World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Motivated by our Christian faith, we are dedicated to working with the world's most vulnerable people. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, gender or ethnicity. We provide hope and assistance to approximately 100 million people in nearly 100 countries.

• Sustainable development: In partnership with local communities, World Vision works to help children and families move toward lives of dignity and security. With appropriate assistance, poor communities can enhance education, improve health care, yield better crops, generate more income and jobs, foster self-development, and nurture and protect their children. More than 2.5 million children are sponsored through World Vision, including 414,123 children supported by Canadians.
   
• Emergency relief: During natural disasters and other emergencies, World Vision protects vulnerable people and provides emergency relief such as food, water, shelter, medicine and clothing. World Vision also assists communities to reduce the risk of disasters by helping them to improve health care, education, water, sanitation, environmental protection and human rights. In 2006, World Vision responded to approximately 80 humanitarian disasters in 67 countries.
   
• Advocacy and education: World Vision advocates for national and international policies that will ensure the rights of children and respect the rights of all. World Vision engages and equips Canadians to become agents of change in the fight against global poverty. World Vision is a leading member of the national Make Poverty History campaign.

History

The Rev. Bob Pierce, World Vision's founder, was profoundly moved by the poverty and hunger he witnessed during a trip to Asia in 1950. He met an abandoned child named White Jade who was being cared for by her teacher. Pierce gave his last five dollars to White Jade's teacher, along with a promise to send that same amount each month for the child. Soon afterward, he established a child sponsorship program to assist children orphaned during the Korean War. Funds from child sponsorship assisted poor children with food, education, health care and vocational training. World Vision gradually expanded its work throughout Asia, and into Latin America, and Africa.

In the 1970's, World Vision established an emergency relief division and has since responded to the world's worst humanitarian disasters, including the famine in Ethiopia, the genocide in Rwanda, hurricanes in Central America, war in the Balkans and the Southeast Asia tsunami. During this time, World Vision also began long-term development work that addresses community needs such as water, sanitation, education, health care, income generation and leadership training.

Today World Vision is Canada's largest, private, relief and development agency, and enjoys the support of 569,000 individual Canadians, as well as corporations, churches and government bodies. World Vision is a key partner of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the World Food Programme.