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World Vision United States

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World Vision International
Founded1951
FounderBob Pierce
TypeNon-governmental organization
FocusWell being of all people, especially children.
Location
Area served
97 countries
MethodTransformational Development through emergency relief, community development and policy and advocacy
Key people
Denis St. Armour (Chairperson Int'l Board), Dr. Dean R. Hirsch (President)
RevenueUS$1.6 billion (2007)
Employees26,000 (2006)
Websitewww.worldvision.org www.wvi.org

World Vision, founded in the United States in 1951, is an international Christian relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to tackle the root causes of poverty." Working on six continents, World Vision is one of the largest Christian relief and development organizations in the world with a 1.6 billion dollar budget (2007).

History

World Vision was founded in 1951 by Dr. Robert Pierce, a young pastor and missionary, who had first been sent to China and South Korea in 1947 by the Youth for Christ missionary organization. Pierce remained at the head of World Vision for nearly two decades, but resigned from the organization in 1967. Pierce also founded the evangelical organization Samaritan's Purse.

World Vision began caring for orphans and other children in need first in South Korea, then expanding throughout Asia and, eventually, in more than 90 countries, embracing larger issues of community development and advocacy for the poor as part of its basic mission to help poor children and their poor families build a sustainable future.

Organizational structure

World Vision International operates as a federation of interdependent national offices, each overseen by their own boards or advisory councils. A common mission statement and shared core values bind the partnership offices and members together. Each national partner abides by common policies and standards and holds each other accountable through an ongoing system of peer review.

The partnership offices – located in Geneva, Bangkok, Nairobi, Cyprus, Los Angeles, and San José, Costa Rica – coordinate strategic operations of the organization and represent World Vision in the international arena. Each national office, whether in the developed or developing world, enjoys an equal voice in the organization's governance of world vision.

An international board of directors oversees the World Vision partnership. The full board meets twice a year to appoint senior officers, approve strategic plans and budgets, and determine international policy. The current chairperson of the international board is Denis St. Armour of Canada. The international president is Dr. Dean Hirsch.

Funding

According to World Vision's 2006 Consolidated Financial Statements, around 40% of their revenue comes from private sources, including individuals, World Vision clubs in schools, corporations and foundations. 27% comes from governments and multilateral aid agencies such as USAID and the Department for International development (DFID) in the UK. 30% comes from other World Vision programs and nonprofit organizations as Gift in Kind. Aside from cash contributions, World Vision accepts gifts in kind, typically food commodities, medicine, and clothing donated through corporations and government agencies.

Approximately half of World Vision's programs are funded through child sponsorship. Individuals, families, churches, schools, and other groups sponsor specific children or specific community projects in their own country or abroad. Sponsors send funds each month to provide support for the sponsored children or projects.

World Vision Famine events like the 30-Hour Famine and 40-Hour Famine also help to raise money for impoverished countries. Typically, a group signs up to organize such an event, and then spends the next 30 or 40 hours abstaining from food, technology or other things that are taken for granted, and increasing awareness about world hunger. Many schools and individuals are annually successful with this fundraising activity. In the beginning there was only the No Food Famine, but now there is the No Talking Famine; the Techno Famine, without technology (i.e. cellphones, computers, TV or digital audio players); Sports Famine, a triathlon or a sports activity for the whole weekend; and the Theme Famine, where participants come up with an idea of their own: living in a tent, cardboard box or living only on rice for a weekend. Another one is the 24 hour wake, an event that involves a group signing up for lack of any form of rest or energy drink supplements to show the overworked conditions the third world has to deal with

According to World Vision's annual report, in 2005, 87% of its funding was spent on programs, 8% on fundraising and 5% on management and general overhead. World Vision has announced a goal of reducing the fundraising and overhead costs from the current 13% to 10%.

Activities

World Vision aims to contribute to people’s needs in five major areas; emergency relief, education, health care, economic development, and promotion of justice. World Vision activities include transformational development, emergency relief, strategic initiatives, public awareness campaigns and promoting Christianity. Though World Vision has consultative status with UNESCO and partnerships with UN agencies like UNICEF, WHO, UNHCR and ILO, its financial records reveal that it has funded evangelical activities all over the world. [3]

Transformational development occurs through focusing on improvement of children's lives. This process first helps people and their communities recognize the resources that lie within themselves to make change possible. With support from World Vision, communities transform themselves by carrying out their own development projects in health care, agriculture production, water projects, education, micro-enterprise development, advocacy and other community programs.

World Vision provides emergency relief to people whose lives are endangered by disasters or conflict and who need immediate assistance. World Vision attempts to respond to all major emergencies around the world themselves or in cooperation with their partner agencies. For example, World Vision has responded to famine in Ethiopia and North Korea, hurricanes in Central America, the tsunami in the Indian Ocean nations, earthquakes in El Salvador, India, Taiwan,Turkey and the Sichuan earthquake in China, Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and war refugees in Kosovo, Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Angola, and East Timor.

World Vision also addresses factors that perpetuate poverty by promoting justice. World Vision supports community awareness of the collective ability to address unjust practices and begin working for change. World Vision speaks out on issues such as child labor, debt relief for poor nations, and the use of children as combatants in armed conflict. World Vision International has endorsed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as fundamental expressions of the freedoms and responsibilities that should exist in every country. World Vision fosters opportunities to help reduce conflict levels and to contribute to the peaceful resolution of hostilities and reconciliation of disputes.[citation needed]

World Vision encourages public awareness about the needs of others, the causes of poverty, and the nature of compassionate response.[citation needed] These efforts include collaboration with media and community participation in fundraising. In all its communications, World Vision upholds the dignity of suffering children and families in presenting explanations of the causes and consequences of poverty, war, neglect, and abuse.

As a Christian organization, World Vision participates in strategic initiatives[clarification needed] with Christian leaders and lay people of all denominations through conferences, consultations, training programmes and various educational opportunities. World Vision is an ecumenical organization willing to partner with all Christian churches. Yet, World Vision is respectful of other faiths.

World Vision believes witnessing from Christ is a fundamental part of their relief work. The organization believes that God, in the person of Jesus, offers hope of renewal, restoration, and reconciliation. World Vision seeks to express this message through "life, deed, word, and sign". World Vision's programs and services are provided without regard to race, ethnic origin, gender, or religion.

World Vision offices often hire non-Christian staff, and in some countries the majority of staff may be people of other faiths who are sympathetic to World Vision's ethos and objectives.[citation needed] However, all British and American staff are required to sign a statement affirming their belief in Jesus Christ and background checks are often made with a candidate's pastor or priest. They do not offer permanent jobs to non-Christians.[4]

Criticism

In a report on famine in Ethiopia, reporter Andrew Geoghegan visited his 14 year old sponsor child. The girl has "been part of a World Vision program all her life" yet says (in translated subtitle) "Until recently, I didn't know I had a sponsor." and when asked about her knowledge of World Vision sponsorship says "Last time they gave me this jacket and a pen." Geoghegan was disconcerted to find that despite being "told by World Vision that [the girl] was learning English at school, and was improving... she speaks no English at all."[1]

In their response, World Vision states "World Vision unapologetically takes a community-based approach to development – a fact we publicly promote at every opportunity. Providing money directly to the families of sponsored children simply does not work, no matter how dire the circumstances. A ‘direct benefit' approach creates jealousy among community members that do not have sponsored children and fosters an ethos of dependency. So while sponsored children may receive some direct benefits – like school materials or a jacket for warmth – this in no way represents the entirety of our work in a community, and it was disingenuous for the Foreign Correspondent story to imply this."

It is clearly stated on the World Vision website: "When you make a gift, your contributions are pooled with that of other sponsors of children in the community where your child lives. Your child receives health care, education, nutritious food, and the entire community benefits from access to clean water, agricultural assistance, medical care, and more."

The journalist and producer were offered the chance to view the full breadth of work World Vision is undertaking in the community, in health, education and food security, but this offer was not accepted."[2]

Foreign Correspondent replied to World Vision. In part, that response reads: "Foreign Correspondent sought answers from World Vision representatives on why the organisation's literature creates the impression that donated money goes directly to the sponsor child. The World Vision representative failed to adequately respond to the questions and instead outlined the community projects where sponsor money is spent. Foreign Correspondent does not dispute the integrity of World Vision projects but questions the way sponsorship is promoted to the public. In its response, World Vision has ignored the reporter's surprise at finding his sponsor child speaks no English, yet he has been receiving regular reporters from the organisation that she's learning English at school and has a good command of the language. .., Andrew Geoghegan has sponsored Tsehaynesh Delago for a decade and yet she claims she was unaware, until recently, that she had a sponsor and says the only benefit she has ever received directly from World Vision is a pen and the denim jacket she wore on the day of filming."

Works

References

  1. ^ Geoghegan, Andrew "Ethiopia - The Endless Famine", Foreign Correspondent, 25 November 2008, series 18, episode 22, © 2008 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  2. ^ [1] "[2]"

Further reading

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