Irene washing her son's face

We are greeted by two young mothers, as we inspect a borehole site and it’s imposing solar panel roof. Its size makes it a unique site in the hilly landscape. From here one can see the seasonal Wethanga River just about a quarter mile below. We can even see the homes across the river that have no access to clean and safe water. But the World Vision Area Development Program is planning a pipeline across the seasonal river to serve the other villages. The young mothers, Irene (30) and Janet (31), look relaxed. They are going to pick some pumpkins from Janet’s field. They are relaxed because they are no longer tired from the toils of fetching water from the Wethanga River and hauling it up the hill to their homes, about 3km away.  

Meet Bilkis, a 38-year-old mom in Bangladesh and her teenage daughter Sadia. Those smiles were rare three years ago when they were both working in a shrimp factory just trying to survive. Before World Vision started working in their community, they had no hope.  But today, they can see a brighter future. 

Carl and Carol are members of World Vision's National Leadership Council. This is their story.

In the first forty years of their marriage—that’s now lasted over half-a-century—Carl and Carol Wall channeled their charitable Christian giving through their church, the Christian college they’d both attended, and one of their church denomination’s seminaries. All worthy choices! But when Carol began serving on the local YWCA board, near their home in in Fargo, North Dakota, the couple was moved in a new direction as the needs of women and children needing shelter from domestic abuse began to tug at Carol’s heart.

Ed and Sherri are members of World Vision's National Leadership Council. This is their story.

Between them, Ed and Sherri Torres have experience serving on dozens of boards, both businesses and nonprofits. So, the couple understands, intimately, the operational side of organizations like World Vision.

But about two years ago, the Torres family purposed to deepen their impact even further. As part of that process, they sought wisdom from the Holy Spirit for the answer to one question, “What is it that You are asking us to do with the limited amount of money that we have to put to work for Your kingdom?”

Salamatou Ilia, 65, stands next to one of 120 trees she cultivates. She plants millet, sorghum, and cowpeas between the trees. Her harvest is much bigger since she started growing trees rather than cutting them down. (©2017 World Vision/photo by Joelma Perera)

Earth Day, April 22, reminds us to treasure God’s creation and to steward our natural resources wisely. Re-growing trees from their roots in deforested and degraded landscapes is one of the best ways to care for our Earth, says World Vision’s Tony Rinaudo, an agronomist and natural resources expert.

In the 1980s, Tony pioneered a reforestation method in Niger that World Vision is using to help farmers become more resilient and food secure.

Following Tony’s farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) system, smallholder farmers learn to regrow trees from living stumps, by selecting, pruning, and managing the growing stems.

In World Vision programs, FMNR initiatives are changing farmers’ lives for better in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Niger, and Ethiopia — 24 countries in all. In Niger alone, more than 200 million trees have been cultivated through FMNR.

CHWs, ttC, 7-11, PDH. These aren’t just your ordinary acronyms. They stand for the very simple, very powerful approaches World Vision is using to strengthen health care systems and save the lives of moms and their babies. In honor of World Health Day, we invite you to learn what they are and how have they delivered double-digit improvements in just two years.