Sylvester always wondered why his family did not have the basics necessities to raise him and his five siblings, ranging from ages 10 to 23 years. He used to ask a lot of questions of his mother after school, like why he didn’t have shoes, or books and pens for class. His classmates pestered him about his shabbiness and lack of school supplies.
Sylvester, 12, is the second to last child of Vincent and Ansilla. He is a sponsored child in the Mudasomwa Area Program located in southern Rwanda.
The school bell rings, children run outside to the playground. It’s recess time. All of the children are playing and having fun, except for Gabrie, an 8-year-old 3rd grade student who is heading to the principal’s office. “Hi Gabrie, how are you? Here is your lunch…later you can go out and play,” says Mrs. Marta Sauceda (pictured right with two of her students). She gives him a big hug. Mrs. Marta is the principal at the school. Every day she feeds Gabrie. He suffers from malnutrition and his mother cannot afford to give him a proper meal. “Gabrie is one of many students, whose situation at home is not good. That’s why, as a teacher, I try to support all of my students with whatever support I can give them,” she says.
My brother Sabbir and I were staying on the street of a transportation terminal and watching out for passengers carrying heavy bags, rushing to offer them porter service - carrying people’s packages and bags for money. We could hardly earn 80 taka ($1), working about 13 hours a day,” says Babu Matubbar, 12. Babu and Sabbir, 9, live with their single mother and 10-year-old sister Sumaiya in a desperate situation in Mongla, the largest seaport of southwest Bangladesh. Both the boys have been hurt doing their jobs.
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| 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.
Gender equality is essential to human development. Many women in Zambia have suffered unequal treatment simply because they are female. Josephine (28) of southern Zambia, is one of these women. Josephine is a high-spirited woman with a great passion for life. She is married to Masumo (32) and they have three adorable children: Eleanor (11), Tandiwe (4) and their youngest, Moses, who recently celebrated his first birthday.
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?”
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| 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.
