Our History
For over 75 years, World Vision has been committed to protecting and caring for children and those in need. From our founder Bob Pierce giving the last $5 in his pocket to help care for an abandoned Chinese girl in 1947, to then-CEO Stan Mooneyham purchasing a large ship in 1979 to rescue refugee families stranded at sea in Vietnam, World Vision has gone where others would not. Even in the places where it is hard to be a child, God is there—and we should be there too. So, our mission continues.
World Vision Singapore
In May 1975, the South Vietnamese city of Saigon fell to Communist forces. This led to a flood of refugees streaming into Thailand by land, and by May 1977, triggered the flight of people by sea.
Masses started landing in neighbouring Southeast Asian countries by boat. Many perished in stormy seas and attacks by unfriendly forces. The plight of the “Boat People” prompted World Vision to begin Operation Seasweep in May 1978. A 345-tonne converted landing craft was chartered to sail in the South China Sea to aid the boat people. This was replaced by a 1,500-tonne freighter with facilities for a medical crew, mechanics and interpreters in July 1979. The efforts of World Vision to save the Vietnamese boat people led to the establishment of a field operation in Singapore in the late 1970s.
This task expanded in 1980 when World Vision began to assist the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in running a medical clinic at the Hawkins Road Refugee Camp in Sembawang. Towards the end of 1983, World Vision decided to run a full branch support office in Singapore. Personnel were recruited and in March 1984, the administration of World Vision’s Child Sponsorship Programme – which linked supporters in Singapore and Malaysia – was transferred from Hong Kong to the Singapore office.
World Vision is a registered charity organisation in Singapore under the Singapore Charities Act 1982 (Cap 37). It operates under the purview of the Singapore Commission of Charities as a foreign charity with a permit to raise funds for foreign charitable purposes.