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Nothing could have prepared me for the chaotic scene in Adré, Chad, where hundreds of people crowded under a bridge. It was not a real bridge, only a partially built structure near the Sudan border that provided some shade from the unforgiving sun.

The majority of the people around me were women and children who had fled violence in Sudan, escaping with little more than their lives. They were exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and traumatized. A few told me stories of walking for days to reach Chad, suffering theft and beatings along the way.

I saw one mom cradling a baby who appeared lifeless. I prayed the child was only sleeping.

The sight of a suffering child never fails to break my heart. I know it’s not what God wants. Kids deserve to grow up healthy, full of energy, going to school, playing, and discovering their God-given potential. Instead, forces like war, displacement, and hunger cut them off from fullness of life. The bridge in Adré, connecting nothing, is a fitting symbol — there’s seemingly no way out of their misery.

That’s why God wanted me there in Chad. I believe He invited me to see the suffering He sees — a forgotten crisis. To have my heart be broken with the things that break His, as World Vision’s founder, Bob Pierce, famously prayed. And to pick up the shattered pieces of my heart and do something for these children who are so precious to Him.

At the Farchana refugee camp, I found a more hopeful scene. World Vision operates a school feeding program here — one of our emergency food programs in 69 schools across Chad, altogether feeding 70,000 children.

Refugee women cooked all morning to prepare a hot meal for the students. The kids waited patiently while I helped spoon out and serve the beans and rice. They love this makeshift school — a safe haven where they can fill their bellies, feed their minds, and play until sunset.

One of the students I met, 13-year-old Isra, dreams of becoming a pilot. She watches World Food Programme planes take off and land nearby. To her, being a pilot means bringing hope.

I also met Rachida, 8, a remarkable girl with a horrifying story. In Sudan, her entire immediate family — her parents and three brothers — were killed. Rachida fled to Chad with two of her aunts, one holding her by the hand and the other carrying Rachida’s grandmother on her back. Initially, the women fashioned a rough shelter made of little more than sticks and cloth — poor protection against the elements. But now Rachida and her relatives live in two sturdy shelters that keep them cool and safe. That’s thanks to generous donors like you who gave to provide homes for vulnerable children through World Vision’s Gift Catalog. Rachida hopes to go to school, perhaps to become a doctor.

A plate of food … a sturdy tent … these things may seem small. But they make an enormous impact for children living without the basics — much less the comforts — of home. These kids are no different than my own, full of potential and deserving the chance to unleash it. In their dire circumstances, their dreams must seem far away.

That’s why our heartbreak must turn into action. We start with saving lives — in the Sudan crisis, that’s critical. But by God’s grace, we can do more for kids like Isra and Rachida. In a real way, we can help bridge the distance to their dreams.

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I’ve met a lot of entrepreneurs in my day, but none like the young women and men at an entrepreneurship fair in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. With their business plans and products displayed on tables in front of them, they radiated enthusiasm and pride.

Each one of them had overcome considerable challenges to be there. Rampant unemployment and widespread domestic violence in Honduras hold young people back from reaching their dreams. Many turn to gangs to find purpose and identity. Others make the risky choice to migrate to another country in search of opportunity, leaving behind all they know and love.

I believe God intends more for these kids. So do the pastors who partner with World Vision in Honduras. They go into high-risk neighborhoods and seek out kids in these no-win situations, offering them a different path through Youth Ready — a World Vision program that provides job readiness training and mentoring for youth. With the practical skills they build and the supportive guidance they receive, these bright young people are empowered to resist harmful choices and dream big for their futures.

For one of the entrepreneurs I met, 23-year-old Kevin, Youth Ready was a lifeline at his lowest point.

Kevin was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. Growing up, he faced discrimination and bullying because of his physical limitations. He felt that he was nothing but a burden to his parents, causing him to spiral into insecurity and depression. “I had no direction, and my dreams were dead,” he said. “This is why I wanted to die, because during that time I didn’t have a purpose in life.”

Such hopelessness hurts my heart, especially as the dad of a wheelchair-using daughter with cerebral palsy. I know how valuable each child is in our Father’s eyes. And yet I also know that in the world’s most difficult places, where poverty impacts access to medical care and social services, children with disabilities are often the most vulnerable.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of Kevin’s story. He learned about Youth Ready through a local church that partners with World Vision. He started attending the workshops and eventually pursued the entrepreneurship track, learning skills a business owner needs, like administration and finance. Now Kevin manages a thrift shop, earning an income to help his family while also saving up to open more shops and employ people with disabilities.

Youth Ready gave him the sense of purpose he craved — and much more. “I learned to believe in myself, in what I’m able to do, and best of all to have dreams and make them true,” he said.

What a change for Kevin! From feeling despair to gaining skills that will carry him confidently into the future. Now he hopes his experience can be an encouragement. “I want to advise other youth: You don’t need to risk your life and migrate to another country. You can be happy here,” he said. “You just need to have faith, trust God, and work hard to accomplish anything you want.”

Having the right tools and support is only part of the formula for such deep and lasting transformation. The rest comes from knowing who we are in the eyes of our Lord. As Ephesians 2:10 says, “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

I left the entrepreneurship fair in Tegucigalpa inspired. The youth I met were equipped to do more than work — they were ready to shine as God’s handiwork and bring hope to their troubled communities.

Edgar Sandoval Sr. is president and CEO of World Vision. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EdgarSandovalSr.

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Imagine the energy of a sold-out sports event, like an NFL championship game. Excitement ripples through the crowd, punctuated by chants and cheers. Every time the home team scores, the fans go wild, as if points on the scoreboard could make their lifelong dreams come true.

That was the mood at an unforgettable event I joined in Kageyo, Rwanda, earlier this year. Throngs of people filled two massive tents and more spilled out onto the surrounding hillsides. They were there for speeches and testimonials, prayers and praises, live music and dancing. I found myself in a sea of kids wearing World Vision–orange shirts. Together we raised our fists and joyfully chanted “ONE MILLION!”

This was a celebration better than any championship game.

Why? We were celebrating the milestone of World Vision reaching 1 million people across Rwanda with access to clean water. Everyone here was a winner! These families now enjoy a water point within 500 meters of their home, instead of a source that took them hours to get to. And clean water flows in their schools, health facilities, and churches.

I visited a health center where the mere turn of a tap was a sign of impact. Previously, expectant mothers had to bring their own water to deliver their babies because the facility couldn’t provide it. Higher school attendance records were another sign, showing that students are in class instead of out gathering water or ill from waterborne parasites. And at a local church, the pastor told me how critical handwashing stations have become in enabling his congregation to feel safe from disease as they greet one another. In these simple but significant ways, clean water is truly a gamechanger, as its impact continues to grow across the community.

The greatest impact promises to be for the kids I met, like 13-year-old Merci. Merci told me that ever since she was a small girl she has had to walk hours to collect water for her family. She was often late to school and fell behind, putting her at the bottom of her class. Now, with a water tap right near her home, she’s not just thriving in school—she wants to become a doctor!

Children like Merci have so much potential, limited only by their circumstances. What makes the difference is the people who invest in them and cheer them on. That’s what you do as a child sponsor or when you give the gift of clean water through the World Vision Gift Catalog. Those gifts grow in impact. Access to essentials like clean water levels the playing field, empowering kids for achievements like finishing their education and discovering their God-given gifts. Further empowered by strengthened families and thriving communities, kids have a shot at becoming the champions we believe they can be.

And as we do this work together in Jesus’ name, we demonstrate the truest meaning of victory — especially significant at Christmas — that Christ came to usher in a new kingdom where hope wins. In the words of 1 Corinthians 15:57, “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

It’s success when babies are born safely in a clean, sanitary delivery room. It’s a win when churches are able to protect their congregants with handwashing stations. And it’s a triumph when a bright girl goes from doubting she can finish school to dreaming of becoming a doctor. But the biggest prize of all is transformative faith in the One who defeats our earthly troubles and invites us into everlasting life with Him.

Edgar Sandoval Sr. is president and CEO of World Vision U.S. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @EdgarSandovalSr.

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In the golden hours of late afternoon, the bright red tomatoes in my garden are big, heavy, and delicious. I relish watering and weeding my plants and watching tomatoes appear and ripen on the vine.

In the quiet of my garden, I often think about biblical references to planting and sowing. The harvest metaphor has been helpful for me in understanding how God uses World Vision to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ around the world. You might see some parallels in your own life.

Sowing seeds for the harvest

People freely choosing a lifelong commitment to Christ is an outcome — or harvest — we pray for. But much careful work goes into the preparation and planting before the reaping. We witness by life, deed, word, and sign — never putting any conditions on the aid we provide — in full confidence that the Lord is working through us for a bountiful harvest in His timing. We want fullness of life for every child, and that includes seeing those beautiful kids in heaven.

In some places, we can quantify the harvest. The countries where Christians can proclaim the gospel freely are like well-tilled, irrigated fields of rich soil where seedlings can grow by the power of the Holy Spirit, thanks to the work of local churches, missionaries, and organizations like ours over many years. In these places, World Vision supports Christian discipleship for children by helping to train and equip local ministries.

In other places we work, we may not be able to measure the harvest in the same way, but we know the fields we’ve planted, the workers we’ve equipped with tools, and the seeds sown. Each year, World Vision trains thousands of pastors, youth workers, and other Christian faith leaders around the world. Our Biblical Empowered Worldview, Channels of Hope, and Celebrating Families trainings integrate biblical values into programs that empower people to see themselves as created and loved by God, with the agency needed to address and overcome the issues that keep them in poverty.

The fruit God’s people bear

The result of this work — the hopeful future harvest — are the 3.5 million children each year since 2015 who have been reached through spiritual nurture activities that strengthen their faith and help them learn about God’s love for them.

Jesus also calls World Vision to join Him in places where gospel proclamation is restricted, and sometimes against the law. We’re privileged to serve here as perhaps the only Christians people will know. These are places where we trust God to guide His people in the sensitive work of removing stones or sprinkling water so that the planting can begin. Our staff witness through their lives and their commitment to love and serve all people, of any faith or none. We’ve seen many times that this approach provokes the question to which Jesus is the answer.

I wish that I could see the fruit of these efforts the way I delight in my tomatoes. But I trust God is working at the roots, restoring broken relationships around the world. And as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:7, “neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (NIV).

As the Lord’s co-workers, we faithfully employ all our tools — our words, yes, but also our actions, how we live, and the miracles of God we celebrate — and we trust Him for a bountiful harvest at just the right time.

Edgar Sandoval Sr. is president and CEO of World Vision U.S. Follow him on Twitter at @EdgarSandovalSr.

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When our Land Cruiser rolled to a stop in a village in Turkana, northern Kenya — a hotspot of the global hunger crisis — I braced myself to encounter desperation and heartbreak.

I didn’t expect to find extravagant generosity and faith.

The looming crisis

On the journey to East Africa, my head was full of facts about this crisis. Alarmingly, 50 million people worldwide are facing starvation if nothing is done. Hunger was escalating even before the war in Ukraine due to extreme and unpredictable weather patterns, protracted conflict and violence, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, by limiting access to critical wheat exports from the region, the war inflated food costs even further — at a time when families were already suffering.

This was true in Turkana, where the worst drought in four decades has dried up grazing lands and caused the widespread death of livestock. Families who didn’t have safety nets to begin with now lack milk or meat from their animals and face food prices beyond what they can pay. Pushed to the limit, they subsist on food rations from World Vision and wild fruit that has the consistency of sawdust.

World Vision’s response

As I arrived for a food distribution, I thanked God that World Vision was there to deliver life-saving food for Turkana families. In the prayer time before the distribution began, our staff and community members thanked God too, and expressed gratitude for you, our donors.

With your help, we strive wherever we work to serve the most vulnerable. This particular food distribution reached 150 families who’d been identified for their critical need, based in part on whether they still had animals to sustain them. Among them was a mom named Ekidor, who came with three of her six children. She and her husband sell charcoal and handmade reed baskets for a living, earning enough so that some of their kids can go to school.

Ekidor collected her ration of vegetable oil, sorghum, and beans — only enough to last her family a few weeks — and I walked home with her. Waiting at her gate was a group of neighbors who were not eligible for the distribution — yet they were still hungry. Without hesitation, Ekidor took a cup and began scooping out portions of her food for them. Her generosity left me speechless.

“We’ve been taught this at church,” Ekidor later told me. “These are people with no place else to go.”

Radical generosity

I quickly learned that the Turkana people have a strong sense of community — so strong that sharing with others is common, even in a time of dire need.

Imagine if we expanded our vision of community to encompass all God’s children around the globe. How beautiful it would be if we embraced the Turkana spirit of generosity — not just at Christmas but all year round!

I was also struck by the vital role the church plays in Ekidor’s community. “The church is like our second home,” she explained. “We get spiritual nourishment. Without it, life would be hard.”

This touched my heart even as it challenged me. Church can so easily become a weekly task rather than a second home. And how much more can I, like Ekidor, truly depend on God as my “daily bread”?

In Kenya, I was troubled to see hungry children and parched animal carcasses. But I was also blessed to see vibrant faith and amazing generosity, unmistakable signs of God’s presence in the midst of suffering — beauty amid pain.

Edgar Sandoval Sr. is president and CEO of World Vision U.S. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter at @EdgarSandovalSr.

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As night fell around me and the temperature plunged, I watched several buses packed with passengers pull into the refugee camp in Albița, Romania. My heart broke as I saw mostly women and children pour out, all from Ukraine, in what has become the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

Distressed and exhausted, most of the women seemed able to focus only on the immediate future — the next stop on their journey, the next meal, the next place to sleep. Better to focus forward than on the immediate past — leaving their husbands, other loved ones, and homes behind in Ukraine.

Talking with them, I couldn’t help but think of other people I’ve met near borders. A physically disabled boy who fled fighting in South Sudan, crawling by himself through the jungle for a week to reach Bidibidi refugee settlement in northern Uganda. A Rohingya mom in a camp in Bangladesh, weeping as she described tying her children to her body with a scarf before forging a river. And in Colombia, families overwhelmed by having to start over after fleeing the economic devastation of Venezuela, a place I once called home.

Different circumstances — same desperation.

You don’t need to be an eyewitness to be deeply affected by the world’s suffering. News headlines from Ukraine break our hearts on a daily basis. And the stories from Afghanistan of war-weary families on the brink of starvation are just as upsetting. How do we process all the pain?

I believe that the only way through it is to embrace not just the pain but also the beauty. Yes, the beauty — it’s always there amid the suffering.

As Christians, we know that God is present in the pain. That’s the starting point to embracing the beauty. And it’s realized in our response to suffering. It’s when we look at every person in crisis and see Jesus, heeding His words in Matthew 25:35 — “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

Seeing these familiar words come vividly to life at the borders of war and in refugee camps is unbearably beautiful.

At the Ukraine border, I saw beauty in the way Romanians stepped up to help families in desperate circumstances, including posting signs on store windows offering free food and drink for refugees. I saw it in our World Vision staff who showed up every day, working long hours in the cold to show love.

Beauty is also found in Afghanistan, in the brightness of a child’s eyes as they receive treatment for malnutrition at a health center and begin to recover.

Our faith gives us an opportunity, even at the worst of times and in the most dangerous places, to bear witness to Jesus’ victory over pain. To demonstrate our trust in His promise in John 16:33 that “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Yes, Jesus has conquered all! That’s what inspires us as His followers to respond to the bad news of the world with the good news of the gospel. To highlight the beauty of God’s kingdom — on earth as it is in heaven — amid the pain.

Thank you for joining us in the world-changing mission to serve our brothers and sisters in need with the love and hope that is within us. That hope has a name: Jesus Christ!

Edgar Sandoval Sr. is president and CEO of World Vision U.S. Follow him on Twitter.

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In 2020, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for its efforts to combat hunger, promote peace in conflict-affected areas and prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.” For more than a decade, WFP and World Vision, its largest implementing partner, have been working on the front lines of emergencies, inspiring hope for millions of people around the world.

World Vision President and CEO Edgar Sandoval Sr. interviewed WFP Executive Director David Beasley on fighting hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic, WFP’s partnership with World Vision, and what faith in action means to David.

The first question, right off the bat: What was it like for you when the World Food Programme was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?

It was an amazing day because literally, I was in the middle of Niger. We were negotiating access to reach a certain people group because if we couldn’t reach them, then you would have extremist groups using food as a weapon of recruitment. If we get access, they won’t fall prey to the extremists. So, we were in very intense discussions, negotiating this access, and all of a sudden someone comes busting into the room [saying], “Nobel Peace Prize. Nobel Peace Prize.” I was “Great who won it?” [He said,] “Well, we did! The World Food Programme; you did.” It was literally a speechless, “wow, wow, wow” moment.

I think the [Nobel] Committee was sending two very clear messages. One was a thank-you to the women and men out there putting their lives at risk every day to bring peace and stability by using food as a weapon of peace around the world. Number two was that the hardest work is really coming around the corner, and we’ll talk about that—how COVID-19 has created a dynamic rippling, devastating effect on already extenuating circumstances in many countries around the world.

You have been a consistent voice for the most vulnerable around the world. In fact, you sounded the alarm of the potentially devastating effects of COVID-19, saying that it could create a famine of biblical proportions. What were the signs you were seeing?

Prior to COVID-19, the number of people marching to the brink of starvation was 135 million. Now with COVID-19, that number has doubled to 270 million people. These aren’t just numbers. These are real people. And if we don’t reach those people, you’ll have mass starvation, destabilization of nations, and mass migration. I can assure you from historical experience, it is a thousand times more expensive to react after the fact than it is to avoid the icebergs when we’re heading to the open seas like the Titanic.

Both World Vision and the World Food Programme have a lot of staff on the front lines. Could you share with us about the current situation?

I got COVID-19 a year ago. I recovered from it, and I was then able to travel. We have millions of people who are dying out there, on the brink of starvation, and that has an impact globally. As I began going to these countries and bringing the attention and the awareness, people were like, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

I know the American people. Historically, when they know there’s suffering, they respond. But if they don’t know, then they don’t respond. This is why we’ve got to get the message out about the reality of what we are facing and how bad it is.

We survey people [we serve] all the time—what are they thinking, what are they doing—and we get the reality. In fact, in the past few months, the number of people in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua now thinking about migrating has doubled from 7–8% to 15–16%. That’s 39 million people in that four-country area. Do the math: 15%, 6 million people.

The good news is if they get food security and some degree of hope, they don’t want to leave home. But if they don’t have food for their children, and they don’t have hope, they would do what any mom and dad would do on God’s green earth, and that is head to a place where they think they might survive.

That is so true. I like to say, David, that people don’t want to leave the places they know and the people they love. They do so out of desperation. Can you drill deeper on the relationship between hunger and extreme poverty?

It was one of the reasons that we received the Nobel Peace Prize, [the] relationship between hunger and peace and stability. If you have hunger, you’re not going to have peace and stability. And if you don’t have peace and stability, you’re going to have hunger. They feed on each other. Poverty is in the middle of all this. And, on average, where there is poverty, you generally do have hunger.

For every 1% increase in hunger, there’s a 2% increase in migration. When you look out in the world today, 80% of our operations today are in areas of conflict. Imagine that. And that’s 60% of the people. Conflict is driving so much poverty, so much destabilization, displacement—unprecedented numbers around the world.

When you look at 200 years ago, there were 1.1 billion people on earth [and] there was 95% extreme poverty. Today [it’s] less than 10%. We’ve built systems, programs, and organizations over the past many decades that have reduced extreme poverty below 90%. That is very, very good news. Now, try telling that to the 10% we have not reached. That’s over 700 million people that still go to bed hungry. The answer is not tearing down the system that’s helping the 90%, because that would be catastrophic. The answer is continuing to improve, to reach those that we have not reached yet. That’s where we’ve got to be fixated, focused, and literally drive it home to reach every single person who is in need out there.

How do you combat the thinking that there will always be hungry people in Africa and the poor places around the world?

I don’t go to bed at night thinking about the children we saved. I go to bed at night weeping over the children we could not save.

Every human being is created in the image of the Almighty. Every single person on the planet. Jesus said “when you did not feed the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did not feed me.”

When any child suffers, we have a moral obligation. Jesus said to love your neighbor as your equal. Love your neighbor as yourself. That’s a moral imperative. That’s not a suggestion. That is what our life is all about if we truly are disciples and believers in the Almighty, who said love God, love your neighbor. When you love your neighbor, you are loving God. That’s what inspires me every single day.

If we could see things in that light—love your neighbor as your equal—it would end racism, discrimination, and so many of the other –isms.

I’ve been in some pretty hard places. You can be in the middle of a [war]-torn country and out from that rubble will come this child with bright eyes and so much energy and life that it’s like a flower in the desert. That is what we’re fighting for. To give that child some degree of hope so that they can have a future and hopefully a relationship with the Almighty.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length. 

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Storytelling is at the core of humanity. Our best stories are passed down from generation to generation.

My mother often told me about watching news reels and praying, as a 10-year-old girl in Guatemala, while the world faced a historic moment of truth on D-Day. The story she told over and over made such an impression that one summer, I took my kids to Normandy, France. We looked down from the steep cliffs of Pointe Du Hoc where on June 6, 1944, American Army Rangers climbed up while Nazis shot them down. The Rangers’ mission was to begin to liberate Europe — and they did.

Tragedy turning to triumph — that’s a plot twist we love.

But it’s harder to shape a hopeful narrative in the midst of difficult times. That’s what we have been going through with the COVID-19 pandemic.

We can learn from the people of Israel, who shared a particular kind of story with their children and grandchildren. As Psalm 78:4 says, “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.”

That’s also the theme of one of my favorite worship songs, “The Story I’ll Tell” by Maverick City Music. It begins with angst and doubt that feels familiar to us in 2021: “The hour is dark/ And it’s hard to see/ What You are doing here in the ruins/ And where this will lead.” 

It goes on: “Oh, but I know/ That down through the years/I’ll look on this moment and see Your hand on it/ And know You were here.”

Yes! For followers of Jesus, there is only one story: God’s faithfulness. Our choice is to be part of that story or not. To be with God or not. To serve the people He loves — or turn away.

For followers of Jesus, there is only one story: God’s faithfulness.—Edgar Sandoval Sr., World Vision U.S. president and CEO

Throughout the past year, God’s faithfulness has been especially evident in World Vision’s ministry. We see His hand of protection on us and His miraculous provision as staff responded to the needs of vulnerable people suffering crisis on top of crisis. Containing the spread of the virus in the world’s largest refugee camps. Rushing food to address the escalating hunger crisis in East Africa. Equipping communities hit by surging infections and variants. Addressing problems forcing Central American families to migrate.

God’s faithfulness has been evident in you, too, as you reached out with love and prayers for your sponsored child or families in need. The pandemic may be straining your economic security, but you refused to turn away from those Jesus asks us to love as much as we do Him.

The story I’ll someday tell of this time is still being written, but I already know that it is a story of hope. It’s about where we are placing our trust and what we did, in confidence of God’s faithfulness — helping more people than ever before.

The story I’ll someday tell of this time is still being written, but I already know that it is a story of hope.—Edgar Sandoval Sr., World Vision U.S. president and CEO

And most of all, it’s a story of joy. Even when the hour was dark and it was hard to see where things would lead — that’s when we looked and saw God’s hand. Yes, that’s when we knew that Jesus was there!

As we celebrate with loved ones this Christmas season, let’s tell our stories not for our sake but for God’s glory, testifying to the unchanging power and unstoppable love of the Miracle Worker, Emmanuel, the Prince of Peace, the name above all names … Jesus Christ!

Edgar Sandoval Sr. became president and CEO of World Vision U.S. on October 1, 2018. Follow him at twitter.com/EdgarSandovalSr.

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