The emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in late 2019, and its associated disease, COVID-19, left an indelible mark on the world. Beyond its immediate health implications, the pandemic has threatened progress in reducing global poverty and income inequalities. Of particular concern is the long-term impact on children in areas such as education, mental health, and protection from exploitation. These challenges have further hindered progress toward achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 5 (Gender Equality).

COVID-19 pandemic: Facts, FAQs, and how to help

• Fast facts: Coronavirus and COVID-19
• What do I need to know about the coronavirus and COVID-19?
• Is the coronavirus worse than the flu?
• World Vision’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.?
• World Vision’s response to the coronavirus pandemic worldwide?
• How many people has World Vision supported during the pandemic?
• What has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children?
• How has the pandemic affected sponsored children?
• How can I help people made more vulnerable by emergencies like the pandemic?
• Resources to learn more about COVID-19
• 2025 update on COVID-19 and timeline

Fast facts: Coronavirus and COVID-19

• Global statistics: As of January 2025, over 777 million COVID-19 cases and 7 million deaths have been recorded worldwide since December 2019.
• U.S. statistics: While data was collected from January 2020 to March 2023, the United States led globally with nearly 104 million reported cumulative cases and more than 1.1 million recorded deaths.
• The virus and its variants: SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19, was identified on December 31, 2019. Variants such as Omicron continue to evolve, with some being more transmissible than earlier strains.
• Child poverty: In just two years, an estimated 100 million more children have fallen into poverty, a 10% increase since 2019. Today, an estimated 356 million children live in extreme poverty.
• Child marriage risks: Up to 10 million more girls are at risk of becoming child brides due to the pandemic.
• Education disruption: Over 1.6 billion children worldwide experienced school closures at some time during the pandemic, leading to significant learning losses.

BACK TO QUESTIONS

What do I need to know about the coronavirus and COVID-19?

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses named for crownlike spikes on their surfaces. COVID-19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which spreads through respiratory droplets from coughs, sneezes, or speech.

COVID-19 symptoms: Fever, cough, difficulty breathing, chills and shaking, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or a loss of sense of taste or smell. Severe cases can lead to pneumonia and severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Variants: New variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, will continue to evolve as they spread and replicate. Some disappear. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks and continues to monitor variants.

Learn more from the CDC’s latest update on COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.

BACK TO QUESTIONS

Is the coronavirus worse than the flu?

COVID-19 is more infectious and severe than the flu, with a higher mortality rate and limited preexisting immunity. While both are contagious respiratory illnesses, the novel coronavirus causes more widespread and prolonged disruptions to health and society, according to the CDC.

BACK TO QUESTIONS

World Vision’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.?

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, World Vision acted quickly to support vulnerable families across the U.S. by distributing Family Emergency Kits in key locations, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle. Each kit included essential supplies — nutritious food for a family of five for a week, along with hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, first-aid antiseptic, paper products, and children’s games and school supplies — helping families during this challenging time.

Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, we distributed 87,600 Family Emergency Kits, serving more than 328,700 children and adults through our church partners as of February 1, 2024. In partnership with the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program, we also distributed more than 3.6 million Fresh Food Boxes to nearly 14.3 million people across the U.S. through a network of over 1,300 churches between May 2020 and May 2021.

World Vision also supplied more than 3 million items of personal protective equipment to healthcare systems, first responders, and schools across the U.S., including a distribution to the Navajo Nation.

BACK TO QUESTIONS

World Vision’s response to the coronavirus pandemic worldwide?

World Vision prioritized our COVID-19 response in every country where we work. Our global response focused on four main objectives, with programs that were adapted based on context and local need:

• Scaling up preventive measures to slow the spread
• Strengthening healthcare systems and workers
• Supporting children impacted by the effects of the pandemic
• Collaborating and advocating with partners to ensure that vulnerable children got the care they need

We served vulnerable populations in countries where the health systems and monitoring were weak; where people have been suffering from diseases common among impoverished populations, such as malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, HIV and AIDS, and Ebola; or where severe malnutrition compromised immune systems.

BACK TO QUESTIONS

How many people has World Vision supported during the pandemic?

World Vision has supported more than 99 million people globally to stay safe during the pandemic with supplies and information about protecting themselves from COVID-19, including handwashing, social distancing, mask usage, hygiene practices, and vaccines. As of September 2022, marking the end of our program’s reporting, here are response highlights:

• Partnered with more than 207,614 faith leaders to ensure vulnerable families have information on COVID-19 prevention and care and vaccines.
• Distributed more than 12.8 million supplies, including handwashing materials, hygiene kits, and cleaning kits, to keep communities safe.
• Established or maintained nearly 297,000 facilities, like community handwashing stations, school toilets, household latrines with handwashing facilities, clean drinking water systems, and community drainage systems, to limit the spread of COVID-19.
• Reached more than 54 million people with health interventions, including preventative behavior and vaccine messaging, safe quarantine and/or isolation spaces, and transportation support and services.
• Trained 291,430 community health workers in COVID-19 prevention measures, including vaccines.
• Aided more than 5.2 million people with educational materials, support, or training so children could keep learning during pandemic-related school closures.
• Helped more than 13 million people in 64 countries with cash and vouchers or food assistance.
• Supported over 1.9 million children with child protection activities.
• Assisted more than 5 million people with psychosocial support or age-specific health information, education, and communication materials.
• Equipped people and communities to recover and thrive during COVID-19 through VisionFund’s microfinancing, recovery loans, and savings groups.

Vaccines play a critical role for the most vulnerable 

In 2022, World Vision reached more than 10.5 million people, including 4.2 million children, with support for vaccine programs and interventions to reduce the pandemic’s indirect impacts on the most vulnerable people.

Globally and through our local staff, World Vision has extensive experience confronting pandemics, supporting vaccination programs, and improving child health. We worked alongside our partners to implement immunization campaigns and ensure communities understood the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccination. The availability of COVID-19 vaccines for vulnerable people globally will continue to enormously benefit the hundreds of millions of children whom the pandemic has negatively impacted by giving them a lifeline to return to their childhoods. Vaccines are a game changer for children, as they allow kids to resume school and families to recover their livelihoods.

BACK TO QUESTIONS

What has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children?

The pandemic has had profound and lasting effects on children worldwide, impacting their health, education, and overall well-being. For many children in developing countries, the effects of the pandemic have also increased poverty, hunger, and the risk of child marriage, child labor, gender-based violence, and exploitation.

• An estimated 5.2 million children worldwide have lost a primary or secondary caregiver due to COVID-19.
• In 2021, experts estimated that an additional 8.9 million children will have engaged in child labor by the end of 2022 due to rising poverty driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Following abrupt drops in household incomes; disruptions to the supply of affordable, nutritious foods; and interruptions to health, nutrition, and social protection services, up to 15% more children suffered from wasting in 2020 compared with projections for 2020 without COVID-19.

The pandemic also ushered in new challenges for children’s mental health or intensified pre-existing mental health issues.

World Vision, in partnership with War Child, examined the impact of COVID-19 on the mental and psychosocial well-being of children living in conflict-affected countries, including Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jordan, Lebanon, and South Sudan. According to the 2021 study, the number of refugee children who said they needed mental health support had more than tripled because of COVID-19.

BACK TO QUESTIONS

How has the pandemic affected sponsored children?

World Vision worked diligently to help protect children from the indirect effects of the COVID-19 disease, like hunger and extreme poverty. Through our child sponsorship programs, we:

1. 1. Assessed local situations and responded in the most appropriate ways
   2. Trained staff, community volunteers, and partners on the prevention of COVID-19 and access of care and treatment
   3. Worked with local health authorities and community organizations to spread accurate information about COVID-19, including the importance of vaccination when available, to families and communities

BACK TO QUESTIONS

How can I help people made more vulnerable by emergencies like the pandemic?

You can help bring hope to people who have been made more vulnerable by crises like the pandemic.

• Pray: Join us in praying for all those affected by this pandemic and its lasting impacts.
• Give: Your gift can help deliver hope and meet practical needs of  children and their families during emergencies.

BACK TO QUESTIONS

Resources to learn more about COVID-19

• U.S. COVID-19 data: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides detailed case trends, hospitalizations, and variant tracking.
• Global COVID-19 insights: The World Health Organization (WHO) offers international data on COVID-19 transmission and variant tracking.
• Comprehensive COVID-19 graphs: Our World in Data presents in-depth visual trends on cases, deaths, and vaccinations worldwide.

2025 update on COVID-19 and timeline

December 2019

• December 31: In Wuhan, China, reports surface of people with pneumonia due to an unknown cause. Between December 31 and January 3, national authorities in China report 44 cases to the World Health Organization (WHO).

January 2020

• January 9: The first confirmed death from the outbreak occurs.
• January 11: The National Health Commission in China informs the WHO that the outbreak is linked to exposure to the seafood and live animal market in Wuhan. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities identify a novel (new) coronavirus.
• January 12: Chinese health officials share the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus for countries to use in developing specific diagnostic kits.
• January 21: The WHO confirms 314 cases of the new coronavirus, 309 of which are in China. Other countries reporting cases include Thailand, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. The CDC confirms the first case in the United States — a person in Washington state who returned from Wuhan on January 15. The death toll rises to six. Many people affected have underlying health issues, according to Reuters.
• January 24: Reported cases around the world increase to 846, with 830 in China. Singapore and Viet Nam report their first cases, and a second case is identified in the U.S. — a person who lives in Illinois and recently visited Wuhan. The death toll increases to 25.
• January 25: The WHO confirms 1,320 cases globally. Australia, Nepal, and France report their first cases. A third U.S. case is identified in Orange County, California — a person who had recently traveled to Wuhan. Forty-one people have died so far, all in China.
• January 28: Global cases jump to 4,593, with 4,537 in China. The death toll increases to 106, and three more countries — Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Germany — report cases.
  • An airliner with about 210 U.S. citizens, mostly consulate personnel and their families, leave Wuhan for the United States. CDC officials recommend avoiding all travel to China and expand airport health screenings to 20 U.S. locations.
  • Scientists in Australia become the first to recreate the new coronavirus outside of China.
• January 30: The global case total jumps to 7,818, with China accounting for 7,736. Outside of China, 82 cases have been identified in 18 different countries. The WHO reports cases in Malaysia, the Philippines, India, and Finland. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirms Italy has its first two cases during a press conference.
  • The CDC confirms the first human-to-human transmission in the United States.
  • U.S. President Donald J. Trump announces the formation of a coronavirus task force to lead America’s response to the outbreak.
  • The WHO emergency committee makes a nearly unanimous decision to declare a public health emergency of international concern.

February 2020

• February 11: The WHO names the illness COVID-19, based on its origin in 2019 and the coronavirus that causes it.
• February 14: A Chinese tourist who tested positive for COVID-19 dies in France, becoming the first person to die from the epidemic in Europe. The same day, Egyptian officials announce the country’s first case of COVID-19, according to a joint statement by Egypt’s Ministry of Health and the WHO. This is the first confirmed case in Africa.

March 2020

• March 11: The WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic.
• March 12: The global case total passes 128,000 people, with the death toll now at over 4,700 people.
  • Travel bans cascade around the globe.
  • Wall Street suffers its worst day since 1987 as virus fears spread.
  • Events across the U.S. are canceled or postponed. Many universities and schools temporarily close or announce a move to online learning. Professional and collegiate sports seasons are also affected, including the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, and the NCAA, which cancels the annual March Madness basketball tournament.
• March 16: Coronavirus vaccine testing begins in the U.S. Even if the research goes well, a vaccine wouldn’t be available for widespread use for 12 to 18 months, says Dr. Anthony Fauci of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
• March 17: Coronavirus cases have now been identified in all 50 U.S. states.
• March 26: The overall number of cases passes 550,000 worldwide, with more than 175 countries reportedly affected. The U.S. now leads the world in the number of confirmed cases.

April 2020

• April 2: Cases worldwide top 1 million. More than 200,000 people in the U.S. have been infected.
• April 11: Cases in the U.S. surpass 500,000.
• April 27: Cases worldwide reach 3 million, with 185 countries now affected by the pandemic.

May 2020

• May 9: Cases worldwide top 4 million.

July 2020

• July 8: Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 11.8 million. Cases in the U.S. surpass 3 million.
• July 14: The CDC recommends Americans wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• July 22: Global cases exceed 15 million.
• July 27: Phase III clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Moderna, begin in the United States.

August 2020

• August 1: Mexico’s COVID-19 death toll becomes the third highest in the world. Mississippi records the highest COVID-19 positivity rate in the nation.
• August 6: Africa’s cases surpass 1 million, with South Africa accounting for more than half.
• August 10: Moderna and U.S. federal officials reach a deal to supply the United States with 100 million doses of Moderna’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine.
• August 13: The WHO reports that the COVID-19 pandemic is costing the global economy over $375 billion per month, citing International Monetary Fund research.

September 2020

• September 29: Global deaths surpass 1 million. Deaths from coronavirus-related illnesses have doubled in just three months, led by fatalities in the U.S., Brazil, and India. The NFL reports its first COVID-19 outbreak.
• September 30: The WHO announces nearly $1 billion to fight COVID-19 and to make sure poor countries receive treatments and vaccines against the disease.

October 2020

• October 1: U.S. President Donald J. Trump and first lady Melania Trump test positive for COVID-19.
• October 8: The White House COVID-19 outbreak reaches at least 34 people.
• October 28: The U.S. announces it will provide no-cost access to the COVID-19 vaccine, once available, for all Americans.
• October 29: WHO officials announce that Europe is again the epicenter of the pandemic.
• October 30: Cases in the U.S. surpass 9 million.

November 2020

• November 4: The United States passes 100,000 new daily COVID-19 cases for the first time.
• November 17: New unemployment claims in the U.S. fall below 1 million for the first time since March.

December 2020

• December 11: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues the first emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine to Pfizer-BioNTech.
• December 14: The death toll in the United States surpasses 300,000. COVID-19 moves ahead of heart disease as the leading cause of death in the nation.
• December 18: The FDA authorizes Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the U.S. 
• December 20: Several European countries impose travel restrictions after new coronavirus variants are identified there. The new variants begin to emerge in the U.S., with the first case reported in late December.
• December 21: The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved by the European Union.

January 2021

• January 14: A WHO team of scientists arrive in Wuhan, as China ramps up efforts to contain a resurgence of COVID-19 infections in China’s northeast.
• January 19: The U.S. surpasses 400,000 coronavirus–related deaths.

February 2021

• February 22: The U.S. passes 500,000 coronavirus–related deaths.
• February 26: The United States administers 70.5 million COVID-19 vaccines.
• February 27: The FDA authorizes the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use in the U.S.

March 2021

• March 11: Brazil’s intensive care units surpass 90% capacity in 15 capitals as the pandemic flares up. Researchers in Brazil identify two cases of simultaneous infection with two different coronavirus variants.
• March 17: The European Union unveils its plans for vaccine passports, while the United Kingdom considers a vaccine passport option for summer travel.

April 2021

• April 23: The FDA announces its first full approval of a COVID-19 vaccine, produced by Pfizer-BioNTech.

May 2021

• May 7: India is experiencing a deadly second wave of COVID-19 infections. The world’s second-most populous country records 414,188 new cases in one day — a record high.
• May 10: The FDA approves Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccination for children as young as 12.
• May 12: The Red Cross warns that cases are exploding across Asia, with more than 5.9 million new confirmed infections in the past two weeks. India’s death toll surpasses 250,000.
• May 13: The CDC announces that fully vaccinated Americans do not need to wear a mask indoors or outdoors or follow physical distancing guidelines. Guidelines will still apply for travel and public transit.

June 2021

• June 10: Over 172 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC. More than 873 million people worldwide have received at least one dose, according to the WHO.
• June 19: Brazil reports a total of more than 500,000 deaths from COVID-19, the world’s second-highest confirmed death toll.

July 2021

• July 15: Coronavirus–related deaths rise sharply in Africa, where countries face shortages in oxygen and intensive care beds. The number of deaths rise more than 40% this week, reaching 6,273 — nearly 1,900 more than the week before.
• July 17: The first case of COVID-19 is detected in Tokyo’s Olympic village.
• July 29: President Joe Biden calls on school districts to host pop-up clinics in order to vaccinate more children 12 and older against COVID-19 as worries intensify that the upcoming school year will be interrupted by the delta variant. The CDC describes the delta variant as being as transmissible as chickenpox.

August 2021

• August 2: The United States reaches a 70% vaccination rate.
• August 5: California becomes the first U.S. state to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for all health workers.
• August 23: The FDA grants full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

September 2021

• September 22: The FDA authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots for Americans over 65 or who are at risk of severe COVID-19 complications.

October 2021

• October 20: The FDA recommends a Moderna booster for people 65 and older and the immunocompromised.
• October 29: The FDA approves the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children ages 5 to 11.

November 2021

• November 1: The global death toll surpasses 5 million.
• November 2: The CDC recommends pediatric COVID-19 vaccines for children 5 to 11.
• November 19: The FDA authorizes booster shots of both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for everyone 18 and older.
• November 26: WHO officials classify omicron as a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern.

December 2021

• December 27: The CDC shortens the recommended COVID-19 isolation period to five days.

January 2022

• January 3: The FDA authorizes the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster shots for children 12 to 15.
• January 5: The United States joins Brazil, Hungary, Israel, Italy, and the Philippines in reporting cases of “flurona,” or COVID-19 and Influenza coinfection.

February 2022

• February 15: The Pan-American Health Organization delivers 100 million vaccines to Latin America and the Caribbean via COVAX.
• February 18: The U.S. announces increased vaccine assistance to 11 African countries through its new Initiative for Global Vaccine Access.

March 2022

• March 20: The CDC reports a surge in U.S. hospitalizations of young children with COVID-19 during omicron wave.
• March 24: The WHO identifies the omicron BA.2 “stealth variant” as the dominant strain of omicron worldwide, making up a majority of cases.

April 2022

• April 13: The CDC extends mask requirements, set to expire April 18, to allow more time to study omicron subvariants circulating in the U.S.
• April 18: A federal judge in Florida voids the federal government’s nationwide mask order for public transit, commercial flights, and transportation hubs such as airports and train stations.

July 2022

• July 13: Novavax approved in the U.S. for use in people who haven’t yet been vaccinated.
• July 21: President Biden tests positive for COVID-19 and experiences mild symptoms.

September 2022

• September 14: The World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says, “We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic,” but warned that if the world doesn’t take the opportunity now, there’s still a risk of more variants, deaths, disruption, and uncertainty.

2023

• January 25: The government of North Korea imposes a five-day lockdown on Pyongyang, its capital city, after a spike in respiratory illness..
• January 30: President Biden informs Congress that his administration will not seek a renewal of the public health emergency for COVID-19 after it expires on May 11, 2023.
• May 5: WHO officials announce the end of the emergency phase of COVID-19.
• July 6: China reports a rise in COVID-19 deaths in June following the lift of most containment regulations.
• July 31: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services establishes the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice to lead the national response to Long COVID and help coordinate the launch of Long COVID-related clinical trials.

2025:

• February 2025: Health experts have reported a smaller wave of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. compared to past winters. This trend is attributed to high immunity levels from earlier infections and vaccinations and fewer new variants leading to diminished transmission.

BACK TO QUESTIONS

Sevil Omer, Heather Klinger, and Kristy J. O’Hara-Glaspie of World Vision’s U.S. staff contributed to this article.

The new coronavirus has swiftly become a daunting global challenge. But at World Vision — a ministry born of crisis and shaped by many humanitarian emergencies since — we remain hopeful. We’ve witnessed God’s guiding hand throughout our history.

When we prayed and acted, emboldened by His love for all people, we saw breakthroughs that can only be described as miracles. Travel with us into the past, to the moments that give us such confidence that God is always working for our good, even in dark times.

Soldier of war fosters peace

In January 1968, the Tet Offensive escalated the Vietnam War. The U.S. military targeted several North Vietnamese sites in retaliation, including Radio Hanoi, which had broadcast the signal that sparked the offensive. Marine Corps Captain Robert Seiple was the soldier tasked with dropping 2,000-pound bombs on the site. Anxious during his pre-flight check, Bob took comfort in Psalm 121:1–2: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” (NIV).

Halfway to the target, the mission was called off. Lives, likely including Bob’s, were spared that day. He later became president of World Vision (1987–1998), and focused on peacebuilding and reconciliation — including in Vietnam, where he restarted World Vision’s work after a 13-year absence. In a 1995 speech, Bob reflected, “When I traveled to Hanoi last year, I was struck with gratitude that I never had an opportunity to release those bombs. The area, then and now, is a heavily residential area. Many innocent lives would have been destroyed. Today, I watch our expatriate and Vietnamese staff work side by side at this site, sowing the seeds of hope and reconciliation as we serve the humanitarian needs of this country.”

Communist spy to church planter

World Vision’s early Christian outreach often took the form of evangelistic gatherings in cities where the gospel message was welcome. Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was one such place in 1972. While the country tilted toward revolution, World Vision provided support to the embattled people. After World Vision President Stan Mooneyham (1969–1982) personally accompanied a convoy of relief supplies through rebel-held territory, the government permitted him to convene one of the first evangelism events in the country. Ten thousand people flocked to the four-day gathering.

A young man named Sovann Mam attended. He was a communist spy who played the part of a student. He was sent to find out what the American Christians were up to. As Stan preached the story of the prodigal son, Sovann burst into tears. Describing the moment in his book Church Behind the Wire, Sovann, who later renamed himself Barnabas, writes: “I cried for the acceptance I now knew — in contrast to this Father’s love — I had never known. I cried for my mistaken loyalties. And in my heart, I ran home into the arms of my Father.”

A Christ-follower from that day on, Barnabas suffered for his faith, enduring imprisonment, hard labor, and hunger at the hands of Pol Pot’s regime. As one of only 200 Christians to survive the Killing Fields, he later returned to Cambodia and became a prominent evangelist and church planter, as well as a dedicated partner to World Vision in Cambodia.

Breaking news saves lives

In 1984, Ethiopia was spiraling into a severe hunger crisis largely caused by failing government policies. Only international aid organizations were allowed to operate in the hardest-hit areas, and foreign press were prohibited from entering. Jacob Akol, a former refugee from Sudan who was World Vision’s communications director in East Africa, understood that leveraging the mass-media megaphone was the only hope for suffering Ethiopians. But it would take a miracle. Then, in a chance meeting between Jacob and BBC journalists on a plane to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, God opened the way.

Jacob details what happened next in his book, Burden of Nationality. The first break was that there was no government minder awaiting the BBC team at the Addis airport. The journalists were free to apply for permits to travel north — even though they didn’t have the means to get there. As if on cue, World Vision’s Twin Otter plane was cleared for a supply run the next morning after weeks of being grounded. Jacob quickly arranged for the BBC team to go along. The final hurdle was an airport security officer who could have prevented the journalists from boarding the plane, but he waved them through. Jacob writes, “The journalists went up north, got the story, returned to Addis Ababa and out to Nairobi with the video that moved the world. … The rest is history.”

The $4 billion global response was indeed historic. With surging donations, World Vision scaled up Ethiopia relief operations from $3.5 million to $70 million and began implementing large-scale development programs, helping communities recover and thrive.

Singing the good news

Years before the Iron Curtain closed in Romania in 1989, World Vision quietly supported underground churches there. The secret police commonly harassed our staff. One morning before Sam Kamaleson, World Vision’s vice president at large, planned to speak at a youth rally in Bucharest, he and colleague Charles Rogers were detained for questioning.

The agents told Sam he couldn’t preach at the gathering. But Sam, an evangelist from India who traveled the globe leading World Vision’s pastors’ conferences, was not easily intimidated. He was also blessed with a singing voice that he had used as an evangelism tool since his youth in Madras. According to Charles, Sam asked the agents, “If I can’t preach, can I sing?” They responded, “You can sing until your throat hurts!” So Sam sang that night, slipping in a few words between songs. Charles said, “He sang in his rich baritone. He spoke. He sang. He spoke. And at the end of the service, there was a powerful outpouring of God’s Spirit.”

Sam later said that the most thrilling event of his career was preaching in Romania after communism: “The church in Romania called me and said, ‘You suffered with us when we were oppressed, now come and preach when we are free.’”

Harrowing attack

Alone on a hotel deck in South Africa in 2002, Ken Casey settled down to morning devotions before a critical World Vision conference. As director of World Vision’s newly-launched response to the AIDS pandemic, Ken needed to persuade colleagues to commit more resources to fighting AIDS, which was decimating adult populations in sub-Saharan Africa and threatening to undo decades of World Vision’s development work.

Suddenly, a 100-pound baboon leapt on Ken’s back and began savagely tearing at his skin. Ken fought back, managing to push the animal away long enough to grab a chair as a weapon. The baboon ran off. Ken staggered into the hotel, and colleagues rushed him to the hospital. In an interview in 2003, Ken recalled, “All of a sudden, this grin just appeared on my face. ‘If what we are doing is this important that Satan would try to destroy it,’ I thought, ‘and if God would go to this extent to protect it: Wow! What is it that we’re engaging in?’”

With 135 stitches and 27 staples in his back, Ken returned the next day to lead the conference, which was a turning point in World Vision’s AIDS response. He was even more convinced of God’s intervention when he recovered pages from his Bible stained by blood from the attack. The verses, Joshua 1:6–9 and Isaiah 58:10–11, spoke powerfully to Ken about courage and the value of sacrificing for people affected by AIDS. And by no coincidence, they were the very same Scriptures featured in World Vision’s chapel the next week.

 

Courage to call

After 20 years of conflict, peace talks began between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in 2006. The rebels — who specialized in cruelty, not Christianity — had terrorized people in Gulu, northern Uganda, including abducting thousands of children and forcing them into combat. But a year into the peace process, the LRA pulled out.

It was a blow to World Vision staff on the front lines. Perhaps most of all to Communications Officer Margaret Alerotek, a former sponsored child from Gulu whose parents were killed by the LRA when she was 3. At World Vision, Margaret underwent a change. “I never thought I could ever find it in my heart to forgive the people who deprived me of my parents’ love,” she wrote in an article for this magazine. “But that changed when I joined World Vision and saw the staff’s efforts to build peace.”

When peace talks stalled, Margaret prayed for a way to help. Speaking at World Vision’s D.C. office in May 2007, during a trip that included meeting with members of Congress, she explained, “I asked God to guide me. I took courage, and I called the LRA leadership.” She reached Vincent Otti, deputy to LRA leader Joseph Kony and a fearsome man who had taken a hard line against negotiations. “I was surprised,” Margaret said. “He just listened to me, and he said, ‘Thank you. I’ll be there when you need me. We are still committed to the peace talks.’ I thanked God for that.” The call broke the silence, and negotiations resumed. But Margaret’s action had tragic consequences. A few months later, she died of apparent poisoning at a Gulu restaurant.

Convinced by a child

Nearly 3 million people had fled war-torn Syria in 2013 when World Vision President Rich Stearns (1998–2018) visited a refugee camp in Jordan. “I wasn’t focused on this crisis,” he admitted in a 2017 blog. “World Vision was responding, but there were plenty of other ministry priorities demanding my attention.” At ground level, Rich was daunted by the sight of 100,000 Syrian refugees in Za’atari camp — many of them Muslim — affected by a complicated geopolitical crisis. He wondered, “Why would Americans care about this?”

Then he met Haya, a 10-year-old refugee who poured her feelings into a song and a letter she read to Rich: “I am calling on you, the people of the other world. Have you ever thought of the children of Syria?” Her words touched Rich’s heart, and he resolved to do everything he could to raise awareness of the Syrian refugee crisis. He carried Haya’s letter with him and quoted her in his speeches over the next five years, which contributed to World Vision raising $50 million to date for Syria.

It wasn’t the first time God got Rich’s attention with the plight of a child. As the new World Vision president in 1998, Rich traveled to Rakai, Uganda, and met 13-year-old Richard, who was orphaned by AIDS. Showing Rich his Bible, Richard said, “I love to read the book of John because it says that Jesus loves the children.” The boy had the same effect on Rich that Haya would have later, convicting Rich to break through American Christians’ apathy over an unpopular issue. Rich wrote, “A child can tell you what you most need to know about a faraway, complicated crisis — simply that precious children Jesus loves are suffering.”

Throughout World Vision’s more than 70 years of work, our roots have run deep in helping where people are suffering, where poverty seems undefeatable, and where the needs are great. With God’s sustaining hand and faithful support from people like you, we were there in the wake of the Vietnam War with Operation Seasweep, sailing the South China Sea to pick up Vietnamese refugees that the world had turned its back on. We were there during the Ethiopian famine, feeding starving children and doing the much harder work of helping to establish long-lasting systems that have transformed lives and the region. We cried out for the church to respond when the AIDS crisis was creating orphans at an astonishing rate. We’ve been helping countless families since the Syrian civil war resulted in the largest refugee crisis of our day. And today, we’re responding to the crippling needs brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in every country we work in while our staff are all equally affected by this crisis.

In 2010, we embarked on a mission unlike any we’d ever undertaken. In the middle of a major economic crisis, we launched World Vision’s Campaign For Every Child (FEC). Our goal was to empower 20 million people worldwide with life-changing resources. We felt God calling us to make this bold move, and many of you felt the same call. Because God honored our joint efforts, this groundbreaking campaign had an incredible global impact. We exceeded our goals, reaching more than 25 million people — half of them children — in just five years.

Each of these challenges seemed insurmountable — the numbers too big, the need too great. But World Vision instead said “together, we can do this, because this vision is from God.” He is our confidence who has guided us and provided for us for over 70 years. And He has stirred in your hearts and inspired you to be part of His great work of empowering children and families to raise themselves out of poverty so they can have life, hope, and a future — even amid crises like a global pandemic.

And that’s why we’re not backing down, and instead we’re setting an even more audacious goal. At God’s prompting in late 2015, World Vision launched Every Last One (ELO) — a $1 billion capital campaign over eight years to reach more than 60 million people*. It’s over twice as large as FEC was, and it builds on our global child sponsorship foundation — accelerating development in places where sponsorship projects already have a firm footprint. In these communities, campaign projects — funded by private donors and philanthropists — help us make an even bigger impact even faster, meeting a family’s needs through three areas of focus:

• Life through clean water and mother and child health
• Hope through child protection, emergency response, and Christian discipleship
• Future through economic empowerment and education

Come with us on a journey to discover what’s been accomplished so far. See the lives that have been transformed — both those of people here in the U.S. who said yes to God’s call to help, and those of the children and families we serve around the world. And continue the journey by partnering with us to make life, hope, and a future possible for every last one during a time when all three of those ideas seem questionable. The needs today are even greater because of the pandemic, but by the grace of God and with your compassionate generosity, we’re committed to empowering millions of children and families to transform their lives.

*Includes the number of unique participants in each of our Signature Initiative programs. Because of World Vision’s multi-sector approach, some people will participate in more than one program.

Every human being deserves clean water and access to essential healthcare. Still, women and children in developing nations walk an average of 6 kilometers — 3.7 miles — each day to get bacteria-filled water. And a child under the age of 5 dies every seven seconds, mostly from preventable causes. That’s why World Vision is committed to reaching 25 million people with access to clean water and 2 million mothers and young children with health and nutrition services by 2023.

Once people are healthy and have access to clean water, it opens up new possibilities and inspires hope. This is where World Vision builds on our work by integrating child protection initiatives and leading emergency response programs. When people are safe, it frees them from worry and creates space for spiritual nurture. Christian discipleship is the third component of our Hope work. Through these three initiatives, we’re aiming to reach 28 million people by 2023.

As hope builds, people begin to dream of a brighter future. ELO’s Future work is centered around economic empowerment and education. World Vision’s award-winning Unlock Literacy program empowers parents and children to value education and its life-changing potential. And parents struggling to make ends meet gain the knowledge and tools to farm better, learn new skills, and gain access to financial services like loans and savings groups. Economic resilience is critical to helping families weather natural disasters and other emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, and it also helps them navigate unexpected expenses that life often brings without being financially devastated. Our aim through ELO is to brighten the futures of 5.4 million children and hardworking adults by 2023.

You can help make life, hope, and a future possible for every last one.