What is World Vision?

World Vision realises that poverty should be suffered by no one in this world.

World Vision is a Christian organisation with agencies in a number of countries around the world. It was established in Australia in 1966, and is Australia's largest aid and development agency. It is known by many young people for the program it runs which is called the 40 Hour Famine. In the United States, a similar program called the 30 hour famine is run. While it may seem like a weekend of starvation for some, with some careful planning, a few might get together as support and have some fun activities as well.

The Aims of World Vision:

One of the key objectives of the organisation to work towards a world that no longer tolerates poverty. This involves working to attack the causes of poverty as well as dealing with its symptoms. While food donations may deal with some of the surface problems, they will not deal with the root causes.

Where does the money come from?

Two main sources of funding for World Vision are the Child Sponsorship program and the 40 hour famine. Participation in the World Vision Organisation comes from those people who believe that everyone in the world deserves a fair go. It is easy to sit back in front of television in places like Australia, Italy and the USA and indulge in the soapies and forget all about the pain and suffering that others are going through.

Australians starve for a day so others less privileged can eat for a month!

Through fundraising, World Vision is working towards a more equitable distribution of the wealth that develops through a number of economic activities. Activities in the Western World lead to the creation of wealth. Certainly some of this wealth finishes up concentrated in a few pockets. Some of this wealth has also been created through the use of resources in underdeveloped countries. From that perspective, it is only fair to share it around a bit. The organisation also works to ensure that there is a global awareness through things such as newsletters that are distributed after a donation has been made.

How do they do it?

World Vision needs money. There is no escaping that. There are bills to be paid, and an organisation of this size will not continue to thrive without full-time workers. One of the ways to support the work of World Vision is through donations. You can also participate through direct action by letter writing and collecting signatures for some of the many petitions that are available during target campaigns.

World Vision provides action alerts for times when a strong drive is needed to bring about a change. They provide a direct opportunity for those of us who can speak out to do so. This is done by providing clear guidelines about who to contact and what to say when you contact key commercial and government organisations.