As if working on the front lines of the hunger crisis wasn’t challenging enough, the people and organizations who serve those in need have faced even bigger hurdles during the coronavirus crisis. The risks and restrictions that the pandemic has created make it that much harder to safely serve the homeless and hungry. But one group that is undaunted by these obstacles isWorld Vision, an organization that Nunbelievable is proud to work with as an impact partner.
World Vision is Christian humanitarian organization that is dedicated to helping children, families, and their communities reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. “Our mission is to help end global poverty within our lifetime,” says Mike Gillespie, senior director of World Vision’s Corporate Engagement Group. “And while that’s a huge, audacious goal, we really feel that the evidence of the poverty line in the developing world — at least pre-COVID — has been significantly reduced.”
Water, Water Everywhere
Since the 1950s World Vision has been working tirelessly on its mission to end poverty, and they are currently involved in these efforts in nearly 100 countries, including the United States. This involves setting up access to clean water, supplying health care resources, and helping implement educational strategies. “We provide tangible things that can make a difference in their lives and ultimately allow them to sustain themselves,” Gillespie says.
Each community requires a unique plan of action, and World Vision stays involved as long as needed, typically about 15 years. “Then we move on to the next community,” Gillespie says. “We try to be flexible. People in Honduras may be in a very different space than people in Uganda. But typically it starts with providing them clean water.”
Indeed, water, sanitation, and hygiene (akaWASH) are fundamental to allowing communities to thrive. “We are delivering clean water to a new person every 10 seconds,” Gillespie says. “Our goal is to have clean water, sanitation, and hygiene practices everywhere we work by 2030. We’re starting in Rwanda, and our objective is to accomplish it there by 2022. We’ll use that model to replicate the best practices that we’ve learned to other countries in the developing world to hit our objective by 2030.”
Crisis Intervention
The COVID-19 pandemic has made life even more difficult for people who were already struggling with hunger, butWorld Vision has remained undaunted in its mission. In the United States they served over a million people between March and July, and they are currently working towards their next goal of two million served.
Chief among their efforts is the distribution of thousands offamily emergency kits. These contain essential supplies, including enough food to provide meals for an entire week for a family of five, as well as hygiene supplies, personal protective equipment (disposable masks, hand sanitizer, and surface wipes), and games, books, and other activities to help keep children happy and engaged while sheltering in place. World Vision has also been working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute fresh produce, dairy and meat products via theFarmers to Families food box program.
Getting these supplies to so many people is a major logistical endeavor, so World Vision has created a network of more than 70 partners. They rely on churches, homeless shelters, women’s shelters, and other local groups to identify those most in need. “Some of the stories that we’ve heard are heart-wrenching,” Gillespie says. “In some cases both mom and dad have been furloughed and lost their jobs and they’re on the brink of being homeless. They can barely pay their rent and just don’t have enough money for food and essential supplies.”
How You Can Help
Providing support on such a massive scale takes significant resources. That’s why Nunbelievable has added World Vision to our growing list of impact partners. We are thrilled to make a contribution to their effortsfor each purchase of our delicious cookies. “It has always been our vision to partner with a world-class organization like World Vision,” says Nunbelievable co-founder and CMO Kuda Biza. “We look forward to providing meals to many in need through this partnership.”
We encourage you to support their mission in any way possible. Head over toWorldVision.org to donate or find out how you canget involved with their numerous relief efforts in the U.S. and around the world. You can do anything from running in a fundraising race to building supply kits. And, of course, follow their work onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram.
