Burundi: Feed a child, keep them in school
In: Development
15 May 2012By Lucy Murunga
I want to take you on a journey to Ngogomo village in northeastern Burundi where many households are facing serious food deficits.
Disappointing rains have led to poor harvests, driving the prices of food up and straining the purchasing power of the already poor and struggling families.
Here families only get a meal a day if they are lucky. Most go to bed hungry. Read the rest of this entry »
Remembering Melody on World Malaria Day
In: Development
25 Apr 2012By Michael Arunga
I detest mosquitos. They are irritants to sleep. They hoover around ears releasing a sonorous sound that prompts one to involuntarily slap oneself awake, ruining sleep. But that is not why I hate all mosquitos. Eleven years ago, these vectors of the dreaded child killer, malaria, were party to the death of my first born and only daughter. Melody Ayuma Arunga succumbed painfully to this disease, adding to the statistics that justify commemoration of World Malaria day today. Read the rest of this entry »
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- Tags: Child Health, Malaria
By Adel Sarkozi, World Vision West Africa
A baobab tree in a field in Mali.
Travelling through the countryside in Mali, heading to Tominian district – about 400 kilometres from the capital of Bamako, towards the border with Burkina Faso. You have six to seven hours to take in the world unfolding around you. Baobab trees with tortured branches; Mango trees – leaves heavy under the dust, guarding the roads; Empty, yellow or grayish fields, thirsty for water.
“If only we had water, we could grow vegetables, crops here…. But in places like this, you would have to dig 12 to 13 meters to get to some. Even then, you might not find any,” comments Abraham, our driver, as if reading your thoughts. Read the rest of this entry »
Meeting Kony
In: Development
27 Mar 2012The name ‘Joseph Kony’ – leader of Ugandan rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army(LRA) – is known across the globe, following the‘Kony2012’ campaign which has seen nearly 85million hits on YouTube.
James Odong from Uganda – now a senior World Vision staff member –was captured by Kony’s army at the age of 19 and came face-to-face with the rebel leader himself.
After escaping his captors in 1989, James worked to set up a Children of War Centre which has helped more than ten thousand former child soldiers. Here, James tells his story for the first time. Read the rest of this entry »
Why water makes a difference
In: Development
21 Mar 2012By Lauren Fisher
Contributing reporter: Amadou Baraze
Lately you could say water has become a major obsession of mine. In the past I’ve taken it for granted. It’s the back-up beverage when I can’t find iced tea or soda, the bath I can count on at the end of the long day.
But as one colleague told me, in Zinder (Niger), water is precious. For me that means without warning at any given time there is no water at all. At any given time, the shower stops working mid-shampoo, along with any other bathroom fixture. Read the rest of this entry »
One small cry: Hassane’s fight against malnutrition
In: Development
22 Feb 2012By Lauren Fisher
Twenty-month-old Hassane Mahamadou eagerly eats the life-saving Plumpy'nut.
The diagnosis of severely malnourished means Hassane will get Plumpy’nut. But first, there is the test, is he strong enough to take the nourishment he so desperately needs. The aid workers, the other mothers and Hassane’s family fall silent as the little one is given the package with the vitamin-rich paste.
It was the best moment of the day. Not the warm smiles and waves of the villagers, not the sound and sight of sparkling, precious water hitting the waiting buckets, not even the laughs of children seeing how my camera worked. Read the rest of this entry »
By Adel Sarkozi
You are in a small health clinic in the South of Chad, in West Africa. It is 9 am. The air is hot, dry, filled with cries.
You are amidst 40 mothers, sitting on the ground or on the clinic’s porch, babies in their laps. Under brightly coloured headscarves, their faces look tired, drawn, sad. You catch glimpses of the babies. Their skin is stretched over their chests like paper over wire frames. Their legs are long and thin. Their bellies are protruding. Read the rest of this entry »
East Pokot residents continue to rely on relief food
In: Development
24 Jan 2012By Lucy Murunga
It had been a year since I was last in East Pokot – an area that has long suffered from perennial food problems. I made a trip down there this January in the hope the food situation had changed after the area received some rains late last year. To my disappointment, the food situation is still dire – but the good news is World Vision is on the ground to ensure that families are cushioned from starvation.
Here is what I witnessed. Read the rest of this entry »
Food Crisis in Niger
5 Jan 2012By Ann Birch
Three weeks into November, just weeks after this year’s October harvest, and Niger is on the brink of a critical cereal deficit that threatens to leave millions hungry. According to Government figures it is estimated that 6 million people, in some 7,000 communities, are affected.
It is easy to talk about numbers. Admittedly they are helpful as they can show the huge impact that a crisis, such as the one unfolding in Niger, has when a harvest fails in a country dependent on subsistence farming. However, these same figures can be so overwhelming that they mask the paralyzing effects that such a crisis has on the lives of men, women and children, at the heart of this human calamity. Read the rest of this entry »
WAD: Getting to zero
In: Development|Health
30 Nov 2011Sylvia Nabanoba
World AIDS Day is here, a day when we both remember those who have passed on due to AIDS and celebrate the lives of those who are still alive, thanks to anti-retroviral treatment, prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV programmes and the strong spirit and faith that keep AIDS patients going.
This year the day will be marked under the theme Getting to Zero – Zero New HIV Infections, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS-Related Deaths.
Zero AIDS-Related Deaths – this part of the theme brings to my mind 38-year-old Cissy Nakandi, who lives in one of the World Vision Area Development Programmes in Uganda. I met Cissy last month at her home on a hot afternoon. She was busy spreading out beans to dry in her compound. Read the rest of this entry »
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- Tags: HIV, Uganda, World Aids Day
About World Vision
World Vision is an independent and private Christian humanitarian organization currently working in 24 countries in Africa and another 72 globally to make a significant and sustainable impact on poverty and its causes, with a special concern for children.
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- Fotios: Mosquitoes are the carrier of dengue and malaria. In order to avoid getting this sickness make sure [...]
- Luis: See if a church in your cmiounmty is going on a more local mission trip. A group from our church is [...]
- What it’s like to have malaria « U.S. Africa Command Blog: [...] — Michael Arunga, World Vision, “Remembering Melody on World Malaria Day“ [...] [...]
- LIVE Q&A with James Odong – April 27 | Connect: [...] After escaping his captors in 1989, James worked to set up a Children of War Centre which has [...]
- Catherine: No abductions in the last few years. Happy for you James... [...]
- Burundi: Feed a child, keep them in school
- Remembering Melody on World Malaria Day
- Heavy burden as they ponder what to do, how to cope
- Meeting Kony
- Why water makes a difference
- One small cry: Hassane’s fight against malnutrition
- Hunger in West Africa: Putting you in their shoes.
- East Pokot residents continue to rely on relief food
- Food Crisis in Niger
- WAD: Getting to zero
- Things gone from bad to worse in #Mauritania. People are scared to see what worse than worse is: http://t.co/scZ1bqDv
- #DearG8 Too much at stake-It's time to take responsibility for child hunger. @thousanddays #HungerFree #ImpactG8 http://t.co/vI84DI4X
- RT @WVNZUpdates: The #G8 meets 2day 2 discuss food security in #Africa. In '09 it pledged $22 billion to the cause but only 22% was ever ...
- #DearG8 Hear our voices and help us build the #HungerFree world we want. #ImpactG8 http://t.co/r9BNapbG
- Hey #G8, did u know the current pop of the USA, times 4, is the total number of people living in extreme poverty? http://t.co/jnruvzHf