World News & Stories

In many urban areas of India, families live in old, one-room houses. The houses do not have toilets, so everyone is forced to rely on public toilets that are shared by several families. The lack of dignity makes using these facilities a harrowing experience for young women.

I remember missing a few days of school over the course of my education. Seeing me doubled over with cramps, my mom would take pity on me and sign me out of class.

World Water Day is about more than clean water. It's also about sanitation and hygiene, since proper sanitation and hygiene (in conjunction with clean water, of course) can help reduce the risk of deadly diseases. That is why toilets, or latrines as they are called in some countries, are so important.

Justine, 31, is a wife, mother and rape survivor from the Eastern DRC who found purpose after joining a savings group, supported by generous donors like you. This is her testimony.

Young Sonia works long hours every day, hoping to make enough money for a few vegetables. She’s homeless and sleeps wherever she can, covered only in a thin sheet. Recently, she’s been unable to see at night – a symptom of malnutrition – and fears going blind altogether. Not to mention all the other reasons a girl on her own has to be afraid of.

In 2013, the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh, killing more than 1,100 people. Many workers had received an ultimatum that day after complaining about dangerous cracks in the structure: go to work now or lose your pay. In the days that followed, Canadians watched in horror as information was released linking some of their favourite clothing brands with garments being sewn in that very building.

What started in 1985 as a way to shake the cobwebs off after New Year’s Eve has now grown into a family affair for the Courage clan. Gaye Courage, the “Queen Polar Bear” and mother to Co-Founders Todd and Trent, was the one who instigated the whole thing when she told her boys to “go jump in the lake”. Today, Gaye joins the family on New Year’s Day to take part on the largest charitable polar bear dip in Canada.

They’re known on television as the Property Brothers. Good-looking and confident, they stride into millions of Canadian living rooms each week with real estate and design advice. But when World Vision’s brand new ambassadors, Vancouver-born twins Drew and Jonathan Scott, stepped into a one-room hut in Delhi, India, they were clearly treading new ground.

My first public screening of the film Girl Rising was in Seattle. The theatre was sold out. The energy was electric. Despite five years of work on the film and a huge campaign to support it, I wasn’t nervous. I was more curious to see how people would respond to the stories on the screen.

One day, about seven years ago, I was in a mall and came across a World Vision kiosk. Normally I'd just pass it by, but this time something, or should I say someone, jumped out at me. I saw a picture of the cutest little boy that instantly made me stop. Right then and there. I started sponsoring Ruben.

The health clinic in Nnalinya, a village in central Uganda was in very poor shape. And as things go in Nnalinya, being one of the poorest and least serviced parts of Uganda, it would have remained that way for many years if not for the determined advocacy efforts of local residents.

Fourteen-year-old Haitian Sonite Edmond despondently recalls being forced to work as a restavek when she was just six years old. Meaning “to stay with” in Creole, restaveks are children working in domestic slavery, as Sonite was forced to when she went to “stay with” her godmother in Port-au-Prince.

When disaster strikes, World Vision is positioned to respond, to help mitigate the impact on vulnerable communities. Here's how.

In the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010, World Vision initiated the largest single-country disaster response in the organization’s history. Over the last three years, as the focus has shifted from emergency relief to long-term development, World Vision has helped several million Haitians.

Sponsorship is about more than just giving money to someone in need — it’s about letting children know that they’re loved!

Ever wonder what that extra gift for your sponsored child's birthday buys? Group birthday celebrations held once a year, like this one in El Salvador, are happening in your sponsored child's community too. With group birthdays, every child in the community gets to feel special and most of all, loved!

World Vision answers your frequently asked questions about Child-Friendly Spaces.

I lived in Haiti for 8 months after college. Immersing yourself in a different culture is exhilarating - I thrived on the challenge of trying new foods and learning a new language. What was most fascinating to me about Haitian culture, was the purpose behind their daily details. Specifically, in the food they made.

In Canada, where most families have enough to eat, it's easy to become complacent about the idea of hunger. In the developing world, it's a different story.

When natural and man-made disasters threaten to crush children’s dreams, you help World Vision preserve them. Read Alif’s dramatic story from Indonesia.