Hope. Desmond Tutu is intimately acquainted with it. For decades, he fought apartheid in his native South Africa, often with little measurable progress and at great personal cost. Today, he is a revered moral voice still persevering toward an end to poverty and injustice. He is a champion for children and a personal inspiration to me as a leader. With his life, he has taught us all that indeed hope works.
We can also learn much about hope from less renowned but equally experienced teachers — the poor whom World Vision serves.
In May, I travelled to Myanmar to see firsthand our response to Cyclone Nargis. There, I met Ma Than Nwe. She and her five children lost everything in the disaster. "Hope" was the first word out of Nwe's mouth when World Vision's emergency team arrived in her community with food, water and blankets: "Hope; World Vision has brought hope to our lives," she said.
For me, Nwe epitomizes the tenacity of hope. She is ready to rebuild, to believe that a better future awaits her children.
Thanks to God's grace and our donors' generosity, Nwe's hope is not in vain.
Even in this year of economic turmoil and uncertainty, 612,911 Canadians
gave faithfully to World Vision. These included 379,758 child sponsors, who
chose to support our community development work to improve health,
education and access to water and sanitation for children and their
communities.
I am pleased to report that, in 2008, World Vision's revenue grew by 8.4 per
cent. Canadians gave 240,000 gifts from our Gift Catalogue, valued at $18 million, to children and families overseas. And we
are grateful to the Government of Canada, which entrusted us with $15.7
million in grant funding to provide humanitarian assistance and reduce
poverty in 25 countries.
Transparent Stewardship
At World Vision, we recognize that hope is entwined with trust. We take seriously the trust you place in us to use your gifts wisely and efficiently to improve the lives of children.
As an organization committed to transparent stewardship, we welcome your questions about how we are using your donations. This annual report highlights some of our child-focused relief, development and advocacy programs that you have made possible this year.
The well-being of children remained our primary focus in 2008, but we also made significant advances in our other two strategic priorities of public transformation and organizational excellence:
• Some 100,000 Canadian youth participated in our
30 Hour Famine, raising $4.5 million for relief and development programs.
• Through World Vision leadership events, 669 young Canadians were empowered to become lifelong advocates for the poor. Six of these teens travelled to Tanzania in July as part of our
Youth Ambassadors program.
• On World AIDS Day 2007, we held a vigil in Toronto to remember the millions of children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was among those in attendance.
• Three hundred and thirty-five Canadian businesses chose to invest in a better future for children by contributing to our projects in 21 countries.
• More than 50 local non-profit organizations partnered with us to fight child poverty in 13 cities across Canada.
• To ensure we are adhering to the highest ethical practices as an organization, we signed on to the new
Ethical Fundraising and Financial Accountability Code of Imagine Canada, conducting a careful review of our fundraising programs in the process.
Thank you for finding, as Archbishop Tutu says, that not-so-small act of goodwill in your heart. Thank you for making hope work for Nwe, her family and the children whose lives you have touched around the world.
Dave Toycen
President and CEO,
World Vision Canada 