World Vision
Over a cup of coffee with a friend recently, I described myself as a “William Wilberforce Evangelical,” humbly placing myself in the stream of Christian tradition that sought the abolition of slaves. After reading this morning’s newspaper, however, I’m calling my friend later today with an update: I am a “Rich Stearns Evangelical.”
Rich Stearns in Africa. Photo credit: World Vision.
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Rich Stearns, World Vision’s president and longtime friend and partner of ONE, has a tremendous piece in the Huffington Post called “Cutting Foreign Aid: Not the America I Love.” In his post, Stearns articulates cornerstone reasons why poverty-focused foreign assistance is not only a proud American value, but an effort that needs to be bolstered in these tough economic times. Separating fact from misconception, Stearns also gives us a peek at how he’d advise the current presidential candidates on efforts to save lives around the world.
Here’s an excerpt of his piece:
“If I were advising the Republican candidates, I would encourage them to clear up some misperceptions about American foreign aid.
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Very exciting news! The Hole In Our Gospel, the book by Rich Stearns—ONE partner and World Vision CEO—was recently named “Christian book of the Year” by the Evangelical Christian Press Association (ECPA). Stearns wrote about his book (and being referred to as “an unlikely action hero”) earlier on the ONE blog:
We hope… ‘The Hole in Our Gospel’ will mobilize even more Christians to care for the poor worldwide,” said ECPA’s President Mark Kuyper. “In a year of unforgettable world disasters, including the devastating earthquake in Haiti, we are eager to encourage believers to take action for those in need.
The Hole In Our Gospel tells Rich Stearns’ story on how faith inspires deeper engagement and action for the world’s poor. If you’re looking for an inspirational title and a thoughtful summer read, I highly recommend it. The paperback edition just came out last week.
May 3rd, 2010 6:02 PM UTC
By Field
This year for World Malaria Day in the Twin Cities we organized a picnic under bed nets. It was a great day to spend in the park while raising awareness about malaria and the impact an individual’s voice can make. Despite the heavy winds practically blowing the bed nets away, we had intimate discussions on the disease and its impact in developing countries.
At our ONE event, we promoted Malaria No More’s TEN campaign to raise awareness that only $10 buys a bed net that can protect a family from malaria. In addition, attendees had the opportunity to see an actual bed net – one of the most effective prevention tools in the fight against malaria. We also partnered with World Vision to provide attendees with postcards to mail to their representatives, in an effort to make them aware that they, as constituents, care about solving the global problem of malaria.
Our members enjoyed learning about malaria and had a great day in the park! I was excited to see people from so many different ages and walks of life participate and show the initiative to help end malaria deaths.
-Reena Dhake, ONE Twin Cities volunteer
Check out this great opportunity from our partners at World Vision.
On April 21 and 22 in Washington, DC, we’re hosting an Action Summit to End Malaria, our very first event that brings people from across the country together to advocate for an end to this horrific disease.
Malaria was eradicated in the United States 60 years ago. But tragically, malaria is still a leading cause of death for children around the world. With enough focused attention, we could be the generation that actually does away with a disease that has killed generations of people – many of them children under five.
So join us this April in Washington, DC. We will train advocates from across the country to use their voice to draw awareness and drive change around a cause. We’ll hear from a friend in Zambia who knows the threat of malaria first-hand, from a leader in the Administration and from a child advocate and pastor from Dallas, TX with a passion for tackling poverty and injustice.
In addition, the event will include training for face-to-face meetings with elected leaders, a Night of Nets event (a model of an artistic, experiential, interactive evening gathering anyone can host in their church/community) and an afternoon of outside-the-box creative activism opportunities near the nation’s capital.
Let’s join forces to descend on Capitol Hill and let our legislators know that we won’t remain silent while more than 2,000 children die every day from this preventable disease.
The means to end malaria is cheap and available, but we need your voice to make it a reality. Learn more and register here.
-Kelli Day, World Vision’s Advocacy Manager
Here’s a guest post from our partners at World Vision, with a personal look at long-term development issues in Haiti.
Gilbert Bailly is my favorite person in Haiti. His three Muncheez pizza restaurants miraculously remained intact during the quake. But he realized he had not a chance of running a business in the current chaos. Did he retire to a corner and sulk? Actually, no. He calmly reopened one of his restaurants and uses it as a base to provide cooked meals for free to people who desperately need it and can’t afford to pay.
Right now food is coming from the organization I work for, World Vision. Other donors are providing the fuel he needs. His formerly paid staff have become volunteers. They know there is no money in this. I’m sure their satisfaction comes from seeing the hundreds of hungry come through the door to get, not only a free meal, but also take away 5-pound bags of lentils, beans, and flour so they can feed family members who may be too badly injured to come to the restaurant.
I’m picking many years from now, when Gilbert reflects on his life and what he has accomplished, he will probably remember this as one of the toughest times and a commercial failure. I think he will also remember it as his finest hour.
The Muncheez story contains valuable reminder for all of us involved in working in humanitarian emergencies. It’s this: Never underestimate the capacity of those in the midst of the crisis to come up with practical solutions for resolving it.
The worst thing donors and aid organizations can do in a situation like Haiti is to adopt a “we know best” attitude and become so enamored with their own relief and development plans that they overlook the insight of those within the communities they are attempting to serve.
I think a more satisfactory approach, which World Vision does, is to find out what community efforts are already working, support them, develop them, and see if they can be replicated, and encouraged to expand in the long-term. This way, Haitians are less likely to become passive recipients of aid and much more decisive players in the recovery and rebuilding of their country.
To learn more about World Vision’s long term relief efforts, click here.
-James Addis, senior editor for the donor magazine of World Vision United States
Here are a few more updates today from our partners and friends on the effort underway in Haiti:
American Red Cross:
“We are humbled and thankful for the outpouring of support from our blog visitors offering their services to help those in need in Haiti. We committed $200,000 last night, and increased that amount this morning to $1 million.”
AmeriCares:
“AmeriCares is sending $3 million worth of medical aid to survivors of yesterday’s deadly, 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti from our Stamford warehouse. Disaster relief modules stocked with emergency medicines and medical supplies valued at $2 million have been deployed from the Amsterdam warehouse.”
Bread for the World:
An extensive list of where and how to help earthquake victims.
Catholic Relief Services:
“In the Dominican Republic, the country that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, CRS is preparing 10,000 packages, each containing food and water for a family of five. The first 500 are scheduled to be delivered to Port-au-Prince on Friday. Today four CRS staff members are traveling by bus from the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince as CRS begins to increase our presence in Haiti to respond to this unprecedented disaster. CRS has committed an initial $5 million (US) to help survivors of the devastating quake.”
Episcopal Relief and Development:
View a video statement by Presiding Bishop and President of Episcopal Relief & Development.
FEED:
In 2009, WFP School Feeding reached over 400,000 Haitian children in 850 primary schools. FEED is working to maintain WFP School Feeding in Haiti during this critical time.
International Relief & Development:
IRD, a specialist in disaster response and emergency relief operations, has mobilized an emergency response team to Haiti. IRD will focus on the provision of emergency commodities, such as water, sanitation kits, medicines, hygiene kits, and shelter materials.
Islamic Relief:
Islamic Relief USA announced that it will immediately fly a $1 million shipment of aid to Haiti.
Jubilee USA:
Jubilee USA is calling on the Obama administration to take 3 specific steps as part of its comprehensive response to the Haiti earthquake.
Mercy Corps:
A blog post showing satellite images from Port-au-Prince.
Oxfam International:
A six-strong team of Oxfam emergency specialists has been dispatched to Haiti from the UK today to assist the 200 staff who were already stationed in Haiti when the earthquake hit on Tuesday.
Partners in Health:
On the ground reports from staff in Haiti.
Save the Children:
An interview with President and CEO Charles MacCormack.
World Food Programme:
“A WFP food distribution reached 3,000 people in the southern town of Jacmel on Wednesday and, despite logistical difficulties, more distributions were planned for Thursday in three areas of Port-au-Prince with high a population concentration.”
World Vision:
“On Thursday, World Vision will rush 18 metric tons of lifesaving supplies from its warehouse in Denver to Haiti, which was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake Tuesday that affected some 3 million people. Thursday’s shipment will include tarpaulins for temporary shelter, blankets, collapsible water containers, hygiene kits, and cooking sets.” Also, click here to watch an interview with Laura Blank, Media Relations Manager at World Vision.
Yele Haiti:
Wyclef Jean’s nonprofit organization, Yele Haiti, has raised over $1 million for the victims of Tuesday’s devastating earthquake from mobile donations.
