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Most people agree that children matter. Unfortunately, many children suffer in circumstances they did not create. They are abused as soldiers and laborers, orphaned by war and disease, or abandoned because of economic hardship. In such cases World Vision not only offers families practical help but uses its voice to advocate for these children in need.
 Bivugire, 13, snatches a few quiet moments at the threshold of the new home World Vision helped provide for this orphaned girl and her siblings in Burundi. The responsibility of caring for her brothers and sisters does not leave the young teenager much time for herself.
A Young Girl Becomes Head of the House
At the time of their mother's death in 1996, Bivugire Budari was 11; her brother Muyuku, 15; a sister Misigaro, 8; and baby brother Ndihokubwayo, just a few months old. The death of their widowed mother hit Muyuku the hard-est. The shock struck him silent. Even now he requires prompting to speak. Muyuku is one of thousands of traumatized children in Burundi, where some 200,000 people have been killed in the civil war, raging intermittently since 1993.
World Vision works with more than 6,800 such children to provide material assistance, including clothing, blankets, and school supplies. Staff advocate for children's education, since most cannot afford the US$10 yearly fee. They speak out for orphans' property rights, children's freedom from imprisonment for their parents' crimes or financial debts, and health-care issues. Part of World Vision's strategy also includes helping orphans find and reunite with lost family members, reconstructing houses for them, and providing them with counseling.
With no extended family to rely on after their mother's death and with Muyuku inca-pacitated, Bivugire took charge of the household. Bivugire says: "I'm still a child myself. I'm not even old enough to marry or carry adult esponsibilities. I almost always cultivated the land by myself. But though I worked hard, there was never enough to eat."
 Orphans "No Longer Feel Poor"
World Vision helps the poorest families rehabilitate their small farms with maize, bean, and potato seeds; a hoe; and fertilizer. Staff also provide training to ensure success.
Bivugire (in the green sweatshirt) and her younger sister, Misigaro (wearing the red top), sit with friends. These girls benefit from World Vision's project to help children in especially difficult circumstances.
The Budaris and other families work in groups to multiply their seeds, a portion of which is returned to World Vision for distribution to other needy families. Of course, most of the harvest provides the Budaris with nutritious food.
The family has received assistance from other project activities. In partnership with a community association and other groups like Habitat for Humanity, World Vision helped rebuild the Budaris' home, and Bivugire's siblings were supplied with clothing. Highlighting the roots of self-reliance beginning to emerge among the project participants, Bivugire concludes: "With World Vision helping us, we no longer beg as before. In fact, we don't feel at all poor."
Like the growing tragedy of child-headed households, the blight of poverty still endangers the security and dreams of millions of children around the globe. In Romania, the extreme poverty and lack of opportunities left in the wake of the collapsed communist state destabilize people's lives to the point where families disintegrate under the pressure.
During Ceausescu's regime, the Calarau family arrived in Cernavoda from northern Romania so Dumitru--a conscripted laborer--could help build a nuclear reactor. Once construction was complete, the region could not support the expanded population, and the people did not have the resources to return home. Dumitru has been unemployed for six years, sinking his family into financial despair.
Preventing Child Abandonment in Romania
A World Vision social worker was given the Calaraus' address from a neighbor. The social worker found them living in the "temporary" wood-frame barracks built for project workers years before. The children--Lacramioara, 7; Alina, 6; Ionut, 5; Mirela Teodora, 4; and Larisa, 1--suffered most, lacking clothes for the harsh winter. Lacramioara was not in school because they could not afford her school fees, books, and other supplies. The family's only income was a small government allocation for each child.
 Since that first visit, World Vision staff assigned to help prevent child abandonment have assisted the Calaraus to discover resources to keep their family together and to work with others in the community to improve conditions in the region. The families involved in the project take part in support groups and receive guidance from World Vision's social workers, who help educate them in family management, health and sanitation issues, and the negative consequences of child abandonment.
The Calarau children have received clothing and food from World Vision's project in Romania that helps families stay together despite desperate economic circumstances. Lacramioara (upper right) now attends school. World Vision pays the fees and provides her with school supplies.
 Thanks to the help World Vision provided to the Calarau family, including gift-in-kind clothing, food, and school supplies, Lacramioara now attends school. She is fond of classes and enjoys math. This support for Lacramioara's family not only provides her and her siblings with security, it gives the struggling parents the courage to hope and work for a better future.
World Vision has helped more than 2,000 children like 7-year-old Nubina escape bonded labor in Aasharo, India. These children were forced to make beedi cigarettes to repay unscrupulous lenders who often charge interest that added up to 100 percent every three months. Nubina had been working since age 5 to repay the loan taken to pay for her father's medical treatment for tuberculosis.
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