World Vision... Trustworthy?

[Phaneufenstein]

I've been sponsoring a child through World Vision for a couple of years now, but lately have been contemplating stopping my donations.

I just don't know how much of my money actually goes to the intended sponsor child vs. some office worker's pocket.

Also, my gf recently told me about a friend of hers who was making donations for over 5 years. She was getting updates on her sponsor child, photos, and drawings and all that stuff. Then one day, they send her a picture of a different child, which she noticed right away, and called WV to find out. They told her that it was her child and he just grew and that's why she didn't recognize him. Anyway, two weeks later, WV finally admitted that the child she was sponsoring died and they set her up with a new one. What the fata?

So once I heard that I did a quick Google search, which came up with this little thread, and I'm sure there are more of out there...
http://boboy.net/2008/11/world-vision-a-huge-big-fraud/

So what do you think?
Any personal experiences?

[troutman]

I was misled when I sponsored a child (I thought it was secular), but otherwise, they seem to be doing good work.

We get regular letters and pictures of the child.

They might have an annual report on the web-site that shows what % of contributions help the child directly.

Every month they try to get me to buy some kind of greeting card to send to the child, but I usually decline that.

Annual Report:

http://www.worldvision.ca/About-Us/f...port-home.aspx

[no_joke]

I've been sponsoring since Sep 2005 and have only received annual updates. This consists of a Christmas card with a recent photo and a form (fill in the blanks) kind of update- health, grades in school, etc. I haven't received much more from him/them. To be fair I have not sent a letter in at least two years but I know that my last one was not responded to. At the onset I was hoping for more regular correspondence but he seems to be doing alright though exactly how much of my monthly contribution actually reaches him and his community is a bit of question mark.

I used to give in to the monthly cards but have since declined. I'm happy that he is doing fine and will stay with WV but if I were to sponsor another child, I would probably seek out a non-denominational organization; Plan Canada looks good.

[burn_this_city]

I cancelled my world vision sponsorship. My girlfriend did a bunch of research and they seem pretty shady. Most of the money seems to go to overhead and the whimsical crap they send you like Christmas cards.

[ranchlandsselling]

My brother used to sponsor a child. Gave money every month and kept the picture on the fridge with a letter. Said he did it because girls he brought home always thought it was so sweet. . . At first I thought it seemed wrong, but then realized it was only win / win.

He's been married for awhile now. Hopefully he was single long enough to make a difference to the kid.

I'd suggest any single CP'ers give it a go. Help the kids and yourselves.

[GGG]

Do you actually sponser an actual child. I always just assumed they pooled the money together and built things like wells and schools and sanitation. And then made the kids write letters to keep the money flowing. Charities are always pretty bloated with all the advertising and overhead but really they probably do some good

[HPLovecraft]

If you're a fan of Christian evangelism, they're the one for you. If not, look elsewhere.

[Devils'Advocate]

HPLC has it bang on. Helping the poor is secondary to their goal of converting desperate people. Much of the money you send goes towards Bibles and such.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by GGG

Do you actually sponser an actual child. I always just assumed they pooled the money together and built things like wells and schools and sanitation. And then made the kids write letters to keep the money flowing. Charities are always pretty bloated with all the advertising and overhead but really they probably do some good

It almost seems mean if some individuals get sponsored while other get SFA. It's like some kind of artificially created class system where there are the privileged ones, and then there's the rest of them.

[Nage Waza]

What happens is the money goes to their general revenue, not to some individual kid. Whole villages may benefit, but not the kid you are basically tricked into thinking your supporting. From what I understand, letters and photos are mass produced or randomly produced and individualized on demand. It is unknown how much goes to bibles versus food.

[Ace]

Here is a response from WV on a criticism piece done by ABC

http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/World_Vision_Response.htm

My wife and I sponsor through compassion Canada (a different Christian organization), personally I always found World Visions approach too guilt based, compassion just seem's more positive. With compassion I have options to donate over and above my monthly amount for 'gifts' for various purposes. For instance I think we gave $100 for our child's birthday gift...A few months later we get a picture and a letter thanking us for the goat and other supplies, there's our kid holding said goat. Kind of nice to see that direct benefit. Compassion however takes things like Christmas and pools all money together so that each child gets something (and no one feels left out).

I had much the same questions about weather these charities are worth it, then we met some friends from Kenya who had moved here to complete a doctorate degree in science, they saw the pic of our sponsored child on our fridge which spurred some questions...when I told them I wasn't sure if it really does anything, they ademitly refuted that sentiment, saying when they were children the days the Christian aid workers came in with supplies were critical. Seeing this family today, in Canada completing doctorate degrees, can't help but wonder if these little things were the little boost needed to make a big difference.

[macker]

I continue to deal with them but have had to ask to be removed from the phone and email spam.

[Phaneufenstein]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

HPLC has it bang on. Helping the poor is secondary to their goal of converting desperate people. Much of the money you send goes towards Bibles and such.

Yea, I don't really care much for that...

Might have to review some other organization to donate to.

Like I said they strike me as a bit of a shady bunch.

Just the other day, I noticed my donations going up from 35 to $39 a month and I'm thinking wtf? So I open an old letter from them, where the flyer asks to check off a box and send the flyer back if I DON'T want to increase my donations...
Such a lowly tactic... A bit of a piss-off.

Thanks for all the responses.

[VladtheImpaler]

Mrs. Impaler has an "African kid" - I have to double-check which org it's through... If WV is suspect, who is better?

[MarchHare]

If you're interested in donating to an organization that provides medical aid, potable water, sanitation, and nutrition to developing countries but don't want the aid to be dependant on missionairies using your money to distribute Bibles, consider donating to Doctors Without Borders instead of World Vision or one of the other Christian-backed charities.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

If you're a fan of Christian evangelism, they're the one for you. If not, look elsewhere.

Yikes, you weren't kidding.

Here's their stated mission:

World Vision is an international partnership of Christians whose mission is to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice, and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God.

Emphasis added.

http://www.worldvision.org/content.n...xt_Our-Mission

I knew World Vision was a Christian organization, but I didn't realize they were this shameless about their evangelism.

[Edit]
For contrast, here's the mission statement from Doctors Without Borders:

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare. MSF offers assistance to people based on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

Based on those quotes, I know to which organization I'd feel more comfortable donating money.

[VladtheImpaler]

Mrs. Impaler uses Christian Children's Fund it seems.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

If you're interested in donating to an organization that provides medical aid, potable water, sanitation, and nutrition to developing countries but don't want the aid to be dependant on missionairies using your money to distribute Bibles, consider donating to Doctors Without Borders instead of World Vision or one of the other Christian-backed charities.

I'm reminded of a bit the Sklar Brothers did on their podcast - Doctors Without Boundaries - doctors that touch you inappropriately.

[Ryan Coke]

I have spent time in Africa and sponsor a child over there since I have seen how much a small donation can affect quality of life over there. Not a fan of the religious component.

Looked at drs without borders but it is about medical aid aft natural disasters and such....nothing wrong with that, but I like helping with more day to day stuff too.

If anyone has any suggestions on a less religious option to WV I'd like to hear about it.

[Devils'Advocate]

I have been with Plan Canada for over a decade. I have two foster children - one in Cameroon and another in Honduras. You can do a search on CP for "Plan Canada" and see that others besides myself have had good experiences with the organization. Note that in those threads I talk about how the organization changed their name... It used to be about helping the one child you sponsor, but now more goes to infrastructure for the community (irrigation systems, building schools). So they are now "Plan Canada", not "Foster Parents Plan of Canada".