Global leaders have committed to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030.  And for the first time in modern history, the world is coming to the collective realization that it is possible to completely end extreme poverty in our lifetimes.  World Vision is leading the charge on a variety of fronts, including equipping, educating and empowering smallholder farmers break the cycle of generational poverty that has held their families back.  Until now.

A humanitarian’s painstaking work to transform desert-like landscapes into thriving forests and farmland has been hailed a game-changer for combating famine and deforestation.

World Vision’s Tony Rinaudo has won the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, after more than 35 years working across Asia and Africa.

The Empowered Worldview is a biblically-based training and action learning curriculum created by World Vision and other partners.  Its central purpose is to build a deep acceptance and understanding that all humans have been endowed by their Creator with the ability and capacity to lead productive, creative lives – from earning and income and providing for their families, to family roles and relationships, and from caring for others in the community to caring for creation - and to combat a dependency mindset.  The Empowered Worldview uses both a teaching curriculum as well as short-term and long-term action learning through special projects and engaging in empowering activities such as Savings Groups.

World Vision is committed to helping our microfinance institution in Senegal flourish and thrive.  By this we mean that it can grow to the point that it is able to meet the critical needs for financial services in many of the areas of the country where World Vision works, and is able to pay its own costs from revenues it earns from lending.  Right now, VisionFund Senegal is not large enough and does not have enough capital to meet those goals.

World Vision continues to press forward with Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration[i], with a number of exciting developments taking place across the African continent.  This lays the natural resource management foundation for World Vision’s THRIVE program.  World Vision is pushing forward with strategic partnerships, global and regional platforms, developing an evidence base, and pushing ahead with large scale projects. 

Recent record-high temperatures across the USA have put the spotlight on how to cope with the heat. One of God’s best inventions for this is – a TREE!  Trees and agriculture can and do go together, and we bring them together in the THRIVE program through Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR).

In Niger, the encroaching Sahara Desert is a daily challenge for farmers – the wind, sand, dust, soil degradation, water scarcity, and recurring drought make it hard for farmers to provide well for their families.  Restoring and managing trees is proving to be not only a way of growing more crops, but there is a special tree that has the sweet taste of success.

Sandy and Bob Hoover are members of World Vision's National Leadership Council. This is their story.

“So what do you want to do now that Bob has retired?”

Bob and Sandy Hoover were meeting with their financial advisor, National Leadership Council member David Hillard, when he surprised Sandy with this question.

Without hesitating, Sandy answered, “I want to go to Africa.”

Estella and Augustine Nsabika’s story is one of family and faith, a strong demonstration of how World Vision is helping vulnerable households in Zambia climb the rungs of the economic ladder and increase their economic stability. This strong framework is the basis of THRIVE (Transforming Household Resilience in Vulnerable Environments) - growing families through education and faith.

Robin and Stu Phillips are members of World Vision's National Leadership Council. This is their story.

Although she was raised in a family that did not have an active faith, God was faithful to meet Robin Phillips. When she was eleven, Robin’s heart was gripped by two questions, “Who am I?” and “Why was I born?” The search led her directly to Jesus. Reading Jesus’ words, in a “red letter” edition of the Bible, convinced Robin that she was to help the poor and vulnerable.

On the International Day of Families, the United Nations highlights the importance of caregivers in the family — parents, grandparents, and siblings — and of educating and empowering them to protect and invest in their children.

World Vision is committed to preserving families worldwide — helping them not just to survive, but to thrive in some of the world’s most broken places.

About 10 percent of the world’s workers live below the extreme poverty line of $1.90 per day. In emerging and developing countries, 30 percent live under the moderate poverty line of $3.10 per day. For these families, shocks like ruined crops or armed conflict can have a severe impact on their ability to meet daily needs.

Two World Vision program models — THRIVE and Empowered Worldview — are proving invaluable in delivering lasting impact in helping families out of poverty. Paired together, they can create a stabilizing effect in communities that have historically struggled with food insecurity and a lack of economic opportunities.