Besides ensuring that sponsored children have food and shelter, World Vision endeavours to make sure they are also safe. In South America, the Children's Leadership Network was created to help children take the first step of alerting their countries' leaders to the dangers they face.

"If I was Minister of State, there would be no beaten women," Adriana Acuña Barra - a 15-year-old from Santiago, Chile, who dreams of being a doctor some day - told the Chilean Ministers of State. At another child advocacy event organized by World Vision, 13-year-old Sandra Molina told Chile's First Lady that children her age and younger often feel ashamed to express their concerns about mistreatment and abuse, preferring to keep silent instead.

And in Bolivia, six Canadian-sponsored children are already speaking up about their situation. They are participating in a Children's Parliament set up to help the Bolivian government eradicate child abuse and the discrimination of girls and boys with disabilities, while improving educational opportunities for children and adolescents.

Whether calling attention to horrific child labour practices, working at peace-building initiatives, or seeking just trade and economic policies, World Vision is at the forefront of policy and public debate around the world.