World News & Stories

I’m not afraid to admit that I’m in love; even though I’ve been playing for nearly two decades, soccer and I are still in the honeymoon phase. Sure, like every relationship, we’ve had our ups and downs. But there is something magical about soccer that brings people together. That’s what I can’t get enough of.

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.

In 2004, Gennri became part of a World Vision-sponsored savings group, which serves as a bank for the poor.

Mãe, Mère, Maji, Induk, Mama, Ammee, Mom; the word ‘mother’ in any language represents strength, love and security. And these moms are no exception!

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.

For these five children, getting to school is no simple matter. But mountain ranges and rivers won’t stop them from getting an education. And, like their commitment to learning, our admiration for them knows no bounds. 

As Father's Day approaches, I wanted to learn how dads around the world encourage, mentor and care for their children. Looking through the World Vision photo database, I found dozens of men who go to immense lengths for their little ones.

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.

Srey Neang packs 4000 heavy bricks onto a truck every single day. It’s backbreaking labour, work not meant for a 13-year-old girl. In fact, she spends more time working than she does in school, making her dream of becoming a teacher seem like an unlikely reality. 

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.

Despite its delicious taste, chocolate does more harm than good when it's sourced unethically. But ethical chocolate can transform impoverished cocoa-producing communities into thriving ones... just ask Mayra!

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.

Children should be playing, learning to read and write and experiencing happy, healthy childhoods. But when there’s not enough money to put a meal on the table, children have no choice but to earn their keep. It’s a growing problem, particularly in countries that don’t have strong governments, laws and regulations to make sure children are going to school, not down mine shafts.

This Saturday, I got to meet real-life superheroes. They were refugee mothers, recently arrived from the Middle East having escaped Syria. All of them had come to a giant playdate organized by World Vision and the Mennonite Central Committee for their families. 

They may not share the same views when it comes to politics, but on the issue of child slavery, these five Canadian MPs all agree: it needs to stop. Wayne Easter, Russ Hiebert, Dean Allison, Wai Young and Isabelle Morin, took to the bustling streets of Phnom Penh and Bangkok, where they met slavery’s youngest victims.

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.