years Later: Alice Forgives:

“They were armed with guns, machetes, swords, and clubs. They saw me and approached. One of them took my baby out of my hands and [killed her],” says Alice. Then, a man named Emmanuel cut off Alice’s hand and slashed her face. “Others hit me with nail-studded clubs, and I lost consciousness.”

Fifteen years after the genocide, Alice’s memories are still fresh; she has a scar on her jaw and is missing a hand. However, there is something extraordinary about this soft-spoken woman: With the help of World Vision reconciliation workshops, she found the strength to forgive Emmanuel and the men who killed her baby. In fact, Alice lost 100 members of her extended family, and yet she forgave.

Read the whole story here.