Dr Leslie Tay is not an unfamiliar face to many Singaporeans. As the man behind Singaporean food blog “ieatishootipost”, many people know that Dr Leslie Tay is a doctor and a gastronomic adventurer. But did you know that he is also World Vision child sponsor?

“I feel alone and left out whenever I see children with their mothers and wonder what life would be like with my mom around,” says Nica, with her head bowed. “There would be so much more love. I wish she was here to care for me and help me with my school assignments.”

Being motherless is the least of Nica’s concerns when her family struggles to survive daily.

“Since the demise of my husband more than five years ago, I struggled with life – I could not adequately provide for my children. Most of them dropped out of school because I could not afford it,” says Elizabeth, 65, widow and mother to seven children.

Amidst the struggles faced by these three generations, hope came when her grand-children got sponsored.

When the wait ends, what change does it bring? For a former sponsored child, Viet, the change in his life has rippled through his community.

 

Following the death of both her parents, Preaw found comfort in an unlikely source — a bow and arrow.

Preaw’s father died when she was 8; her mother passed away soon after. By then, Preaw was a World Vision sponsored child in her community in Thailand.

Growing up in a poor part of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Razia Akter’s (above, far right) greatest wish was to escape the harsh reality of her family’s poverty. She dreamed of becoming a NASA astronaut and traveling to the moon. An avid reader, she yearned to explore places she read about, like the Great Pyramids of Egypt.

Sent home to die by the first doctors she encountered, Hamida Khatun is only alive today thanks to the World Vision-funded heart surgery she received as a sponsored child, the gift of life allowing her to have a daughter of her own.

2 pairs of brothers, Alvin and Rnolance, and Henokh and Erwin, set off before 6am every school day. They ride their horses across rivers and through a forest before reaching school. It’s a long journey to school but through World Vision’s child forum, the boys learn that education is important. Going to school will help them to reach their dream, to get a better future.