Sept. 22 marks 67 years since World Vision was founded by Bob Pierce in 1950. We exist to demonstrate God’s love and bring fullness of life to children around the world, in part by helping them understand that they are special and loved. So, on our birthday, we’re shining the spotlight on sponsored children as they enjoy the fun and festivities of their birthdays, often through the help of sponsors around the world.
Joseph Ssengendo and two of his school friends gather in their home community of Kibiga-Mulagi, Uganda, to read the birthday card Joseph’s sponsor sent him. World Vision’s work in Uganda dates back to 1972 when it assisted Christians fleeing persecution under Dictator Idi Amin. After Amin was overthrown in 1979, World Vision helped Ugandans rebuild their country, and an office opened in 1985. Today, U.S. sponsors support more than 35,600 children and their communities there. (©2013 World Vision/photo by Simon Peter Esaku)
Five-year-old sponsored child Xochilt Maria blows out a candle on a cake at a World Vision birthday party for sponsored children in Cocibolca, Nicaragua. Sponsorship has not only provided Xochilt Maria with school supplies but it gave her mother, Xochilt Sr., access to job skills training and family counseling classes. Her piñata business creates a second source of income so it lessens the impact of the shifting nature of her husband’s construction job and world economy. (©2014 World Vision/photo by Eugene Lee)
For 14-year-old Moe The in Amarapura, Myanmar, the annual birthday card she receives from her sponsor is more than just mail. “They make me feel very special,” she shares. The cards come with simple but fun games that she enjoys playing with her family and friends. (©2016 World Vision/ photo by Khaing Min Htoo)
Inside her home in busy Kanpur, India, a 19-year-old mother celebrates the second birthday of her son, alongside his two older siblings and their 35-year-old grandmother. “A birthday means my child survived another year, and that is reason to celebrate,” says the mother. In Kanpur, World Vision is helping children survive year after year through health and nutrition education, economic empowerment, clean water, child protection, and more. (©2015 World Vision/photo by Annila Harris)
Twin sisters in Yasique, eastern El Salvador, enjoy cake from a World Vision community birthday celebration. For many children, it was their first time celebrating birthdays. World Vision began working in El Salvador in 1975 when it initiated a child sponsorship program through five school projects. U.S. donors sponsor more than 30,600 children in this Central American nation. (©2012 World Vision/photo by Heidi Isaza)
No one has ever wished 12-year-old Martha (center) “Happy Birthday” before. Until now. She received a birthday card and balloons from her sponsor — as did many sponsored children in this rural Zambian community — and Martha is simply delighted. U.S. sponsors support more than 42,300 children like Martha in this southern African country. (©2016 World Vision/photo by Linda Karameta)
A Manhattan Bible Church pastor offers a birthday candle for Allan Arias to blow out on his 5th birthday, as he wasn’t going to have a celebration at home. World Vision works with church partners like this one in New York City to reach people living in poverty here in the U.S. as well. The church’s local outreach is called the NYC Love Kitchen, and its director, Jewel Jones, says, “World Vision is an organization that really has compassion for people. They’re trying to help people where they are in their poverty. They’re sincere. They’re willing to go the extra mile to help communities.” The Love Kitchen helped Allan’s mom feed him and his brother when she didn’t have money for food and provided after-school tutoring. While World Vision was founded by U.S. minister Bob Pierce as an international relief organization, it didn’t start working domestically until 1981. Though there is no formal child sponsorship in the U.S., World Vision partners with more than 2,000 churches, community organizations, schools, corporations, and humanitarian groups to empower youth and children as well as respond to disasters like the recent Oklahoma tornadoes, Superstorm Sandy, and Hurricane Katrina. (©2010 World Vision/photo by Laura Reinhardt)
“This birthday I received many wishes, but I didn’t receive any card, so this makes it more special,” shares 13-year-old Marsela, a sponsored girl in Lezha, Albania. Holding up the birthday card from her sponsor, Marsela says with a smile, “I am very happy every time I receive a letter from my dear friend in England. … This card also has a game I can play with my cousin, so we can have fun these last days of summer holiday.” (©2016 World Vision/photo by Linda Karameta)
Children from Nyaung village in Myanmar proudly wear the birthday crowns their sponsors sent them. Children told staff that when they receive letters and birthday cards from their sponsors, they are “symbols of the special bonding between our sponsors and us.” World Vision’s work in Myanmar began in the 1950s with supporting a pastors’ conference. Today, U.S. donors assist the development of more than 7,700 children there. (©2013 World Vision/photo by Htet Htet Oo)
