Have you seen the television ads for World Vision in which two cheerful shopping channel type hosts offer the opportunity to purchase a child who will work 18 hours a day for only $65? Of course they aren't real, but they are a creative way of bringing our attention to child labour and the plight of kids we might never consider in the course of a day. I wonder if they have received complaints from parents whose children may have seen the commercials and been alarmed.
The truth is that 1.2 million children are sold into slavery every year. World Vision is a respected Evangelical Christian organization which responds to the needs of children in more than a hundred countries around the world. They seem to be immediately on the ground after disasters but their ongoing work addressing poverty and the basics of life such as food, water, and shelter is impressive. There are more than 40,000 employees with 90% from the home countries.
What do you think about this sort of provocative advertising? Do you know much about World Vision? Have you ever sponsored a child?
I have sponsored two children, and I regularly give to World Vision's disaster relief funds. I like the ads - they make us aware of conditions in countries which manufacture some of our "less expensive" items - and make us think about what we actually need, and what we are promoting in these countries if we turn a blind eye...
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, we always sponsored child through World Vision. I recall writing letters to Fi, from the Philippines....we have continued this tradition and have sponsored, and corresponded with several young girls from Bolivia.
ReplyDeleteThe ads do grab our attention in an unsettling way....
Have had a problem with World Vision and the amount of money spent on their advertising. Was unhappy with what I found out about World Vision, so I changed to charity groups that 80 to 90% of money went to what I thought was needed.
ReplyDeleteLaura is right - it is an organization "already on the ground" in many poor countries, but a lot of the money does go to administration... all the organizations need to advertise, but some spend less than others - it pays to do some research.
ReplyDeleteImportant point about choosing charities carefully and making dollars count.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all of you for your observations and experiences.