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Sustainable Livelihoods


Nearly half the world's people live in grinding poverty — surviving on less than $1 a day

To feed, educate, and provide health care for their children, hardworking parents need a way to boost their incomes. They may try to sell shoes in the market or start a sewing business. But without collateral or credit history, traditional banks won't provide the small loans they need for their business to succeed. To break out of poverty, the enterprising poor require the same resources as every determined entrepreneur — access to capital and practical training.

  • Only 4 percent of the world’s enterprising poor have access to the small loans they need to work their way out of poverty.
  • On average, poor women entrepreneurs use 92 cents of each dollar of extra income to improve their children’s health and education.
  • Microenterprise opportunities can help an entire community do things like rebuild after a disaster and reduce the devastating toll of HIV and AIDS on families.

Work means dignity for parents. It means food, health care, and education for their children. Through child sponsorship, you can help families gain a sustainable income through providing small start-up fund combined with training.

Become a child sponsor with World Vision today

 
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Govindammal's Story

In India, Govindammal, mother 12 year old Deepak who is sponsored, says, “I never imagined my children would live like this and go to school without any difficulties. World Vision gave me the confidence that I can earn on my own. Deepak's sponsorship helps us a lot. I was able to access loans to rebuild our house, for starting small businesses and my children get support for their education."  Govindammal, who lived in a slum as a child, has been able to start two small businesses, one selling masala spices. The other, a bicycle hire business, has quickly grown from 2 to 15 bikes. “I never expected I would be able to provide this kind of a life for my children. Sometimes I can’t believe the change that has happened in my life. In fact, the entire community is changed. World Vision has helped us provide a better life for our children,” said Govindammal.

 
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Ann's Story

The impact of HIV and AIDS has left many communities in Africa without a generation of parents. Children like Ann Monani, who was orphaned eight years ago - aged just 12 years old. Without both parents, Ann was no longer able to continue going to school. As the eldest child, she needed to earn an income that would help provide for her and her younger sisters. Through sponsors supporting her community, Ann was able to learn vocational skills in beauty and fashion that has enabled her to take care of the financial needs of her family and ensure her sisters could finish their education. With training and hard work, Ann has been able to set up a hair salon in her community with another trainee. "I decided to study fashion and beauty because it is a practical career and I felt I could thrive in it. Now I'm able to assist my sisters.”says Ann proudly.

 
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Catherine's story

In Uganda, Catherine Kadowa’s family were using poor seeds types and farming methods. Through World Vision training and better quality seeds, hunger is now a thing of the past for Catherine’s family. “We have enough food, we no longer miss meals or suffer hunger in our home. We take roasted groundnuts to eat at school,” says Catherine’s daughter, Elizabeth.
Growing millet, maize, beans, cassava and other vegetables means Catherine’s family not only have enough to eat, but now also have surplus food to sell, helping to pay for basics like school fees and also allowing Catherine to have enough money to begin building a 3 bedroom brick house for the family.

 
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Houn's story

In Cambodia, Houn’s father died 13 years ago when she was just 6 months old. Her mother worked their half-hectare rice plantation, harvesting once a year with a small yield. The family lived in hunger throughout the planting season until the rice was ready to harvest, and were never able to plant enough rice to feed all five children. At 6 years old, Houn became a sponsored child. The sponsorship development programme enabled her, along with other children in her community, to start school. Her mother also enrolled in the rice bank and cow bank projects set up by World Vision in their community. Through the cow bank, they borrowed a cow, paying for it by giving back its first calf, which went to another family. Now the family has two cows to pull the plough, which makes their planting easier. When they run short of rice during the planting season, the family borrows 100 to 120 kg of rice to eat, which they give back after the harvest. “I am very happy to see my children eating, because all of us know how hard it was to live in hunger,” says Honn Loav, Houn Sokha’s mother. A whole year of certainty that you and your family members won’t face hunger is a worthwhile reason to be happy, indeed.

 

You can sponsor a child by phone:

0800 012 1202

World Vision UK is a Registered Charity no. 285908, regulated by the Charities Commission.

83.1% of donations goes to direct charitable activities. The rest goes toward raising more funds and governance.

 

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