Former World Vision sponsored child named CNN Hero of the Year

November 23, 2009

Efren Penaflorida, a schoolteacher from Cavite, Philippines, has won this year's CNN Hero of the Year Award.

Penaflorida received the honor for his inspiring commitment to help educate street children with his Kariton Klasrum (Classroom Cart) through the Dynamic Teen Company, a group he founded in the 1990s.

Out of more than 9,000 nominees from across the world, Penaflorida garnered the most votes and emerged as CNN's Hero of the Year in a special ceremony held Nov. 21 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

'Proof that children can change the world'

World Vision has close ties with Penaflorida, who was once a sponsored child. Our program currently sends some 122,000 underprivileged children to school in the Philippines and aims to help mold more heroes like Efren in the future.

"Efren is a living testimony that investing in a child's life can have really big returns," said Elnora Avarientos, executive director of World Vision in the Philippines. "May this serve as an encouragement for all of us, especially those who are working with children. He is proof that children can, indeed, change the world."

'The heart of our ministry'

As Penaflorida put it in his acceptance speech, "The hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself, and be happy to serve...you are the change that you dream."

"For us in World Vision, we are truly honored that Efren embodies the heart of our ministry. Each child transformed through the sacrificial giving of others can become a hero and start a movement of change this world desperately needs," Avarientos added.

Learn more

Watch the acceptance speech of Efren Penaflorida, former World Vision sponsored child, after being named the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year.

On Thanksgiving night, watch "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," in which the Top 10 Heroes and 2009 CNN Hero of the Year are presented.

Help now

Sponsor a child. Your love and support for a child in need today can be the building blocks for a hero tomorrow, like Efren Penaflorida.

Laptops, cell phones fueling rape and war in the Congo?

November 19, 2009

World Vision recently endorsed the Conflict Minerals Trade Act, a House bill introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington state, to stop the trade in conflict minerals such as coltan, tin ore, gold, and wolframite -- which are fueling a humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The bill, if passed, would be a critical first step in helping U.S. consumers feel confident that their high-tech purchases are not funding violence against women and children in the eastern DRC, where some 1.5 million people are currently displaced by a decade-old conflict being financed by the mining and sale of these minerals.

'Knowledge and power to make a difference'

"This bill would begin addressing the trade in conflict minerals, which has been funding a war marked by widespread rape, child soldiering, and one of the world's worst humanitarian crises," said Rory Anderson, World Vision's deputy director for advocacy and government relations.

"Americans deserve to know whether the electronics they buy are fueling bloodshed in Africa. This legislation would help give consumers that knowledge -- and the power to make a difference every time they go to the electronics store."

Certified 'conflict-free' products

World Vision also emphasized that the proposed legislation would benefit the electronics and software industries by providing a certified mechanism to label their products as "conflict-free." To qualify for the label, companies would be required to purchase their coltan from audited, conflict-free processing facilities.

"We saw from the success of our 'conflict diamond' campaign a few years ago that American companies want to do the right thing," Anderson added. "They also understand that their customers demand products that can be certified as conflict-free. But without a uniform process, such as the one proposed in this legislation, it's very difficult for companies to tackle the supply chain challenge on their own."

World Vision's response in eastern DRC has reached some 150,000 people since October 2008 with medical supplies, emergency food and non-food items, and training and activities to promote the protection of women and children, including Child-Friendly Spaces within displacement camps.

Help now

Please keep in prayer the children and families displaced or otherwise affected by ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Pray that decision-makers here in the United States would recognize the Conflict Minerals Trade Act as a positive step toward curbing the sale of high-tech products that fund violence against women and children in the DRC.

Donate now to World Vision's Congo Refugee Assistance Fund. Your gift will help us continue to provide life-saving support -- such as emergency food, shelter, cooking materials, mosquito nets, and more -- to those left displaced and vulnerable by conflict in the DRC.

World Vision responds to floods and landslides in El Salvador

November 9, 2009

World Vision is responding to the needs of thousands of children and families impacted by flooding and landslides in El Salvador over the weekend. The death toll has reached 124, including 18 children, and continues to rise as hundreds more are still missing. The floods were caused by disastrous rains from weather patterns partially influenced by Hurricane Ida.

The worst-hit areas are the capital city, San Salvador, and central San Vicente province, where more than 7,000 are now homeless. El Salvador is now on high alert for the provinces of San Salvador, La Libertad, San Vicente, La Paz, and Cuscatlan. There has been intense flooding and swells in the country's main rivers.

'Caught off-guard'

"People were caught off-guard because the districts hardest hit by the floods and landslides are not normally prone to these types of disasters," said Laura Mata, communications manager for World Vision in El Salvador. "Mothers are missing their children, and families have lost their homes. All the crops have been washed away, so there is nothing to support them even after the water subsides. They really need help from the government, other countries, and aid organizations like us."

Mata was part of an assessment team that went to San Vicente province, where most community members have been evacuated to shelters such as the city hall and school gymnasiums.

"Everyone is solemn and sad, shocked by what has happened. But it's not chaotic. People are comforting each other and doing what they can to help the community," she said.

Emergency assistance

World Vision's emergency response team is currently in San Vicente and reports empty streets, electricity failures, lack of safe drinking water, and the total loss of landline communications. In some areas of San Vicente, villages have completely disappeared. The Acahuapa River floods have destroyed two bridges and 30 houses in the community of La Caridad (also known as El Zapote).

World Vision is preparing to distribute emergency supplies to families in San Vicente, including blankets, mattresses, water purification tablets, and water collection bags.

Our response will also expand to include the distribution of kitchen supplies and emergency family and child hygiene kits consisting of towels, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sanitary items, toilet paper, deodorant, razors, lotion, baby powder, cloth diapers, baby pins, and baby bottles.

Help now

Please pray for children, families, and communities left devastated by the recent flooding and landslides in El Salvador. Many are displaced, others are missing loved ones, and thousands are in desperate need of emergency assistance. Pray that the efforts of aid agencies like World Vision will help bring relief to those in the most dire circumstances.

Donate now to World Vision's Disaster Response Fund. Your gift today will help our staff members around the world respond quickly and effectively to sudden-onset emergencies like the recent flooding and landslides in El Salvador.

Sponsor a child in El Salvador. By sharing your love and support with a boy or girl in need, you'll help provide critical basics like food, clean water, health care, and education, as well as resources to help him or her be better-equipped to cope with disasters.

World Vision's partnership with Major League Baseball makes winners of children in need

November 5, 2009

This year, the Yankees emerged victorious in the World Series games against the Phillies, but Major League Baseball (MLB) and World Vision are helping to ensure that everyone wins by continuing their partnership to provide unsalable, postseason MLB-licensed apparel to children and families in need around the world. MLB will donate the pre-printed Phillies apparel that is unusable because it lists the wrong winning team.

The unusable merchandise will be added to the 1,300 pieces of Angels and Dodgers apparel donated to World Vision after the American League and National League Championship Series. World Vision will ship and distribute the goods to people living in poverty in the developing world, many of whom have never owned a new article of clothing in their lives.

'A tremendous opportunity'

As is the case each year, teams eliminated during the 2009 postseason generate an excess inventory that is available but not salable. MLB has continued its work with many of its licensees to ship the losing teams' apparel to World Vision's Gifts-in-Kind distribution center in Pittsburgh. The goods are being sorted and packaged for shipment to developing countries, where World Vision has experienced staff members and established product distribution networks.

"Baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities, and this is a tremendous opportunity for Major League Baseball to make an impact on the lives of those in need around the world," said MLB Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. "We are pleased to work with World Vision, which brings 60 years of experience successfully assisting millions of people around the world."

Excess apparel to go to quake-shattered Indonesia

Unsalable World Series 2009 goods this year will go to Indonesia, which was devastated by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in September. The World Series apparel will be added immediately to a large shipment of World Vision supplies scheduled to ship this week to help with the long-term relief response. Future MLB postseason apparel donations will go to additional countries. World Vision will carefully monitor and track the unsalable postseason merchandise as it makes its way to the intended beneficiaries.

"The children and families we serve will take great joy in these goods," said Rich Stearns, president of World Vision U.S. "World Vision thanks Major League Baseball and its partners for recognizing that even though these items are unsalable, they are valued and appreciated by many people in need around the world."

Help now

Donate now to help World Vision deliver donated clothing to children in need around the world. Your gift will multiply 14 times in impact to deliver shoes, pants, shirts, jackets, and more to countries where the need is great.

"Thank you" from children around the globe

Story contributions made by Collins Kaumba, Vanhlee Lattana, Evelyn Lopez, Le Thiem Xuan, Gidalia Santana, and Somluck Khamaen.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am so grateful for every single person who sponsors a child or supports World Vision programs in any way. From the stories I've heard and the donors I've talked with, I know that many of you give sacrificially every month, especially in the middle of this recession.

So this is a thank-you note from children around the globe who are so blessed by your support, your prayers, and your letters. Your gifts really do mean the world to children, and their entire communities. --Rachael Boyer, World Vision U.S.

'I thank...my sponsor for giving me a chance to learn'

Pathias, 12, is a sponsored boy from Zambia who is HIV positive. However, Pathias is not letting his HIV status limit his dream to become a doctor in the future: "I want to be a kind of doctor that will be able to pay attention to patients."

Pathias is a jovial child who is full of hope and grateful for his sponsor. "Without my sponsor buying this bicycle for me, I would have stopped school, because I used to feel very tired and weak to walk to school. Hence, I used to miss school," he says. "I thank Dan, my sponsor, for giving me a chance to learn. I was not going to be here [in class] without his support."

'I would like them to come and visit'

Xoasong is a 10-year-old boy in Laos, a small country in Southeast Asia, who has a sponsor in Australia. "My parents are farmers and we plant banana, papaya, rice, and potatoes. We also raise pigs, cows, and buffaloes.

"I am happy to be a sponsored child so that we can receive support from people who care about us. I thank you, my sponsors, for their kindness and I would like them to come and visit and see the place that I live and the mountain and beautiful nature."

A sign of gratitude

Felipe, 12, is a sponsored boy in Guatemala. In this photo, he holds a big "thank you" sign with other sponsored children from his village.

Felipe lives in a rural community outside of Guatemala City. He and his family have a deep friendship with their sponsor, who lives in Canada. Felipe considers his sponsor to be part of his family.

'Big love'

Tuan is a sponsored child from Vietnam. His father abandoned him and his mother when he was quite young. However, "Having a sponsor, I feel my very small family becoming full numbers, although we have only met through letters sometimes," Tuan says.

"I would like to say my big 'thank you' to my sponsor and her family for their kind heart, their big love given to me and my mother so far," says Tuan, as he puts his hands together in a heart shape against his chest to express his gratitude.

Sponsorship's ripple effect

Although Gilberto, 12, is not sponsored, he has been so positively impacted by World Vision's work in his community in Brazil that he wanted to thank the sponsors and donors who help make it possible.

Gilberto is a great example of the ripple effect that sponsorship can have in a community, improving the lives of everyone in the area, not just the children who are sponsored.

Dreams of becoming a teacher

Suwattana, a sponsored girl in Thailand, is so happy that she is able to go to school, thanks to her World Vision sponsor. "I'm glad and feel grateful for my sponsor," says Suwattana. "Because of the support, I'm not afraid to ask my parents about studying anymore. Thank you for giving me the hope to become a teacher when I graduate. I'll study hard and try my best."

She loves the Thai language and would love to teach someday, so she can help children in her village speak and write their language correctly.

Ways to continue making a difference

Please pray for children who live in poverty, that they will have the opportunities and help they need to learn and grow into healthy, self-sufficient adults who will, in turn, help others.

Share sponsorship with your friends and family. We'll send you a few picture folders of children who need sponsors so you can connect them with the people in your life who would love to impact the life of a child in need.

Sponsor an additional child, or become a sponsor for the first time. Your monthly support helps provide basics like healthcare, nutrition, education, clothing, and more for a child in need.

Girl orphaned by AIDS aspires to become a teacher

October 2009

By Vichheka Sok, World Vision Cambodia, and Jane Larson, World Vision U.S. Photos by Vichheka Sok.

Buoy Ly, 12, is a spunky girl with an infectious grin. Looking at her, one would never dream that she has AIDS.

When Buoy Ly was just 4 years old, her mother died of AIDS. "I cannot remember my mother's face because I was [too young] when she died," says the girl.

A few years later, Buoy Ly's father died. "He was tall with a fair complexion. I miss him," she recalls.

After the deaths of her parents, Buoy Ly had no one left but her brother, Huot Ly, who was 8 years old at the time. Unable to care for themselves, the children both had to live with their aunt, who treated them cruelly because she feared AIDS. She used violence to force the children to work. "Often, we were both pinched and scolded when we failed to do something," Buoy Ly explains.

"My aunt's family business was making ice blocks," she continues. "They also raised poultry and animals such as chickens, cows, and pigs. My brother and I took care of the animals. With so much work to do, we had no time to read books, and sometimes we did not go to school."

Isolated by fear

To the people in the rural village where Buoy Ly lives, the AIDS pandemic was shrouded in ambiguity and fear. In Cambodia, an estimated 100 people are infected with HIV every day. Often, those who have the disease are ostracized by their communities, and fear leads people to behave cruelly toward those who were once their family members and friends. This cycle of abandonment continues on to the children orphaned by the disease.

With little understanding of AIDS, Buoy Ly's aunt kept the children isolated from her own family. "My brother and I were not allowed to eat with the family or watch television with them," says Buoy Ly. "We were given separate plates and different food. We were never allowed to join the family because they were scared of getting the disease."

The entire time that they lived with their aunt, the children were forced to sleep outside near a dirty chicken cage. The unsanitary conditions had a negative effect on Buoy Ly.

Huot Ly says his sister's health was very bad during that time. "Buoy Ly was very skinny with scab[s] covering her whole body and head," he recalls. "[The family] just wanted to make life difficult for us so we would leave their house."

At last, the opportunity did arrive for the children to leave, and they moved in with a different aunt.

Finding hope

When Huot Ly and Buoy Ly moved into the home of their aunt, Neung Hor, things began to change for the better. Neung Hor lives in a district in Cambodia where World Vision has been working in the community to educate people about AIDS and assist those affected by the disease. Instead of pushing the children away, Neung Hor gladly welcomed them into her home as if they were her own children.

Right away, the World Vision staff in the area found Buoy Ly and recognized that health care was urgently needed. For the first time in her life, Buoy Ly received treatment for HIV and learned how to care for her health and hygiene. Buoy Ly and her brother were also regularly given food from the World Vision HIV and AIDS project for orphans and vulnerable children in the area.

Buoy Ly became much healthier after a few short weeks of treatment. Soon, World Vision provided the siblings with a bicycle to ride to school. The children began to look forward to each new day instead of dreading harsh treatment and isolation.

Dreams for the future

"I am improving now," says Buoy Ly. "I keep myself clean, and my aunt helps me remember to take my pills."

After attending school during the day, Buoy Ly and her brother return home to assist their aunt by selling cakes in the village to help earn extra income. Unlike their previous situation, this is work that the children enjoy, and Huot Ly says that he is pleased that he and his sister can go to school and help earn money for their aunt.

"Buoy Ly earns about $1.25 for a half day," says Huot Ly, "and I earn $2.50. Sometimes our aunt does not let us work at all if she sees we are tired from school."

In the evening when the children return home, their aunt helps them with their schoolwork. "My dream is to become a good teacher," says Buoy Ly. "I want to be someone who works in a high position."

The third grader's dream will take lots of hard work to achieve, but this spunky young girl is no stranger to challenges. "To become a teacher in the future, I must study well," she says.

Buoy Ly also knows that she will have to continue overcoming the barrier of AIDS. However, because of World Vision's work in her village, she knows things have already changed for the better. With a confident smile, this once-frail and sad orphaned child now says, "I am very happy."

Learn more

Read more about the global AIDS crisis and World Vision's response to this humanitarian emergency.

Three ways you can help

Pray for children and families affected by AIDS in Cambodia like Buoy Ly and her brother. Pray that the stigma attached to the disease would continue to be torn away and that those who have AIDS would receive the treatment that they need.

Sponsor a HopeChild. Your love and support for a child affected by the AIDS crisis will provide him or her with physical, emotional, and spiritual nurture, as well the health care that is needed to dream of a brighter future.

Donate now to help provide care for children and families affected by HIV and AIDS. Your gift can help provide basic necessities like food, clean water, and health care. Additionally, you'll support our programs in HIV prevention education, HIV testing and counseling, and outreach programs like those that have helped Buoy Ly.

Teen midwives in Afghanistan help save lives

By Mary Kate MacIsaac, World Vision Afghanistan, and Rachael Boyer, World Vision U.S.

October 2009

Dressed in scrubs, pink vinyl aprons, caps, and the occasional surgical mask, midwives-in-training hustle between beds in the delivery room at the Herat maternity hospital in western Afghanistan.

In other countries, teens like these are attending high school, watching movies, or going on dates. But in Afghanistan, these young women are learning to save lives.

Almost half of all deaths of women age 15-49 in Afghanistan result from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these deaths could be prevented with increased access to maternal health services. Competent midwives based in rural communities are beginning to make that difference.

A midwife named Suraya

It is May 2009. A young woman cries, "God, God, God..." from behind a portable turquoise curtain. Leaning over her, an Afghan teen dressed in hospital scrubs speaks calmly, encouraging her to take quick, short breaths. The laboring woman's toes grip the mattress edge, and her hand presses against the green tiled wall next to the bed. "Don't push. Not yet," says the midwife, "Wait, wait..."

The midwife is Suraya,* an 18-year-old midwife-in-training from a remote village in the mountainous province of Ghor. Married at just 14, and widowed at 16, Suraya is more grown up than one might expect. She was 15 when she gave birth to her son, Razeq, who is now 3. Her mother cares for the boy at home while Suraya completes her practical training in Herat.

When her parents heard about the program, they encouraged Suraya to become a midwife. "They said, 'This is good. You can help our community by assisting the women here. You can help save the lives of mothers and babies,'" recalls Suraya.

Eighteen months ago, Suraya had just completed the ninth grade. Then she heard about and applied to the midwifery training program, supported by World Vision. The program is about 125 miles from her home -- an unheard-of distance for an Afghan woman to travel through rocky terrain and bad roads for an education.

Midwives-in-training, like Suraya, deliver most of the infants at the Herat maternity hospital. They work alongside trained medical staff, gaining invaluable experience assisting mothers in labor by preparing hydration drips, and monitoring infant heartbeats and maternal blood pressures. They also carefully examine each woman for signs of complications such as obstructed births, and other potential causes of maternal death in Afghanistan.

Some staggering figures

The United Nations estimates that Ghor has the highest rate of maternal deaths in all of Afghanistan, which holds the second-highest rate in the world, after Niger. According to the UN, one in eight Afghan women die in childbirth.

In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) found that there were only 467 trained midwives in the country. By 2008, that number had increased to more than 2,100. However, Peter Graaff, a WHO representative for Afghanistan, says that the country needs far more -- at least 4,500 midwives.

In 2008, World Vision started a program in coordination with an Afghan humanitarian organization. The 18-month program, which aims to improve maternal health, recruits young women from rural communities across the province. Each student makes a commitment to return to her community after she completes the training, to increase women's access to care in remote areas.

On a mission to save their friends

The training program was a dream come true for Suraya. "When I was a small child, I hoped to be a doctor or a midwife in my community. When I heard about this program, I had to apply," she says.

Suraya, like many of the student midwives, joined the program motivated by personal experiences from their own communities.

"Back home, in our village, my friend was in labor for more than four days...she lost so much blood, but they would not take her to the hospital. The baby finally came out dead and my friend, the mother, was in a terrible situation. It was her first child, an awful experience, but she survived, barely. They didn't consult anyone."

Every student has a story like this. Every student's family has been affected or knows a family that has endured such a loss. Among these young midwives, there is a sense of urgency that something must be done to reverse the trends in maternal and infant health. These students see themselves as part of a new future for their country and their people.

'Now I feel fully competent'

"The first time I delivered an infant, I was so afraid," admits Suraya. "I was looking at the mother, feeling so sad for her and wondering, 'Is it really possible that I can do this?' I could only think how God must help me.'" But she did it, and then she did it again and again, 43 more times in her final months of training.

"Now, I feel fully competent," she says with a confident smile.

In one month, Suraya and her classmates will graduate and return to their villages. Suraya has not been home since she began the program in January 2008. She has missed her family, and especially her son.

"But I'll miss all the friends I've made in this program, too," says Suraya. "Already, every day we are missing each other," she laughs, but then grows more thoughtful and serious: "But I must do this. I must return home. It has been my dream to finish this program and become a good midwife. This is my life's purpose now."

*Name has been changed.

Help now

Donate now to help promote maternal health in Afghanistan. Your gift will help World Vision provide training for midwives like Suraya, as well as prenatal and ongoing health care for Afghan mothers and children.

Helping Zambian children through toys

November 2009

By Rachael Boyer, World Vision U.S. Contributions from Karen Davis, Hasbro's vice president of community relations.

Cause-related merchandise has a new furry friend. A baby elephant named Zambi joined toy shelves recently, just in time for Christmas.

Fifty percent of the profits from Zambi the elephant will go to Hasbro's Project Zambi fund to help children in Zambia who have been affected by AIDS. These funds will be distributed to organizations like World Vision, who are on the front lines of battling the AIDS pandemic.

Inspiration: children

Project Zambi began when Karen Davis, Hasbro's vice president of community relations, visited World Vision project areas in Zambia in 2006. Karen thought she knew about AIDS, but once she arrived, "I saw the epidemic's youngest victims -- the orphans," she says. "Sitting face to face with them and seeing their suffering, as well as their smiles and indomitable spirits, brought a personal sense of urgency to this crisis."

When Karen came home from her trip, she shared her photos and stories with her colleague Gina Melone, who is Hasbro's director of toy design. The children's faces inspired Gina. She decided she wanted to do something to help them, and she followed through on that decision, despite her own battle with breast cancer.

The baby elephant

"Gina assembled a team from across the company," says Karen. "Since we do, after all, work for Hasbro, we started with the idea for a toy -- a baby elephant toy that would help children in the U.S. connect with the children in Africa who so desperately need our help."

Their team submitted the plan for Project Zambi to Hasbro's company-wide Grand Idea competition. It beat out 75 other ideas to win both the People's Choice award and the Judges award.

Making it happen

Once Project Zambi got the green light, the real work began. "Our employees worked long and hard to make this project a reality," says Karen. "Often we would find them meeting at night and e-mailing and brainstorming over the weekends. It was remarkable for me to see this type of dedication, considering they had not had the chance I did to visit Africa and meet the children they were going to help."

Zambi the furry little elephant successfully made it to stores, and Hasbro has committed to donate 50 percent of the net profits -- a minimum of $500,000 -- to the Project Zambi Fund.

A valuable partnership

"The Hasbro-World Vision partnership has allowed us to help the children who need it most," says Karen. "Now, because of my trip to Africa with World Vision, we have Project Zambi, which will give us the opportunity help many more children and inspire others to do the same."

Hasbro has been a valuable partner with World Vision for several years, giving financial support to our programs in Zambia, as well as donating merchandise like games and educational supplies to children in Zambia and around the world. Recently, Hasbro employees took their dedication a step further and hosted a Caregiver Kit Build at their company headquarters to support volunteer AIDS caregivers.

Learn more

For more information about Hasbro's Project Zambi, please visit the Web site at www.projectzambi.com.

Two ways you can help

Thank God for people like Karen Davis and her colleagues at Hasbro, who are making a difference for children through their resources in the corporate world. May God bless their continued efforts and inspire others to follow their example.

Sponsor a child impacted by AIDS in Zambia. Your sponsorship will help meet basic needs, provide extra AIDS-related care, and give a child hope for a better future.