How acts of kindness are enriching children’s futures

The smallest acts of kindness can have a transformational impact that ripples out in all directions.

One shining example is the catholic nun, Mother Teresa, whose dedication and work to bettering the lives of the marginalised in Calcutta, India was so prolific that she is now what most of us think of when we hear the word ‘saint’.

Through acts of kindness, ordinary people every day are making extraordinary differences in people lives.

As we approach World Kindness Day on Saturday 13 November, international children’s charity World Vision UK is showing appreciation for the kindness its supporters. Below are some stories of how some of these amazing people’s efforts are transforming the lives and communities of children in more than 100 countries.

Asini Liyanage – World Vision Youth Advocate

Asini, from Milton Keynes, initially heard about World Vision in 2018 when she discovered an advertisement for young people in the UK to be part of a focus group on child soldiers. It was for the It Takes a World To End Violence Against Children campaign.

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Description automatically generated with medium confidence”As someone passionate about using my privilege and power to help make a difference in the lives of others who are not so fortunate, I was excited by the opportunity to represent the voices of children living through difficulty across the world.”

“I’ve had many great opportunities with World Vision over the years, including being able to speak in Parliament to MPs and partaking in round table discussions both in Parliament and in the Foreign and Commonwealth office with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon. These have given me a platform to voice my thoughts and considerations on the campaign with politicians and change-makers – an opportunity I am very grateful to have had.”

Mihaela Bojan

Mihaela Bojan from London, says the hardships she remembers from her childhood in Romania inspired her to support World A person with blonde hair

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Mihaela started sponsoring children through World Vision 16-years-ago. She now sponsors two children with World Vision UK and eight through World Vision Canada.

“I came from rough beginnings, growing up under the harsh and restrictive communism regime in Eastern Europe in the 1980s but I’m grateful to God to be where I am today,” says Mihaela.

“As a child, I remember Saturday afternoons when we’d be lining up as a family for food which was portioned per person or having to be part of school projects that entailed fieldwork in difficult conditions.

“No child should grow up like that. As for me, I didn’t accept my fate. I went through quite a bit, learnt English, immigrated to Canada on my own, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and managed to land an incredible job in Canada and then here in the UK. I’m grateful for what God blessed me with and it’s important for me to give back by supporting children with less fortunate beginnings so they have a chance at a better life for themselves and their families.”

Caroline Mytum

Caroline Mytum from North Yorkshire has sponsored children with World Vision UK for about 20 years, becoming an ambassador for the international development charity over 10 years ago.

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Description automatically generated”I had a lightbulb moment when I was getting a puppy. I bought all the things for the dog as you do, but when I insured the puppy and looked at the cost, I realised the price was the same as sponsoring a child with World Vision UK.”

Saying to herself that if she could afford her new family pet, she could also afford to help a child in need, Caroline took the plunge and became a child sponsor. Since then, she hasn’t looked back. She is now on the third sponsored child – a girl in Niger as well as enjoying her fulfilling work as a World Vision Ambassador.

“With everything that’s happened with the pandemic I haven’t done a lot as an ambassador recently, but before that, I gave talks at Women’s Institutes, schools and churches,” says Caroline, who remarks that her awareness-raising role became easier after trips to see World Vision’s work first-hand in Zambia and Malawi. Being able to convey my own experience of what I had seen makes it so much easier,” says Caroline.

And, while the pandemic may have scuppered many public speaking opportunities, it hasn’t stopped Caroline from spreading the word about World Vision’s work transforming the lives of people in the world’s poorest countries. “I quite often talk to people about World Vision one-to-one too. It can be better than talking to a room full of people as you can talk more directly.”

Rosemary Martin

Rosemary Martin has been sponsoring children since the 1980s and is a World Vision Ambassador who attends high-profile events to encourage other people to transform the lives of people in poorer communities.

A person smiling in front of a brick wall

Description automatically generated with medium confidenceRosemary, from East London, was first inspired to support World Vision when her children were small. It was 1985 and through Live Aid, pop stars Bob Geldof and Midge Ure were raising awareness of the impact of a major famine in Ethiopia.

“We were comfortably off, but I became aware of all of the children in the world who weren’t,” says Rosemary. “When you have your own children, it hits you. Something changed.”

Since then, Rosemary has sponsored around seven children from different parts of the world. Her current sponsored child is Francois from Senegal. “That project is coming to an end soon, but I’ve been sponsoring him for most of his life.”

Rosemary was invited to a World Vision trip to Africa, but as a headteacher was limited as to when she could take holidays, so had to wait until she retired. It was then she became an ambassador, representing World Vision at events including the Richmond Park 10km run, the Chelsea Flower Show and a Harlem Globetrotters event at the Excel Centre. She has also been to a World Vision event in the House of Commons.

“At the Excel Centre, we had a range of photo-cards of children who were hoping to be sponsored. I was chatting to one person who picked a card and the child on it had the same birthday as them. Another one wasn’t sure about which country to go for, and I suggested a child who coincidentally had the same name as their daughter,” she says. “I love talking about World Vision and what’s wonderful is that you are not just supporting one child, but a whole community.”

Tara North

Tara North from High Wycombe celebrated her 60th birthday in lockdown with a big celebration that raised more than £3,000 for World Vision.

A supporter of the global charity for more than 30 years and now an official Ambassador, Tara says it was in the late 1980s when she developed a strong social conscience and decided to get involved.

“I was working for BP in London and sponsored a dog through an animal charity, and a child through World Vision.

“I wanted to sponsor a girl because I firmly believe girls don’t get the same opportunities as boys. She was called Fatou and was from Senegal. We were living in different times – we didn’t have the internet and lost touch a few times, but it was very rewarding.”

“I sponsor a girl in India who will be a teenager now,” says Tara, an interfaith minister. “As an ambassador for World Vision, I feel my forte is fundraising really, as opposed to giving talks.”

Last year, just before her 60th birthday, Tara held a mammoth online exercise class suitable for all abilities. “It was December 2020 and we were in lockdown. “My dad joined the call for a bit. He was 91 at the time. He didn’t’ do the exercises but my mum and a couple of other people in their 80s joined in.”

She also arranges a variety of regular events, including cake sales and the annual Global 6K Walk for Water which took place last year, and more.

So why is Tara such a loyal World Vision supporter? “Really because my husband and I didn’t have children by choice, but we’ve helped a lot of children who have come our way. I’m from a multicultural family; my mum is English and my Dad is from Pakistan. I’m aware of many girls who have had no choice but to have arranged marriages.”

She is planning to make her current sponsored child her last, as she moves into a different way of giving to World Vision. She’s switching to Childhood Rescue, a different scheme that’s just as important as child sponsorship. It specifically helps children in danger, whose homes have been ripped apart by conflict and natural disasters.

“I’ll be continuing with my ambassador work and supporting Childhood Rescue. I get a lot of support for what I do around High Wycombe,” added Tara.

Eiddwen Roberts

Eiddwen Roberts is an Ambassador for World Vision because of her passion for Zambia, where she lived and taught for eight years from 1965 to 1973. This was just after Zambia became an independent country in 1964 and she was there for the first-year celebrations in 1965.

Sometime after returning home to Caernarfon in Wales, the mother-of-three decided she wanted to sponsor a child. “I’d just been shopping, and I decided that if I could afford to buy those non-essentials, I could afford to sponsor this child.’ That’s how it started.”

Eiddwen chose World Vision because the charity specifically works in Zambia. Since then, she has also sponsored children in India, Myanmar, Albania and Uganda.

She took on the ambassador role after a trip to Zambia. “It was incredible meeting my sponsored child and his family. He had two brothers, a young sister and a lovely mother and the whole village joined in the welcome with gifts and a celebratory dance,” says Eiddwen who is about to sponsor a new child in North-Eastern Zambia.

“After I visited with World Vision, I took the opportunity to travel to Kalulushi on the Copperbelt and visited the school where we taught from 1967. I felt that they are still affluent compared to the villages we visited earlier, and that World Vision is working with even more disadvantaged communities to enable them to improve their facilities and opportunities.”

“It was lovely to go back again but I think my travelling days are over now, so I shall look forward to getting updates about Veronica, my sponsored child, and hearing about the people in the communities in Suwila as well. I believe it’s up near where David Livingstone died, off the Great North Road, which used to be a dirt road when we travelled it, though it is probably better now.”

As an ambassador, Eiddwen has spoken at women’s associations, churches and all sorts of other events, highlighting World Vision’s work, although she says she hasn’t done a lot of speaking recently due to Covid. She hopes she’ll be able to sell decorated cakes for Christmas and other occasions, to help with fundraising soon.

“I feel I owe Zambia a lot and this is my way of paying it back. It was a beautiful place to live and I loved the country and people,” she added.