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.
PUR packets fight cholera in Zimbabwe
October 29, 2009
It's an amazing little packet. In half an hour, it can change 10 liters of dirty, potentially deadly water into clean, drinkable water. It's small, easy to ship, and easy to use.
And it's helping to save lives in Zimbabwe, where last year's cholera epidemic added even more difficulties to a population dealing with political instability and the highest economic inflation rates in the world.
Developed by Procter & Gamble (P&G) in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PUR packets remove 99.99999 percent of intestinal bacteria, including those that cause cholera, and 99.99 percent of intestinal viruses and protozoa. These qualities made PUR packets ideal for helping World Vision respond to the 2008 Zimbabwean cholera epidemic, where contaminated water sources caused the disease to spread rapidly.
Dr. Greg Allgood, the director of P&G's Children's Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW), was instrumental in turning the program and distribution of PUR packets into a non-profit. He now travels around the world, distributing PUR packets and giving careful instructions on how to use them.
Seeing the problem up close
In August, Allgood traveled to Zimbabwe to see how the PUR packets that the CSDW donated and World Vision distributed were helping people avoid cholera. But he also had a second goal to the trip -- to give high-risk communities enough PUR packets and training to help them avoid cholera as the next rainy season approaches.
He chronicles the trip on his blog, telling about the families and World Vision staff members he met in rural Zimbabwe, where clean water is very hard to find.
World Vision's Bwalya Melu showed Allgood around and explained that in his area of Zimbabwe, 70 percent of the population gets its water from an unprotected source, like a contaminated river. So, Allgood visited such a river, seeing how people dug holes in the sand next to the river before they drew their water, hoping that the sand would provide a layer of filtering protection.
But they couldn't see the potentially deadly bacteria that were still lingering in the water.
With the help of Chiweshe, a local chief nurse and health educator, the team demonstrated how to use a PUR packet to turn contaminated river water into clean, safe water within 30 minutes.
Allgood and Melu also met families who barely survived the last cholera outbreak and who are grateful to now have access to clean water because of the PUR packets.
Celebrating partnership
A month after his trip, Allgood attended a Clinton Global Initiative event on Sept. 30, where he and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist presented the Live, Learn, and Thrive Partnership Award to World Vision.
The award was for partnering with CSDW to respond to the cholera crisis in Zimbabwe by reaching more than 250,000 people. At the height of the cholera epidemic, World Vision collaborated with P&G, AmeriCares, and others to provide more than 25 million liters of safe drinking water using the PUR packets. Rich Stearns, president of World Vision U.S., accepted the award on World Vision's behalf.
As Zimbabweans prepare for another rainy season and another possible cholera outbreak, please consider some of the ways you can help prevent the tragic loss of life that occurred in 2008.
Three ways you can help
Thank God for people like Dr. Allgood, and others who partner with World Vision to help the poor and vulnerable. Pray for World Vision staff in Zimbabwe as they face many challenges, including another potential cholera outbreak.
Donate now to help provide cholera kits in Zimbabwe. One kit contains enough medicines and supplies for 50 people, as Zimbabweans prepare for another rainy season and another potential cholera outbreak.
Sponsor a child in Zimbabwe. Your ongoing love and support for a child in need will help provide basic essentials like food, clean water, health care, and education, and will help him or her be better prepared and equipped to cope with emergencies like a potential cholera outbreak.
World Vision co-hosts poverty and advocacy track at Urbana09
October 22, 2009
More than 20,000 college students will attend the Urbana 2009 Student Missions Conference on Dec. 27-31. This year, World Vision's ACT:S College Activism Network will co-host a learning track focused on poverty and advocacy and host an interactive exhibit that invites students on a journey of faith and justice.
Urbana, a triennial student missions conference, is sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Students from all over the country will meet in St. Louis to learn about critical global issues from dynamic teachers and spend time in worship, fellowship, and exploration.
Poverty and advocacy track
The poverty and advocacy learning track is one of the six offered during the conference. The track will equip participants to act as advocates and community organizers, providing them with a biblical framework for their advocacy and preparing them to amplify the voices of the poor by using their own.
ACT:S is also hosting an interactive exhibit that will engage conference participants in a journey of faith and justice. The goal of this exhibit is to inspire thought and reflection, encouraging students to grapple with the scriptural call to justice and how they can incorporate effective activism into life on campus.
Campaign focuses on child slavery
Along with this, ACT:S will launch a new creative activism campaign to respond to the issue of child slavery, including bonded labor, sexual exploitation, and child soldiers. World Vision ACT:S, together with Sojourners and International Justice Mission, will mobilize the entire Urbana conference to understand and seek to right this human wrong.
Learn more about Urbana09, and invite college students you know to register at www.urbana09.org.
If you have questions about ACT:S or Urbana, contact the ACT:S team at acts@worldvision.org.
India's devastating flooding forces thousands to migrate, putting children at risk
October 16, 2009
As floodwaters recede in southern India and displaced people begin returning to their villages, thousands are finding their homes destroyed and may be forced to abandon their villages and fields for good.
"We've already seen migration in this area because of the severe drought, and now this historic flooding is causing even more people to leave," said Jayakumar Christian, World Vision's national director in India. "We need to quickly step in so these communities have better coping mechanisms and don't have to leave their children behind to look for work in urban areas."
Recovery resources not enough
The state governments have announced an immediate compensation for families whose houses have been damaged. Though this move is a positive step, World Vision warns that the money is not flowing fast enough and that it is not nearly enough for families to rebuild their lives.
Our staff members report that more and more people who have lost their crops, livelihoods, and homes say moving away is their only choice. In some cases, parents are venturing away for six to eight months to find work, leaving their children behind to care for the household and younger siblings.
In addition to being left alone, children are at high risk of infectious disease because water and food have been contaminated and there is a lack of shelter, exposing them to the elements.
"The most vulnerable children are the ones whose families have lost their thatched houses and are left without the means to rebuild," says Franklin Joseph, World Vision's emergency response director in India. "The most urgent needs right now are temporary shelters and cash-for-work programs to help devastated farmers begin to earn a living again and help families to stay together in their villages."
Cash-for-work, business loans
In addition to meeting immediate needs like tarps for shelter and providing clean water, World Vision will implement cash-for-work programs that will create jobs within affected villages and allow beneficiaries to restore their community. We will also be providing things like small business loans and goats or cows for milk production.
Farmers can't resume their work until the floodwaters recede completely and normal rains begin again -- which, in these drought-prone areas, makes timing uncertain -- and say that apart from destroying the crops, the floods also eroded cultivable soil.
Communities in this region of India are already among the poorest in the nation and are now unable to afford many staple foods that have doubled in price because of the flooding. Aid workers fear this could lead to even higher rates of malnutrition among children in the area.
Help now
Please pray for the children, families, and communities affected by massive flooding and drought across India. Many are suffering from crop failures and severe food shortages; others have been forced to evacuate their homes and lack basic necessities. Pray for the efforts of World Vision and other aid organizations to bring assistance to those in greatest need.
Donate now to World Vision's Flood Relief Fund. Your gift will help us continue to deliver critical, life-saving aid to children and families affected by the flooding in India, like food, water purification tablets, blankets, temporary shelter, cooksets, and more.
As schools reopen in Indonesia, children's basic needs still not being met
October 2009
Photos by Enda Balina, World Vision Indonesia
As schoolchildren in Indonesia's West Sumatra quake zone were called back to school, World Vision says these thousands of earthquake-affected children remain the disaster's most vulnerable survivors. World Vision is calling on the government of Indonesia and other humanitarian actors to prioritize relief efforts that meet the physical and psychosocial needs of children in the quake zone. The most urgent needs include clean water and safe places to play and begin learning again.
'Youngest survivors still face a daily struggle'
"From the terror of aftershocks to the vulnerability of their immune systems to the need to have a normal routine, children's vulnerabilities are magnified in a disaster like this," said Amelia Merrick, operations director for World Vision in Indonesia. "It's absolutely critical that emergency response teams make children's unique needs a priority. Even though the ground has stopped shaking, the West Sumatra quake's youngest survivors still face a daily struggle, both physically and psychologically."
Because of unsanitary conditions and lack of clean water or disinfectant, even minor injuries sustained in a disaster can become life-threatening without medical attention. In addition, fallen buildings, destroyed homes, and flooded paths or waterholes continue to pose safety hazards to children who are left unsupervised. Children need appropriate food, adequate water and sanitation, and shelter as soon as possible. Without these basics, children's immunity against disease will be vastly reduced.
Child-Friendly Spaces
As part of its 90-day emergency response plan, World Vision will open 13 Child-Friendly Spaces -- structured, safe places where children can play with other children, relax in a safe place, learn basic skills to cope with the shocks and losses they've experienced, and receive informal education. The spaces are designed to provide psychosocial support to children after a disaster or conflict.
The Child-Friendly Spaces are run by community volunteers who receive training on child protection practices and psychosocial support skills from World Vision staff. Our emergency response teams have successfully established Child-Friendly Spaces following several recent disasters, including Myanmar, Darfur, and Pakistan.
In addition, World Vision's relief workers are distributing nearly 1,100 family kits around Padang. The kits include items like blankets, soap, and tarpaulins. The team will also distribute more than 4,000 collapsible water containers to families. World Vision is appealing for $2 million to scale up our response, and our teams aim to provide 10,000 households with emergency supplies.
Help now
Please keep in prayer the children, families, and communities devastated by the multiple earthquakes that have struck Indonesia recently. Many families now lack shelter and other basic essentials, and children are subject to severe emotional trauma. Pray for the efforts of World Vision and other relief organizations, who are working tirelessly to bring emergency assistance to those who need it most.
Donate now to World Vision's Earthquake Relief Fund. Your gift of any amount will help provide emergency food and family survival kits with items like health and hygiene products, blankets, water cans, cooking supplies, plastic sheeting for shelter, mosquito nets, and more.
Girl orphaned by AIDS aspires to become a teacher
October 2009
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
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.
World Vision former sponsored child makes it to CNN's Top 10 heroes
October 2009
The recent flooding throughout the Philippines has brought so much havoc into people's lives. But it has also unified the Filipinos to help one another. Amid the painstaking relief efforts, the announcement of a Filipino's inclusion in CNN's Top 10 Heroes brought much-needed inspiration to ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things.
Efren Penaflorida, 28, was busy packing and distributing relief items to the affected families of Typhoon Ketsana in Cavite, Philippines, when he learned that he made it to CNN's Top 10 Heroes.
'A blessing from God'
"For me, it was a blessing from God. When I learned that I was in the Top 10, I prayed and thanked God," said Efren, a former World Vision sponsored child and founder of the Dynamic Teen Company.
A few days before the announcement, Efren and his team were busy collecting donations, repacking relief goods, and making distributions to the flood-affected communities in Cavite.
"We have converted our pushcart classroom to a relief cart. This is our way, our contribution, to help the people who are still finding ways to cope with the damage caused by Typhoon Ketsana," Efren said. "I myself was stranded that Saturday in Metro Manila streets for more than 12 hours without food, sleep, or energy from continuous walking and braving deep floods. When I got back, our city was not that badly damaged, but our neighboring towns were.
"So, after arriving from Manila on Sunday, I went to church and then gathered my team and collected goods to distribute."
Work with children prompts Hero nomination
Efren was nominated as a CNN Hero because of his work with children at the slums of Cavite. At 16, together with his friends, Efren founded the Dynamic Teen Company. The group reaches out to teens, instilling in them a spirit of volunteerism as they teach young children basic reading, writing, and personal hygiene.
"Instead of joining gangs, we decided to help fellow poor children in our neighborhood through our 4-K system -- Kariton na Klassroom [pushcart classroom], Klinika [clinic], and Kanteen [canteen]," Efren said.
Their pushcart classroom carries books, pens, reading aids, tables, and chairs, enabling Efren's team to bring education to street kids around Cavite.
'A brief moment to cheer'
"In these hard times, when many selfless Filipinos have emerged as heroes in response to a call for action and sacrifice, it is affirming to all of us that such efforts are recognized and rewarded," said Efren. "This announcement gave Filipinos a breath of fresh air, a brief moment to cheer and celebrate, to be inspired all the more to get back into volunteering and rebuild our nation.
"Making it to CNN's Top 10 Heroes is a blessing from God. It gave us [students and volunteers] a big reason to smile big-time during these trying times," he added.
World Vision is working with Efren in providing relief goods to the communities in Cavite that are still flooded. Our teams are aiming to meet the urgent needs of 100,000 people severely affected by this disaster.
Learn more
Read a CNN AC360 blog post, "Paying it forward," in which Efren describes the scene in his typhoon-ravaged hometown and how his former World Vision sponsorship gave him the support he needed to grow up and become a blessing to others in need.
Watch a CNN video about Efren and his work with Filipino youth.
Help now
Cast your vote now to support Efren Penaflorida as CNN Hero of the Year!
Donate now to World Vision's Flood Relief Fund. Your gift today will help us provide life-saving assistance, like food, clean water, blankets, temporary shelter, and more to children and families affected by Typhoon Ketsana and Typhoon Parma in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
Sponsor a child today. Your love and support for a child will help provide basic essentials like food, clean water, health care, and education -- gifts that can help him or her grow up to be a blessing to others in need, just like Efren Penaflorida.