About World Vision

        World Vision is an international humanitarian organization active in more than 90 countries, providing help to more than 75 million people each year, regardless of religion, race, creed, or culture.  Their mission is to give food, medical care, education, shelter, and hope for a better future to children around the world.  Over 82% of their collected donations go directly into resources for those they are helping.  And less than 4% goes to administrative work.  The remainder is used to recruit more volunteers, collect more donations, and increase awareness.   Listed below are projects that World Vision is currently working, followed by a case study of a community they have been assisting for years...

• Food for Work is one program that World Vision runs.  This program hires men and women to plant trees and build water storage/irrigation facilities.  It also teaches families how to avoid drought.  

• Another focus of World Vision is to help young females to further their education.  In many countries girls are not encouraged to go to school and often have to stay home to care for younger siblings while both parents work.  Others are forced to enter sex trades to help meet their families basic needs.  Through training and education World Vision helps to change the course of these girls lives.  

• World Vision works in co-ordination with a Canadian program called SKETCH. that helps street kids learn new job skills network and get involved in their community.

• Landmines are silent killers.  Left behind from war and civil unrest they lay quietly under the soil until they are stepped on.  Children are endangered each time they run through the field to go get water or go to school.  World Vision teaches how to recognize and avoid landmines.  When someone is injured they provide medical care and rehabilitation. 

• Millions of people drink contaminated water everyday...they have no choice, as they will die without it.  This leads to diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and intestinal worms.  Through the efforts of World Vision villages receive clean water.

• In Africa, millions of children have watched one or more children to the deadly AIDS virus.  Entire families of orphans struggle to stay alive on their own - without care, shelter, adequate nutrition, or education.  World Vision helps to place these children in foster families, and provide the entire family with heath care, education, food, and shelter.

CASE STUDY:  World Vision's development program in Samuye, Tanzania

Positive Changes in Samuye (over the first 10 years of the program)

AGRICULTURE

• 900 farmers participated in small neighbourhood groups to learn improved farming methods and then pass knowledge on to other farmers

• improved seed supply, including drought-resistant seed stocks

• 363,000 trees planted

• crop yields increased by three to four times

• improved food storage and food preparation

HEALTH

• Village Health Days initiated:  mobile teams have reached all villages with basic health education and services

• renovation and construction of health clinics in 14 villages

• child immunizations now at 100% coverage (only 56% at start of program)

• severe malnutrition in children reduced from 17% to 0.2%

• construction of nine wells and 44 water tanks leading to a decline of water-borne diseases

EDUCATION

• construction of 75 classrooms, 38 teachers' offices, and 17 teachers' houses

• provision of desks and school supplies

• school enrolment increased from 65% to 90%

• drop-out rate declined from 14% to 4%

• increased number of teachers working in Samuye

• above-national averages in school performance

Global Trends in the Community Development

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