Roma children are four times more likely to die before their 5th birthday than the average Romanian child who is still much more at risk than his peers in other European Union countries. In Romania’s Constanta County, Roma children often go hungry, don’t have enough clean water to drink and lack the conditions in which to learn and thrive. On this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, World Vision calls on governments, partners and the wider community to take concrete steps to end poverty and prioritise the wellbeing of children. Photos & text by Isabela Stefan, World Vision Romania.

Thirty-seven youth from eight regions across Abkhazia recently came together for World Vision’s 4th Annual Peacebuilding Summer Camp high up in the Caucasus mountains. Representing varied ethnic groups they lived 12 days in a microcosm of respect, humanity, and camaraderie, full of new experiences, idea exchange, and an appreciation for each other and the nature that surrounded them. For most, if not all of these children, these are the only times they are able to interact so closely with their peers from all corners of Abkhazia. Photos and text by Dwayne Mamo, World Vision Georgia Communications Manager

Some 2 million Iraqi refugees across the Middle East will spend a fifth World Refugee Day far from home and even further from any prospect of return or a better life as their needs and rights continue to go largely unaddressed. Photos of refugees in Jordan show they are ‘real people with real needs’ – the theme for this year’s World Refugee Day, 20 June 2009. Photos & text by Ashley Jonathan Clements.

Hosts in Pakistan’s northwest are selling off their assets and incurring debts to help those who are counting on them for food and shelter because they left everything they had in their conflict-ravaged villages. Without urgent support they risk losing everything themselves, or worse - be forced to close their doors…

As homes continue to open to hundreds of thousands of Pakistan’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), World Vision is focusing its relief efforts in host communities through small-scale distributions and home-delivery of goods. How would you cope if 30 people arrived at your door to stay? Here, space and resources are scarce, but these photos show how life around the warzone goes on...

Palestinian refugee children with disabilities are among the most marginalised in Lebanon. Denied the right to education and integration with wider society, they are missing out on the joys and opportunities of childhood that other children take for granted. A special event organised by World Vision and a local partner gave children reason to smile, but much more needs to be done to enable them to shine…Photos & text by Patricia Mouamar, World Vision Lebanon.

Winter in Armenia is a season of joy, but also a season of survival for many vulnerable families when temperatures in the coldest regions of the country plummet to 35C below zero. Here, photos illustrate both the fun and the daily struggle that winter brings to Armenian families.

International Day of the Roma – 8 April celebrates Roma history and traditions- but instead of celebrating, many Roma children will spend the day like any other – doing dangerous work, missing out on school and falling prey to exploiters and traffickers. Across the Balkans and Caucasus, World Vision calls for the rights of all Roma people, particularly children, to be fulfilled...

They are nurturers, family guardians, trailblazers and successful businesswomen – helped by economic opportunities provided by small loans and big belief in their potential. This International Women’s Day, March 8, we acknowledge and celebrate their skills, courage and contribution to their families and society…

Six months after a bloody war ravaged the Georgian territory of South Ossetia and outside its borders, World Vision continues to help thousands of displaced people, with a special focus on children caught up in bitterness and an uncertain future.

Addressing children’s psychosocial wellbeing in Gaza is a priority for World Vision, which has started programmes to help children cope with what they have experienced – and so painfully lost in the recent bloody conflict.

‘Justice and Dignity for all’ is the plea this Human Rights Day, December 10. Meet Nabil – a fisherman and Hamdi, a farmer from Gaza – both struggle to work and support their families because of injustice and conflict. All over the world millions like them simply want the opportunity to live in peace and dignity – will you stand beside them? Photos and text by Sarah Malian.

As Palestinian and Israeli children suffer in Gaza and outside its borders, World Vision is calling for a complete cessation of violence on both sides and a durable peace and security through diplomatic means. The organisation is appealing for funds to assist 100,000 of the most affected people in Gaza with food aid, blankets and hygiene items.

Some 1,000 children from 150 impoverished communities participated in the ‘My vision of the world’ essay and painting competition to mark World Vision Armenia’s 20th anniversary. Some children referenced community issues, while others featured family, happiness, friendship, love and faith. Best works were published in high-circulation Armenian magazines. Popular Armenian newspapers featured the competition, highlighting how children of Armenia want to see and actually see the world around them. Paintings and essays were used to create ‘thank-you’ cards for World Vision Armenia partners and supporters. Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Tigran Sargsyan and World Vision’s Armenia National Director, Mark Kelly and International President, Dean Hirsch, awarded the eight winners of the competition.

As politicians met in the capital of Georgia’s breakaway republic of Abkhazia recently, leaders of the future were celebrating months of hard work at their peaceclubs and summer camp. Some 74 youth from all eight regions of Abkhazia, representing the various ethnicities throughout the territory showcased their newly found knowledge of peacebuilding in a poignant celebration of diversity in a region which has so recently witnessed conflict. Photos and text by Dwayne Mamo, World Vision Georgia

Mothers & infants, pregnant women & children constitute a great number of those driven from their homes by the recent violence in Georgia and the breakaway region of South Ossetia. They sleep on floors or classroom desks of ‘collection centres’ around the Georgian capital and don’t know if they will ever return home. World Vision’s Mother & Infant Shelter has opened its doors to mothers and their newborns & the organisation is working to accommodate more, as well as distribute mattresses & other essentials to displaced centres.

Photos shot by children with disabilities in west Georgia show their desire to share their world with others – a world of friends and family and farm animals – a world in which they want to have the same opportunities, achievements and sense of belonging as other children. Yet many of Georgia’s 12,000 children with disabilities live in isolation at home or in institutions because they are a burden on families and society….Photo story by Ana Chkhaidze, World Vision Georgia

Life is hard in rural communities near Olovo, north of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Virtually every family had to flee intense fighting during the war and when they eventually returned, they found their houses and livelihoods destroyed. 90% of men worked in local industries like woodcutting, but in the post-war chaos and corruption, these firms shut down and most parents are now unemployed. There is little to no support from local and national authorities. Sponsored child Zejna (9) was not even born when the war ended in 1996, but experiences its bitter aftermath every day of her life. Photos & captions by Susan Cuthbert.

Poverty is commonplace in Han Pijesak, eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. This rural area has been neglected by government and charities alike because of its political affiliations, and the children living here bear the brunt. Ten and eleven-year-old sisters Dragana and Drazenka are part of World Vision’s child sponsorship programme which works to strengthen the entire community. Despite many hardships in their dilapidated mountain home, the girls are brimming with spirit and energy, giving hope to their struggling parents. Text & photos by Susan Cuthbert.

Palestinian Christian families in the village of Aboud in the West Bank northwest of Jerusalem prepare for Easter . The population of Aboud are mixed Christian denominations and Muslims and have traditionally been a model of ecumenical and interfaith co-existence. The community’s way of life is under threat as the Palestinian Christian population continues to decline due to the increase in political and economic instability. Text and photos by Margo Sabella

Child abandonment in maternity units and pediatric hospitals is a continuing problem in Romania. Lack of education and preventative services such as counseling, financial assistance, support for mothers to find employment; poverty; and societies rejection of unwed mothers are some of the main causes of child abandonment. Thousands of infants are abandoned immediately after birth, or after being cared for in pediatric units. World Vision is working to prevent child abandonment in Cluj and Vilcea Counties and in Romania’s capital, Bucharest. Text and Photos by World Vision Romania Communications staff.

As March marks the fifth anniversary of the Coalition invasion of Iraq, some steps have been taken to improve the lives of those displaced; Jordan has opened up it’s classrooms to 50,000 Iraqi refugees this academic year, and an amnesty was issued for those refugees living in Lebanon. Yet more action is urgently needed if we are to offer meaningful hope to the trapped generation of Iraqi youth. Photographs by Ashley Clements. Text by meero regional communications team

Across this volatile region, women have lost husbands, brothers and children through conflict. For International Women's Day, World Vision pays tribute to these women's stories of struggle and survival to raise their children against the odds. Text and photos by WV MEER national office communications staff

To celebrate gifts of school supplies to children in Krivaja, World Vision Bosnia and Herzegovina brought professional clowns to local schools. Many of the school children are registered in World Vision’s sponsorship programme. Few other non-governmental organizations are working in these neglected areas, still scarred by the war of 1992-95. Photographs by Mackenzie Rollins and Zeljko Blagojevic. Text by Alma Tabakovic and Susan Cuthbert.

Prohibited and limited access to healthcare and education, violence and early marriage continue to be part of cultural and social reasons why the rights of women and girls are violated throughout this region. These intimate portraits reveal the daily reality of women and girls in Afghanistan. On November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, remember the women and girls of Afghanistan. Photos and Text by Mary Kate MacIsaac.

As the year draws to a close, we take time to reflect on magical moments of the year and hope for more of them for every child in 2008. Every year, some 1500 sponsored children from all over Armenia participate in World Vision's Summer Camps. This year, 18 children with special needs and 20 boys from special institutions enjoyed the summer as their peers have done before them. Photos by Mkrtich Babayan, Maria Sadoyan and Armine Lambaryan

One of the most marginalised minority groups in Central and Eastern Europe, Roma children are accustomed to spending every waking hour collecting cans in garbage dumps or begging for money in the streets. Though visible on nearly every street corner, these vulnerable children are Albania’s forgotten few. World Vision Albania is working to empower Roma children, helping them integrate into mainstream society through provisions such as clean clothes for school. Photographs and text by World Vision Albania’s Gerta Yzeiraj in 2007.

World Vision’s national offices and microcredit organisations in the Balkans invested in peace this summer by gathering 40 youths of different ethnic backgrounds in Montenegro for a peace camp. Focusing on conflict resolution and breaking negative stereotypes, this week of peer to peer training gave young people to whom ethnic division is a daily reality, a rare opportunity to learn tolerance and appreciation for cultural and ethnic diversity. Photographs and text by World Vision Kosovo’s Rick Spruyt reveal how investing in youth, is investing in peace.

For boys and girls in Pakistan, education is more than being literate. It is about changing their lives, and the lives of others. World Vision’s education program in the country ensures that boys and girls in areas hit hard by the 2005 earthquake have access to improved learning opportunities so that they can pursue their dreams of a better life. In Pakistan, an estimated 60% of children attend primary school and 40% of children attend middle school. Photos and text created by World Vision staff Dana Palade in April 2007.

As World Vision prepares to wrap up relief and recovery efforts from last summer's devastating war in Lebanon, the impact of the fighting one year ago continues throughout the country today. Photos by WV staff: Kevin Cook, Brian Jonson, Jessy Chahine and freelancer photojournalist Richie Nazzal. Text by Jessy Chahine.

The plight of an estimated 2 million Iraqi refugees seeking refuge from continuing bloody violence in their homeland has been called a "humanitarian disaster" by the UNHCR. Amongst this 'huge exodus' a new report from Minority Rights Group reveals that some 30 percent of these refugees are from Iraq's minority groups. Outside of their homeland, they cannot move forward, return home or have employment or education for their children whilst they are in limbo legal status. Here, Iraqi Christian children living in Jordan draw their life experiences as refugees. Reported by John Schenk

These insightful children's photographs sensitively illustrate the lives of children living with disabilities in Armenia. The exhibition aims to promote the integration all children in every aspect of economic and social life, and is dedicated to the International Day of Disabled People. It is part of series of events dedicated organised by World Vision's Child Protection Programme in cooperation with UNICEF and Yerevan Municipality.

Kids for Peace has some 350 members aged from 10-16 years of age, each representing the rich ethnic diversity of Kosovo. As future talks on the status of the province are expected in the spring, the Kids for Peace members continue to work on respecting their differences and a peaceful future for all the kids of Kosovo. Photos and text by Maia Woodward

On International Day for Disabled Persons, World Vision celebrates children living with special needs and disabilities. According to Unicef, there are at least 317,000 children with disabilities in this region that live in residential institutions. Let us remember that children are not only born with disabilities, but many have to live with the physical, as well as emotional legacy of conflict and natural disaster in this volatile region. Photography by World Vision National Office Communications Staff.

A little over six months ago the River Danube reached its highest levels in just over 100 years with devastating results. Wiping out infrastructure and forcing the relocation of thousands of people, the scale of the disaster is being felt as winter approaches, More than 70% of the population affected will be spending Christmas in temporary, un-insulated structures, despite consistent efforts made by both the Romanian Government and NGO’s over the past six. World Vision was there from the beginning and continues to provide relief. Magda Camanaru and Cristina Toma look back over 6 months of relief.

Amidst the solemnity of remembrance, some of the most vulnerable survivors are showing signs of renewed hope. One year on, the needs of the country remain great. The memories of loss and the years of recovery ahead, are evident in the hearts of survivors as well as their devastated communities. Photographs by John Schenk and Dana Palade.

The “Gabors”, a Roma group, cherish the few traditions they have retained over the years. They live close to the boundaries of the historic province of Transylvania and they are known as “Hungarian Gypsies”. Traditionally, the men are tinsmiths, while the women raise the family in the home. Today, one Gabor family is busy preparing for the celebration of seven-year-old Gisela’s birthday. Photos by Laura Runcanu.

Children from the poorest families on the margins of Gherla, northwest Romania, do not have decent clothes nor a pair of shoes to attend school. Ashamed to walk in broken shoes, wear rags, hearing the shouts of the other children “Go away, gypsy”, most Roma children are left without an education or a future. Photographs by Laura Runcanu

More than 73,000 people died in the 7.6 earthquake one year ago. World Vision swiftly responded with food, medicines and shelter. Child Friendly Spaces and temporary schools soon followed. Thousands eventually return to ruined homes to rebuild devastated lives. These photographs are a reminder of how survivors spent their most bitter winter and is dedicated to the memory of all those who perished.

Suicide bombings, endless politics and hopeless poverty are just some of the challenges facing Palestinian children. Photos: Andrea Kuenzig, Germany

Tiny Georgiana came into this world out of wedlock. Her teenage mother Luminita, as a young Roma woman is the poorest of the poor. Adoption seemed like the only option, to offer her child a better life. One year later, with the love of her family and support of World Vision, Georgiana and her mother have remained as one family. Photos by Laura Runcanu

800,000 Azeris were forced from their homes in the early 1990s by a conflict with Armenia. Many still live in railway boxcars, sheds and deserted public buildings, so-called "temporary" accommodations. Photos: Tim Georgeson, John Schenk

Almost 1 million people, a quarter of Lebanon’s population, were displaced by Israeli bombing. War weary women, children and old people have sought sanctuary in World Vision projects throughout Lebanon. Photos: Richie Nazaal

As thousands of predominantly Muslim Lebanese fled the Israeli bombing of the south, a Christian Palestinian refugee camp opened its doors. Children of different faiths bonded in the sanctuary of Debayeh Camp and slowly parents also began to make friends. Photos: Kevin Cook

Two decades of war left the Afghan health care system in tatters. There is a vacuum of hope among the people who are frighteningly vulnerable to disease and death. World Vision, working with Medical Assistance Programs (MAP) International provides vital pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to hospitals and clinics in the west of the country.

Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war devastated farmland, reduced animals by half and left farmers "at zero". World Vision stood by farmers from day one, giving seed and fertilizer, helping repair tractors and giving loans to buy cows and repair barns. Now World Vision is helping establish milk collection points so farmers can get their produce to dairies and turn the tide for an agriculturally-based economy that currently imports the bulk of what it consumes. Photos by: John Schenk (World Vision)

Travel the terrible roads to the distant clinics of Chest-e-Sharif in western Afghanistan. World Vision and partners are bringing health care to villages where the medical system was destroyed over two decades.


This photo gallery is dedicated to the memories of Cristi Gadue, Amy Lynn Niebling, and Carmen Urdaneta. Staff of Management Sciences for Health, they died with 101 other passengers when their airliner went down on February 3 near Kabul. (Photos by Geno Teofilo)

Albania’s subsistence farmers do most of the work but constitute the greater share of the nation's poor. A few farming families are bucking the trend though with World Vision grants and loans. Photos: John Schenk, World Vision

Poor and marginalised, the Roma marry young, have little or no education and few saleable skills. A lack of money for clothing and books keeps up to 90% of Roma children out of school in Bosnia and Herzegovina. World Vision is helping several Roma communities but more needs to be done to get children in classrooms and break the cycle of poverty. Photos by John Schenk (World Vision)

More than 11,500 children live in institutions across Armenia, including the Nubarashen institution for boys, set up as a detention centre for minors. Yet financial and social pressures, not delinquency, led many of the boys' families to place them in the centre. World Vision has assisted these children since September 2004, enabling them to visit their families, giving them opportunities for recreation and equipping them with vital vocational and life skills. Photos by Naira Adamyan and Vartan Zadoyan.

Rebuilding devastated lives, homes and livelihoods is the daunting task of almost a quarter of Lebanon’s population. Amid the rubble which some estimate will take as much as a year to clear in many places, are 20,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance. Photos: Kevin Cook

“Education is the basis for the improvement of Afghanistan” read the words on the wall of the Quala-I-Now girls’ school. With the collapse of the Taliban officials are discovering huge numbers of youngsters – girls and boys – who effectively disappeared from the education system. In Afghanistan literacy is as low as 40 percent among men and possibly as low as four percent for women.

Sixty percent of the more than 1.4 million people living in Gaza are children. Life is always hard for them but it got worse in late June, 2006 with the Israeli military operation “Summer Rain.” The UN says 70% of people in Gaza are now dependent on food aid. Photos: Amy Parodi, Allyn Dynes and Yasser Toshtash

The earthquake in Bam, Iran killed more 30,000 people on December 26, 2003. It left some 100,000 people homeless. World Vision flew in blankets, tents, plastic sheeting, soap and launched various programmes to alleviate suffering. This is what is looked like then.

Families in Malecaj village, a former communist-era labour camp barely eke out a living selling wood, quarrying stone and rearing livestock. Sanitation is poor and sickness and malnourishment are rife. World Vision is expanding Area Development Projects to the area to improve living conditions, help generate income and make children healthier and ready to contribute skills and ideas towards a brighter future. Photos by John Schenk (World Vision).

Ain el Remaneh, a World Vision Area Development Program (ADP) in Beirut's southern suburbs, encompasses one of the poorest areas of the capital nand has one of the city’s highest concentrations of displaced people. Photos: Kevin Cook, World Vision

Children with disabilities in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia may no longer be termed ‘defective’, but when they are hidden at home or abandoned to institutions, they are stripped of value and potential. Now inclusive kindergartens and a first grade class cosponsored by World Vision and UNICEF are proving that children like Mariam can learn and thrive alongside children without disabilities and that they too are valuable members of their society. Photos by John Schenk (World Vision).

“Carpet bombed” is how observers describe Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province after Saturday’s 7.6 quake hit, which killed more than 20,000 people. World Vision and local partners are distributing tents, blankets and burial shrouds. Child protection will be a major focus through Child Friendly Spaces that provide safe haven and routine. Photos by Reuters & World Vision.

The Bam earthquake in southeastern Iran a year ago turned an ancient city to dust, killing thousands and destroying 80% of all infrastructure. World Vision reached out to the survivors, including the many children who lost one or both parents. World Vision provided food, water, shelter and later safe places where children could play at being children again.

Amid desperate scenes, World Vision and local partners delivered essential relief supplies in northeast Pakistan in the first week after the 7.6 earthquake. Winterised tents and blankets were airlifted from Dubai. Water purification tablets, medicines and warm clothing for children were also inbound. Photos by James East & John Schenk (World Vision).

Aid is slowing reaching Pakistan’s isolated North West Frontier Province but some 2,000 mountain villages have not yet received help. Volunteer porters and trucks are enabling World Vision to get tents & blankets to survivors as the Himalayan winter nears. Photos by John Schenk & James East (World Vision).

Lebanese men, women and children show the work of their hands, the results of innovation, hard work and the iron will to succeed. World Vision works alongside Lebanese farmers, small-business entrepreneurs, teachers and families for sustainable income generation and the future well-being of Lebanese children.

Some 10 million children in the Middle East & Eastern Europe live with disabilities. Many are condemned to isolation at home or in institutions due to stigma, poverty and lack of access to treatment. Parents despair, unaware anything can be done. World Vision Albania’s “Different but Equal” project helps children like 4-year-old Besian Kaceli gain mobility and gives his family hope that one day he will walk unaided. Photos by John Schenk (World Vision).

World Vision Korea’s medical team walked across a landslide zone and set up camp in the upper reaches of the Bhugarmong Valley to treat hundreds of survivors of the 7.6 earthquake that killed more than 73,000. Photos by John Schenk (World Vision).

Children are the most vulnerable among quake survivors in northern Pakistan where some 8,000 schools were destroyed or severly damaged. World Vision Child Friendly Spaces are safe havens where children can play, express feelings and regain a sense of routine and normality. Photos by John Schenk, World Vision.

Six months since the 7.6 quake in Pakistan, thousands of rural families like the Swatis face all the fears and uncertainties of rebuilding their lives after losing everything. Relief, food and shelter materials from World Vision, together with their sheer determination sustained them through the winter. Photos by Rebecca Lyman (World Vision).

After the earthquake of 26 December 2003 which devastated the city of Bam in southeast Iran, killed over 40,000 people and left approximately 100,000 destitute, World Vision quickly responded. The impact of grief and loss on children is significant. World Vision is specifically targeting them as part of its relief and reconstruction activities.

Torrential rain has overpowered rivers and water channels since April in Romania, inflicting the worst flooding in 35 years. Thousands of families have been devastated. Their homes and community infrastructure damaged or destroyed. This week the country's southwest was hit. World Vision is assisting people in Dolj County, where 24 villages are seriously affected, among them a poor Roma community. Photos by World Vision staff.

Parents everywhere worry about their children but imagine having worries like these: Your child has a cold or a skin infection. Could it be tuberculosis? Or measles? When your son plays in the fields, will he lose a leg to a landmine? In rural Afghanistan, these are not irrational fears. Ask an Afghan mother how many children she has and the reply often is: "You mean still living?"(Geno Teofilo, World Vision)