World Vision Australia (WVA) is an ecumenical Christian non-governmental organisation based in Melbourne, Australia. It is a part of the World Vision International Partnership led by World Vision International. WVA is Australia's largest overseas aid and development organisation, operating primarily to assist overseas communities living in poverty. It also carries out development work in Australia with Indigenous communities.
WVA is registered as a charity by the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission as a public benevolent institution, and is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient. As a registered charity it does not pay income tax; as it is a deductible gift recipient, gifts to it are tax-deductible.
Video World Vision Australia
History
World Vision was founded in 1950 in the United States by Rev. Robert Pierce, a Baptist missionary who had worked in China, focussing on aiding children in need. World Vision offices were subsequently established in other countries. The first child sponsorship scheme commenced in 1953 to aid children in Korea following the Korean war.
WVA was founded in 1966 after a proposal to start a new office in Australia by Bernard Barron, the head of World Vision Canada, and after startup funds were provided by the headquarters of World Vision in the United States. Graeme Irvine, an evangelical Christian, was at the head of the Australian branch of World Vision. The first project of WVA related to Vietnam.
World Vision International was founded in 1977 to restructure the World Vision organisation world-wide, and the head of WVA, Graeme Irvine, was 1978 among the signers of the Declaration of Internationalization, which declared a set of objectives for World Vision in its operations throughout the world. In 1988, Graeme Irvine became the first non-American president of World Vision International.
After its establishment, WVA first focused on meeting the needs of refugees in Indochina and of people recovering from disasters in Bangladesh and in several African countries. In the 1970s, its focus broadened from assisting the individual child to include community development. Since the 1980s, a "welfare" approach has gradually changed to a more collaborative relationship where communities work alongside World Vision to improve their lives and take control of their futures.
Maps World Vision Australia
Christian Foundation
World Vision Australia, like all branches of World Vision, is a Christian organisation that bases its beliefs and its activities on the Christian Faith and draws on a biblical framework to inform its work. The Declaration of Internationalization referred to above included a Statement of Faith that set the theological framework within which World Vision International and its national offices (including WVA) operate. The Statement of Faith corresponds to the Statement of Faith put forward by the American National Association of Evangelicals as standard for their evangelical convictions. Like other members of the World Vision Partnership, WVA does not make Christian belief or observance a condition of providing assistance to a person or community but provides aid regardless of the recipients' religions or beliefs. WVA is a signatory to the ACFID Code of Conduct, that requires that development activities be separately delivered and reported from non-development (including religious) activities. WVA's development activities seek to improve the well-being of those in need without favouritism or discrimination by race, religion, culture or political persuasion. The benefits and disadvantages affecting faith-based agencies in delivering positive development outcomes are considered in the 2011 ACFID Research Report: Religion and Development: Australian Faith-Based Development Organisations
Fundraising
In the 2017 financial year, World Vision Australia reported total income of $404.1 million, derived from child sponsorship (38%), Australian Government (DFAT) grants (12%), appeals, donations and gifts (9%), overseas grants (11%) and other cash revenue (6%). Non-monetary donations and gifts were received to the value of $98.7 million or 24% of total revenue.
Overseas grants are received from philanthropic organisations, other government aid programs and United Nations agencies such as the World Food Programme, UNICEF and UNHCR (responsible for children and refugees).
Child sponsorship
World Vision's main focus is the well-being of children, and child sponsorship programs provide its greatest source of funds. Sponsorship links the donor to a specific child or children overseas and the sponsor makes a long-term commitment to contribute regular amounts (usually monthly). Money donated by the sponsor does not go directly to the child or the child's family; instead it goes to an ADP that benefits the entire community in which the child lives. Not every child in an area benefitted by an ADP may be sponsored; children are selected for sponsorship who are considered to be in positions of particular vulnerability.
40 Hour Famine
The "40 Hour Famine" is a fund-raising scheme in which Australians, especially the young, find out what it's like to go without food for 40 hours. Schools and churches support of the famine and participants ask others to sponsor them. In 2017 and 2018, a "Backpack Challenge" was held in place of the 40 Hour Famine with participants to only make use of what they can carry in a backpack for 40 hours. The campaign is intended to draw attention to the plight of refugees around the world.
Initiatives
Worldwide Focus
When a disaster strikes, World Vision staff claims to be on the scene within 72 hours, bringing food and supplies. World Vision responds to rapid and slow onset natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis and droughts; man-made disasters such as conflicts and war and humanitarian emergencies caused by factors such as political, social and economic, that can be across a single country or a group of countries.
"Twice As Green" is an initiative that funds programs working with communities to help them adapt to changing landscapes. It enables projects such as revegetation, restoration of barren land, sustainable farming and greenhouse gas reduction.
World Vision advocates for government policies against human trafficking for sexual slavery and forced labor. "Child Rescue" reaches out to children who are struggling to survive in difficult situations, beyond the reach of child sponsorship. They may be homeless, orphaned, or recently escaped from a brothel or factory, or be victims of human trafficking and slavery. Child Rescue aims to help free vulnerable children from suffering, exploitation and abuse and provides them with the support.
"Water Health Life" tackles problems with dirty water sources that can lead to diseases such as diarrhoea and bilharzia, with various practical solutions such as sinking wells and drilling boreholes.
Australia
World Vision provides a range of educational resources on its website, including general topic sheets and classroom materials for primary and secondary levels.
World Vision encourages supporters to lobby the Australian government on issues such as campaigns against landmines, child labour, child soldiers and debt.
World Vision Australia works together with the Parliament by regularly writing submissions.
Australian Indigenous Programs
World Vision draws on its international development experience to implement long term, place-based community development initiatives in partnership with remote Indigenous communities. Its Australian Program focuses on:
- Early Childhood Care and Development programs in the Pilbara and Kimberley region of Western Australia
- The Martu Leadership Program being delivered in partnership with Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa in the Pilbara;
- Young Mob Leadership Programs supporting Aboriginal students in selected New South Wales and Victorian schools; and
- The Channels of Hope program, which is addressing the root causes of domestic violence, through programs in faith-based communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
- Supporting Aboriginal reconciliation and advocating for Aboriginal communities with various government jurisdictions.
New projects commencing in 2018 will support the development of literacy and work-ready skills among young people in remote communities.
Partnerships
First of all World Vision Australia is member of the World Vision Partnership.
World Vision Australia is a full member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), and is a signatory to ACFID's Code of Conduct, which defines the minimum standards of governance, management and accountability for development NGOs. It works in cooperation with other government and non-government agencies in Australia and overseas. In addition to AusAID funding, World Vision Australia makes submissions regarding government policies relating to aid and development.
The organisation works with local and overseas churches, and with organisations such as the World Health Organisation, UNHCR and UNICEF. World Vision Australia also collaborates with Oxfam.
World Vision Ambassadors
WVA has 14 Goodwill Ambassadors who support and advocate for the work of World Vision. The Ambassadors are drawn from Australia's elite athletes, actors, journalists and performers and include the international actor Hugh Jackman and former Australian Test Cricket captain Adam Gilchrist.
Allegations and criticism regarding activities in Middle East
In July 2016, Mohammad El Halabi, manager of World Vision in Gaza was arrested at the Erez border crossing and charged by Israeli prosecutors with channeling funds to Hamas, a listed terror organization. A senior official with Shin Bet (Israel's internal security agency,) stated that Halabi was recruited by the military wing of Hamas 2004, and instructed to penetrate World Vision. The allegations have been questioned by World Vision Australia which states that the alleged misappropriated amount exceeds their total Gaza expenditure over the last decade.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade immediately suspended all funding of Palestinian programs by World Vision. World Vision Australia chief executive, Tim Costello, accepted this move as being the correct thing to do pending a proper investigation of the allegations.
In 2013 WVA was been criticised for funding a soccer field in Jenin in the West Bank that was named after a former militant PLO leader. WVA maintained that the field had a different (non-controversial) name, and that the naming of the area surrounding the soccer field after the PLO leader was done by Palestinian authorities after construction and naming of the field had been completed.
References
External links
- Website
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