In 2020, World Vision celebrates our 70th Anniversary. More importantly, we celebrate the millions worldwide who have received the tools to overcome poverty – and it all began with one man: Rev. Dr. Bob Pierce, an American evangelist and war correspondent who famously said:
“Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”
While on a trip to China, Bob visited a girls’ school run by Dutch missionaries. Its principal Tena Hoelkeboer came to him with a young girl named White Jade who had been abandoned by her family and left with nothing.
Tena asked Bob a simple question: “What are you going to do about it?” Deeply moved, he gave the five dollars in his pocket to Tena and pledged to send more when he got home. But that question would continue to haunt him.
In 1950, he served as a war correspondent covering the Korean War. That same year, he founded World Vision to meet the needs of Korea’s war orphans; in 1953, World Vision’s Child Sponsorship Programme was established. In the years that followed, World Vision would grow rapidly, and now reaches children in nearly 100 countries.
Rev. Dr. Bob Pierce’s legacy can be felt keenly as World Vision begins a new decade. With the support of our wonderful child sponsors and donors, we've been able to impact the lives of over 200 million vulnerable children by tackling the root causes of poverty.
World Vision came to be because one person saw a need and answered the question “What are you going to do about it?” with loving action. Millions of lives have been changed because many ordinary people have done the same.
How will you answer that question today?
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In 2022, 84.8% of donations collected were used for programmes that benefit children, families and communities in need.
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