International development is a global effort to create equal opportunities, strengthen communities, and build sustainable solutions, ensuring a better future for all. It showcases the contributions we make together to address global challenges and empower individuals, fostering resilience and long-term progress. Child sponsorship provides life-changing opportunities.
In the following story, you’ll see how World Vision’s sponsorship program is transforming Yosef’s life in Ethiopia, opening new doors for a better future.
Thanks to the training in sustainable farming and irrigation systems, Yosef's family is thriving. “We now have enough clothing and eat three meals a day,” Yosef says.
Yosef still remembers how he spent many nights lying awake with an empty stomach in his family's small, one-room mud house. At just 14 years old, missing meals wasn’t occasional—it was a daily reality.
With only one harvest a year, food often ran out before the next season. When the rains failed, the family’s situation became desperate. Gemechu, Yosef’s father, recalls having to search harvested fields for any leftover roots or vegetables, hoping to bring something to the table.
But things changed once World Vision stepped in and built irrigation systems within the community. Families that once relied on a single harvest could instead grow crops three times a year, ensuring food security and financial stability.
“World Vision enrolled me and my older sister in the sponsorship project,” Yosef shares. “It provided my father with training and improved seeds for carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, papayas, and maize. It built an irrigation canal so that my father and other community members could produce three times a year, which has greatly improved our life.”
Beyond irrigation, families also received training in sustainable farming, poultry raising, and beekeeping to generate income. “Sponsors have totally changed our lives,” Yosef says.
With a steady source of income from farming and new skills to sustain their progress, their community is no longer at the mercy of unpredictable rainfall. Now, instead of worrying about their next meal, they can focus on building a brighter future.
Yosef's life has been forever changed through sponsorship. His story is proof that investing in a child's journey doesn't just change one life - it creates an environment where children can thrive, families are empowered and whole communities are strengthened.
Written by Gianina Li Pimentel and Christina Cook, with files from Chelsea Maclachlan and Elissa Webster.