From 10-11 June 2016, I attended World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine Camp, which was held at Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) and different activity sites around Singapore. This year, the theme was Taking on the World and we took on the role of eco-exiles. We had to experience poverty worsened by climate change and were driven from our homelands as a result. 

As a professional Christian humanitarian organisation, we take our commitment to truth and transparency very seriously. For more than 65 years, we have stayed true to our mission to work with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice around the world.

Due to El Nino, China has been plagued by prolonged rains and storms, resulting in severe floods since May 2016. Torrential rain across many parts of the mainland has further escalated the situation in the first week of July. Water levels in around 200 rivers have exceeded warning levels, hitting historical highs. A tornado has also hit Jiangsu province, which continued to suffer from rainstorms after.

Hunger. Poverty. These are major global issues that most avoid discussing, simply because the scale of the problem seems overwhelming, making it unbearable to talk about. But the 30 Hour Famine Camp proves that youths in Singapore can make a tangible difference.

On June 15th, 2016, Mohammad El Halabi, the manager of operations for World Vision in Gaza, was arrested on his way home from routine meetings. On August 4th 2016, after 50 days in Israeli state detention, Mohammad was charged with providing support to Hamas. World Vision was shocked to learn of these charges against Mohammad. World Vision is taking the grave charges brought against our Gaza staff member very seriously.

My first ever child sponsorship trip to Vietnam left me astounded. The trip was not only meaningful; it was also very heartwarming. Before the trip, all I wanted to see was my sponsored child and to have some fun working at the construction site.

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.

As of 3 March 2016, there are more than 4.8 million registered Syrian refugees (UNHCR, 2016). It is estimated that half of the refugees are children. In 2011, World Vision began providing assistance to internally displaced children and families in and around Syria. It has now expanded to include 5 countries: Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey.