The impact of Ebola on change and protection
Saturday 02, Jul, 2016As an advocate for change in her country, 17-year-old Alice felt the impact of the Ebola crisis twice; not only did it affect her family and peers on a personal level, it also slowed the rate of change and support she could give to vulnerable girls in her community. She describes how upsetting it was to see girls as young as 14 falling pregnant, and how we can still work together to support those in need…
The rise & fall of Ebola | Reflections on our World Vision garden
Monday 04, Jul, 2016Award-winning garden designer John Warland created the World Vision garden that recently won a silver-gilt award at this years’ Chelsea Flower Show. A long-term child sponsor of Ronald in Bolivia, this year John wanted to create a garden that reflected the positive impact of World Vision's work. Ahead of Hampton Court RHS Show this summer, he explains the concepts that bring the garden together…
Five Voices | Perspectives from South Sudan
Sunday 10, Jul, 2016Yesterday, on July 9, Juba’s hot and dusty roads were filled with people from across the country commemorating five years since South Sudan declared its independence. We took some time beforehand to speak to children and parents about how the last few years have shaped the country and the lives of its people...
"Now, they need shoes, we buy shoes" | Visiting a savings group in Sierra Leone
Saturday 02, Jul, 2016Last week I travelled with blogger Annie to Sierra Leone to visit one of our child sponsorship projects there and hear from the community about the effects Ebola has had on their lives. One of the most inspiring stories to come from the epidemic was that of a local women’s savings group who had banded together to make sure their families did not go hungry during the crisis...
"Things were very different before" | Visiting a savings group in Sierra Leone
Saturday 02, Jul, 2016After three days following the local women’s savings group in Jaiama Bongor, Sierra Leone, Kate Shaw was eager to speak to a family to find out the difference their mother’s new investments had made for them. After a morning at the farm and processing cassava last week, she drove down a few streets to speak to one mother and daughter, Mariama and 12-year-old Mabel...
"Regina has been alone since the death of her parents" | Coping with stigma in Sierra Leone
Wednesday 06, Jul, 201611-year-old Regina sits in front of her small mud house, wearing a colourful yellow dress that stands out against the grey backdrop. She leans against the wall next to her grandmother, who is balancing a little boy on her lap, but who can barely walk anymore. It has been just over a year since her parents died and Regina remembers that time as if it were yesterday…
"My children used to have to work" | Saving in the time of Ebola
Friday 08, Jul, 201610-year-old Fatmata was terrified when Ebola came to her village. Not only did it personally affect her, but the impact of closed schools and lost livelihoods were felt all across Sierra Leone. However, thanks to a mixture of radio lessons and savings groups, education was made to be accessible and affordable, in spite of the situation…
"In South Sudan, we help keep children alive" | Life in a camp in South Sudan
Saturday 09, Jul, 2016South Sudan marks its 5th anniversary of independence today, on 9 July. However, the young nation faces many challenges and fresh fighting erupted in and around the capital in the past days. Children continue to suffer the most, as many have lost family members over the years and have fled their homes.
"Before the programme, we were ashamed" | Building girl's confidence in Ethiopia
Wednesday 13, Jul, 2016People may think of Ethiopia as one of the poorest countries in the world. A country that has, in a generation, experienced widespread famine, conflict, drought and disease. While these are still very real issues in Ethiopia, this may not be the Ethiopia that one would see today - and it’s certainly not the Ethiopia that Catherine Greenhalgh saw when she travelled there in May of this year…
Seeing empowerment and change in Patna, India
Monday 18, Jul, 2016World Vision's Celia Donald recently travelled to the Patna, in India - a slum community that has benefitted from our support for the last two and a half years. She met children who felt empowered, whole communities who felt confident in standing up and making themselves heard, and a resilience programme that was helping people make healthy livings and prepare for disasters...
Farming families struggle to survive in drought-stricken Ethiopia
Friday 15, Jul, 2016Belaynesh helps her family whenever she can, often in the burning heat of the afternoon. With neither a good roof nor mosquito nets, malaria is the second biggest threat the family is facing after the failed harvest. While Ethiopia sits in the grip of El Nino, the 13-year-old is a sponsored child, and over the years, the support of her sponsor has helped make up for the rain in other ways...
Working with DFID to stop child marriage in Nepal
Thursday 21, Jul, 2016At the Girl Summit in 2014, leaders and organisations from around the world came together and pledged to end child marriage. Today in South-eastern Nepal, World Vision and the UK government are working together to make this goal come true.
A burden no more | Preventing child marriage in Bangladesh
Saturday 23, Jul, 2016After overcoming epilepsy and avoiding an arranged marriage when she was just 14, Sonia is determined to work for World Vision one day. Now 22, Sonia credits the NGO with supporting her and her family while she was young. This is her story...
Bikes, chickens, and menstrual pads | Educating girls in Zimbabwe
Sunday 24, Jul, 2016Bikes, chickens, and menstrual pads - just a few of the things improving life in Sanzukwi ADP in Zimbabwe. When sponsor Claire Bardsley visited, she saw signs of drought and hardship, but also signs of encouragement and hope...
Seeing the fruits of sponsorship in Uganda
Thursday 28, Jul, 2016Seeing gorillas, hippos and elephants in their natural habitat was special, but for Lady Louisa Gordon Lennox and her family, the high point of a recent safari in Uganda was meeting Teopista, the teenager they sponsor through World Vision UK.
How bicycles have rescued girls in Zimbabwe
Tuesday 26, Jul, 2016Our Saramine Mukute was excited to be visiting Zimbabwe. Not just because she grew up in such a beautiful country, but because of the challenge that lay ahead of her - she was going to see how World Vision is helping thousands of girls in rural Zimbabwe access education and it involved a bicycle ride…
Child labour and how child sponsorship is helping
Saturday 02, Jul, 2016Child labour is a fact of life for millions of children around the world. You can help us continue to tackle child labour by sponsoring a child today.