World Vision aims to end child poverty -- in Canada

World Vision aims to end child poverty -- in Canada

By Jim Coggins

CANADIANS support more than 400,000 needy children around the world through World Vision, but the internationally renowned relief and development agency is now asking what it should be doing about the 1.2 million Canadian children estimated to be living in poverty.

One result is a new World Vision program called Partners to End Child Poverty (PECP). World Vision is not planning to start on-the-ground ministries of its own but to identify churches and para-church agencies that are doing cutting-edge ministry and then help them do even better.

In particular, World Vision is offering to use its Learning through Evaluation with Accountability and Planning (LEAP) framework to help ministries assess local needs and design projects which will respond to those needs. The LEAP tools were designed to evaluate the work of World Vision's indigenous partners overseas.

The PECP program also includes in-depth interviews and research into all aspects of a ministry, from governance structures and finances to ministry strengths and resources. This internal assessment will help ministries identify new opportunities they can pursue to help transform their communities, with funding assistance from World Vision.

The partnership with each ministry spans three years. Sixty ministries, including nine in the Greater Vancouver area, have already begun the process. World Vision provides the organizational assessment and training free of charge, in exchange for the opportunity to learn new "best practices" which partners can share with one another as well as with other ministries.

World Vision's National Manager of Canadian Programs, Clayton Rowe, said,

"We are trying to come up with a common language for development work across Canada," said Clayton Rowe, national manager of Canadian programs for World Vision, "so we can share lessons and tools [and] create a good network to eliminate child poverty in Canada."

Context

World Vision has been working in Canada since 1979, in three areas -- with refugees, with aboriginal peoples, and through NeighbourLink, which connects church volunteers with needs in their community.

World Vision's main focus will continue to be overseas, but the agency's donors and board of directors have increasingly become concerned that there are also children in Canada who have not yet "experienced life in all its fullness as Jesus intended" (John 10:10).

In British Columbia, World Vision is partnering with groups such as Urban Promise, which provides leadership development for youth; Youth For Christ's Stepping Stones ministry, which helps young mothers learn life skills and parenting skills; and JustWork, which develops social enterprises that provide jobs and job training for people whom traditional employers likely wouldn't hire.

World Vision calls such ministries "transformational development." They are one of the three foci of World Vision work around the world: "relief" provides immediate aid in the form of food, clothing and shelter; "development" helps people expand their capacities through education and job creation; and "advocacy" attempts to change government and society by addressing the underlying causes of poverty.

There are excellent programs transforming lives in remarkable ways, said Gary Klassen, region program manager for World Vision in Vancouver, and the best way to respond to child poverty is to do it at the neighbourhood level and let the results trickle up. "We can't fathom 1.2 million children, but we can see the woman struggling to make ends meet next door and spend an hour a week tutoring her kids."

October 20/2007

Comments



Hello sir,

Everyone knows about the poverty, that it had different types. Some persons doing work at women poverty, some persons doing work at food poverty etc. I have a vision that I must have to do something for those people, who are very needy in their personal and professional matters. And also I want to do something for those children, who don’t have the place for sleeping and also don’t have the food for eating. But I don’t have too many resources to done this vision. Therefore I am sending you prayer request for me and also for my vision.

I am running an Ngo and my name is Qaiser ijaz. My Ngo name is “End poverty”. Please help me with prayers and also other kind of things as you will be getting from to God. For any further information please add me in your list, and then I will tell you who much children waiting for that time, that someone will come to them and take their hands for good life. Please if you can then help us out from this situation. This my Email addresses:

Qaiser4u2003@yahoo.com

Qaiseru.ejaz80@gmail.com

Qaiser.ijaz@yahoo.com

My telephone numbers:

+0092-0323-6806731

+0092-0300-7235755

Thank you very much and take good care of your self with prayers. God bless you
#1 Qaiser ijaz - 11/10/2009 - 10:49

Why does World Vision not do something for the "lost" kids right here at home. They could use the same sponsorship method for the children. I'm sure Canadians would maybe welcome this. I do not know if I will ever see in person the child I sponsor in Malawi, but I could see a child here in Ontario.
My name is Kema. Thanks
#2 Kema Dwarka - 11/28/2009 - 16:33

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