Children now have the power to choose their sponsor
Saturday, September 21, 2019
World Vision Launches ChosenTM, Ushers in a New Era of Child Sponsorship
Children now have the power to choose their sponsor
Saturday 21 September 2019 — For the first time in its seven-decade history, World Vision is launching a new invitation into child sponsorship. The Christian humanitarian organisation is enabling children to choose their sponsors through an innovative experience called ChosenTM.
The campaign was launched overnight in the US and Canada and will be heading to Australia in the months ahead.
It’s a simple, yet powerful switch at the beginning of the sponsorship relationship that recognises the dignity and value of children living in extreme poverty, and expresses World Vison’s belief that these children have the power to change their own lives and their communities; and even to touch the lives of their sponsors.
ChosenTM starts with people signing up to be chosen and getting their picture taken. That photo is sent to a community where World Vision works, to be displayed with the pictures of other potential sponsors. The community gathers for a celebration where the kids choose their sponsors. Soon thereafter, sponsors will receive a picture of the child holding their photo and a note letting them know about the child and what made the child choose them.
“Chosen introduces children to the first of many empowering choices they will now have through child sponsorship, so they can become agents of lasting change,” World Vision Australia CEO, Claire Rogers said.
This summer, Guatemalan children from a village facing extreme poverty and violence arrived at a sponsorship event early, dressed in their best clothes hoping it would increase their chances of being sponsored. But as the party started and the children were informed that they would get to choose a sponsor, Tucson’s Rev. Mat Grover who was in Guatemala for this occasion saw something he will never forget: “Tears filled their eyes and their expressions changed from ‘pick me’ to genuine smiles,” he said. “These kids (…) suddenly found themselves at a place where their voices mattered; they had a choice.”
Across the Atlantic in Mwala, Kenya, the response was similarly powerful as 431 children chose sponsors from a church in downtown Chicago.
Collins, a 10-year-old boy from Kenya, said, “It felt great to have chosen my own sponsor, it feels good to have someone in the US minding about me”.
“Brianna, I chose you because you are a good person. I have a lot of joy in my heart when I hear the name Brianna” said Anna, age 12, from Kenya.
“Our congregation has been transformed by the process of being chosen,” said Pastor Jeanne Stevens, who traveled to Mwala when her Chicago church partnered with World Vision in the ChosenTM experience.
Empowering people out of poverty has been at the heart of World Vision’s work around the world since the organisation started in 1950. Through its efforts, World Vision has impacted the lives of more than 200 million vulnerable children by tackling the root causes of poverty.
Starting in September, ChosenTM is taking place in the US and Canada at Churches, Artist concerts, and even online. Individuals who would like to learn more about Chosen™ can do so by visiting www.worldvision.org/chosen
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