Centered around the theme “Light On, Hope Ahead”, World Vision Day highlighted how partners joined hands with World Vision to bring transformation and new hope to vulnerable children and their communities. The opening ceremony was officiated by Andrew Morley, President and CEO of World Vision International, and Amy Fung, the Chief Executive Officer of World Vision Hong Kong. Long-term sponsor Stephen Chan and artists who have witnessed World Vision’s work — Priscilla Wong, Michelle Wai, director Benny Lau and his family, and music producer Cedric Chan — attended and shared valuable reflections.
Stephen Chan engaged in a heartfelt conversation with Andrew Morley about the tangible impact of the Child Sponsorship Programme, and the passion and motivation behind World Vision’s 75 years of work on global poverty.
Andrew Morley reiterated that urgent humanitarian needs have rocketed almost 10 times from 3 crises annually 15 years ago to 33 crises today, but international humanitarian funding remains critically insufficient, posing immense challenges for frontline relief efforts. He recalled he met an 8-year-old girl, Esther, living between southern Kenya and the border of northern Tanzania, whose parents sold her for marriage to an old man in exchange for six cows because the family was starving. Being abused by her husband, Esther escaped and failed. After a few attempts, she went to World Vision’s local office. Eventually she was adopted by foster parents and enrolled into a local school — an outcome made possible by the support of World Vision’s child sponsorship programme. Andrew Morley said he was impressed by her smile and the thankfulness in her eyes.
As a child sponsor of 6 children, Andrew Morley said every donation had the power to help vulnerable children like Esther transform their lives. “If you think what you are doing isn’t making any difference, just remember Esther,” he added. Andrew Morley also thanked Hong Kong people and partners. “To everyone, corporate partners, schools, hospitals, child sponsors, and to those who raise money for us, and those who pray for us, for all of you I would like to say thank you,” he said.
To honour their long-standing efforts in providing vital assistance and igniting hope of vulnerable communities, certificates of appreciation and plagues were presented to partners from nearly 300 organisations and units, and commemorative pins were awarded to donors showing more than 20 years of support.
Kenny, a child sponsor supporting World Vision for 12 years, recalled visiting his sponsored daughter in Bangladesh during a once‑in‑a‑century cyclone. Despite the devastation and the clean-up at home, she insisted on keeping their meeting, and Kenny felt deeply moved. “We often think donating money for a child’s education is the best option,” he reflected. “But if the community doesn’t have a school, the child still has no way to study even when there is adequate funding. It’s something I only came to understand after becoming a child sponsor.”
During the event, a live band made up of students from Ma On Shan Tsung Tsin Secondary School that participated in World Vision’s “Joint Secondary School Famine”, performed two record hits – “Amani” and “We Are One”. The golden hit “Amani” was written by the well-known local band Beyond after joining World Vision’s trip to Kenya in 1991, while “We Are One” was the theme song created for “30-Hour Famine” by another local band RubberBand, following their visit to Zimbabwe. Both songs conveyed messages of hope for world peace and solidarity. The event was further uplifted when 24 children of Benji’s Choir with speech impairments performed “This Little Light of Mine”, a song World Vision’s founder Dr. Bob Pierce taught children in Xiamen in 1947.
World Vision has been actively promoting the concept of legacy giving, which enables donors to bring long-term change to the fragile communities through early planning of personal assets. A seminar was co-hosted with “ForeverGift.hk” on 3 Instruments of Peace on World Vision Day, where a practicing lawyer explained the importance of making a will and enduring power of attorney, as well as making advance medical directives. Over 100 people attended the seminar.
Moreover, World Vision reaffirmed its commitment to serving the world’s most vulnerable children and communities and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via five priority areas: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Education, Health and nutrition, Livelihoods, and Child Protection. Workshops at the event introduced educators to these work towards SDGs, and interactive game booths engaged the public on issues such as disaster relief and water resources.
While on a trip to China in 1947, a young American reporter and American Baptist minister, Dr Bob Pierce, met a poor girl named Baiyu (meaning white jade) during a visit in Xiamen, who was expelled by her family as she wanted to go to school. Pierce wanted to help this precious soul, so he gave Ms Tena Hoelkedoer, a female missionary in Xiamen, all that he had, which was just five dollars. Ms Tena used it to buy food and clothes for Baiyu and send her to school. Afterwards, Pierce sent the same amount each month after returning home so that she could continue to look after Baiyu.
This encounter marked the turning point in Pierce’s life. In 1950, he founded World Vision, with the aim of helping poverty-stricken children around the world. That five dollars set the prototype of the Child Sponsorship Programme. The first Child Sponsorship Programme began a few years later in response to the needs of hundreds of thousands of orphans at the end of the Korean War in 1953. It was later extended to other Asian countries, and places such as Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
In 1962, Typhoon Wanda hit Hong Kong severely. World Vision distributed relief supplies in Hong Kong, and later set up its first field office in the territory. With the economic recovery in Hong Kong, World Vision Hong Kong turned itself into a fundraising office in 1982, supporting the relief and development work of World Vision offices worldwide. World Vision Hong Kong also promotes public education, raising public awareness about global issues such as poverty, hunger, health and child rights.
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