Who we are

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Motivated by our Christian faith, World Vision is dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable people. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

World Vision’s working style is to partner with children and their communities in some of the poorest parts of the earth to improve lives and combat poverty.

In times of crisis World Vision also responds to natural and man-made humanitarian disasters that so badly affect the young, their families and communities, with emergency aid and assistance.

Our background

World Vision was founded by American Dr Bob Pierce in 1950 following life-changing trips to China and Korea. In Korea, Dr Pierce was greatly moved by the impact of the Korean War on children and set up orphanages to care for those who were abandoned or whose parents had died. By the 1960s this work had expanded to meet the needs of refugees in Indochina and the survivors of disasters in Bangladesh and Africa. The sponsorship of children was started to provide long-term funding assistance. Sponsorship is central to funding our work.

Over the decades World Vision’s approach has shifted from welfare provision to collaboration. We believe in partnering with communities and individuals to find the solutions to beat poverty.

Our philosophy

As a non-denominational Christian agency World Vision aims to share and demonstrate the love and compassion that Jesus Christ extended to all people, but especially to children, and particularly to those living in poverty or suffering from oppression and injustice.

Our vision for every child, life in all its fullness;
Our prayer for every heart, the will to make it so.

World Vision believes that widespread poverty is unacceptable and that the world has the knowledge, skills and finances to eradicate it. Our more than 40,000 staff are focused on this goal whether they are working in the developed or developing world.

World Vision staff are guided by these core values:

We are Christian
We are committed to the poor
We value people
We are stewards
We are partners
We are responsive

In responding to poverty we are also impartial. World Vision follows the International Code of Conduct for disaster relief organisations and provides assistance based on need and regardless of race, religion, gender or ethnicity.

Find out more about our core values.

Our organisation

World Vision is a global Partnership based on a federal model, with country offices in both the developed and developing world. The model acknowledges the ability of the developed world to raise large funds, the power of international cooperation, and the grassroots ability of the developing world to come up with solutions to combat poverty. Many countries have their own boards.