By James Addis, World Vision U.S.

Almost one year after one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history, Port-au-Prince — and in particular the outlying neighborhood of Petionville, where I’m based — is certainly looking a lot better.

The worst of the rubble has been cleared away. Every square inch of the sidewalks seems to be taken up with street vendors selling everything from groceries, to shoes, to cosmetics, to radios, and every other imaginable product. The occasional large, friendly pig roots in the piles of garbage, much as I imagine they have always done.

Children are back at school, and I’m struck by their immaculately clean uniforms, especially their brilliantly white shirts and blouses — quite a feat to maintain given the muddy, trash-filled streets which they must pick their way through.

The traffic is much the same — it is not moving anywhere fast. People squeeze into brightly colored tap-taps (pickup trucks that function as buses) or risk their lives by hanging onto the vehicles’ sides when they do eventually get moving.

Perhaps it is my imagination, but the sea of devastated buildings I saw back in January 2010 doesn’t seem quite so devastated. No doubt some have been patched up. Others, of course, are certainly beyond repair — haphazard hunks of twisted concrete and splintered wood.

Sadly, about a million people live in tents and makeshift shelters. World Vision is among the organizations constructing better housing, but the needs are enormous. Difficulties establishing land title are proving a major headache and slowing progress.

Those living in the camps are especially exposed to hurricanes, flooding, and cholera. Cholera is the biggest concern right now. World Vision organizes delivery of 1.2 million liters of water to camps every day and maintains about 650 latrines.

Theo Huitema, World Vision’s water and sanitation manager, has trained community leaders in the camps to check that the water is properly chlorinated to kill harmful bacteria. Chlorine levels have been increased for safety. “People don’t like the taste and smell of the water,” he says, though naturally it’s better than contracting a disease that can kill within hours. Perhaps a bigger threat comes from the pit latrines, which get dirty, fill up fast, and easily get clogged with plastic bags and other trash.

In camps where World Vision is working, every case of diarrhea is treated as a suspected cholera infection. Theo must hastily organize the disinfection of latrines and double-check the quality of the camp water supply. Meanwhile, World Vision’s Child-Friendly Spaces are about to mount a renewed awareness campaign about the importance of hand-washing with soap.

So things are still very difficult, but you don’t have to dig hard to find inspirational stories. This morning, I was at a church held in a large tent in Corail — a displacement camp 10 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince, on land set aside by the government to house some of the hundreds of thousands rendered homeless by the quake.

Were people down in the dumps? Not a bit of it. The singing, accompanied by children playing a drum and tambourine, was just about as lively and spirited as I have ever heard. And blow me down, who should be leading the singing but Demosi Louphine, a woman who lost an arm and a leg in the quake, and whom I had chatted with the day before in connection with a World Vision program to help quake survivors with disabilities.

At one point, Demosi raised her voice above the impassioned worship and said, “Just as the birds flap their wings to praise the Lord, wave your arms to praise the Lord.” Everybody enthusiastically did so. The excitement in the room went several notches higher. Of course, Demosi could only wave her remaining good arm. The other arm is a short stump.

For some reason, seeing her standing at the front of the church waving her one remaining arm — her act of worship to God — moved me very much indeed.

Here’s how you can help the survivors of the Haiti Quake 2010

Donate now to World Vision to aid relief work at Haiti. Your gift will help us continue to deliver assistance and support to quake survivors, and stay in Haiti over the long haul as families and communities rebuild their lives.

*James Addis is a Senior Editor at World Vision US.

Renowned Malaysian artiste, Francissca Peter, will be celebrating her illustrious 33 years career in the music industry with a gala concert “Konsert Keunggulan 33 Tahun Francissca Peter”.

One of the most successful non-Malay entertainers in Malaysia, Francissca Peter has had 20 No:1 hit songs under her belt and was elected “Best Female Vocal” five years running.

In spite of her achievements, Francissca is also generous with her time and energy working alongside World Vision Malaysia as its child sponsor and Ambassador since 2006.  She has nominated World Vision as one of the beneficiaries of the proceeds from her concert.

The concert will also feature special appearances by Royston Sta Maria and Imran Ajmain.

For more information of the “Konsert Keunggulan 33 Tahun Francissca Peter”, please log on to the official site or call the hotline at 03-4147 8600.

By Joanne Tay, World Vision Malaysia Staff

Who could have thought a t-shirt would spark a conversation that led to the least expected of encounters during my first personal visit to The Philippines? Here I was, looking through some souvenirs in a small weaving factory along some unknown streets of Baguio when a soft voice muttered “world vision”.

That caught my attention almost immediately. I looked up and saw a petite looking Pinoy (local for female Filipino) reading the back of my boyfriend’s 30-Hour Famine t-shirt. He was oblivious to that gentle voice, behind the lenses of his camera. The young girl in her early twenties muttered again “world vision”. This time, she caught both our attention. I asked, “You know World Vision?”

“Yes, ma’am. They helped me when I was in school.”

I lapsed for a second in delightful surprise before I make sense out of it, “Oh…are you a former sponsored child?”

“Yes, ma’am. My ‘foster parents’ name was Mr. and Mrs. X (somehow their names did not register as I was really excited to meet a grown-up sponsored child in the middle of nowhere!)”

We exchanged conversation and I found out she was from another province 13 hours away. She had completed her education at college level with the help of World Vision and is now a licensed teacher. And she was excited to find out that I am a staff member of the organization. It was indeed, a pleasant encounter. We took a photo before saying our goodbyes.

So the lesson learned here? Be cautious when you are wearing a t-shirt that carries the name of “world vision” – anybody could be watching you!

Jokes aside, that was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. I kept thinking about it, what were the chances? Here I am, having met a life that’s been changed for the better. This young lady was given a proper education and a better chance at life. Although working now as the chief cashier at the weaving factory, she hopes to be a teacher some day. With qualifications, I believe this is not just a distant dream and that one day, she will be. Many children who have no opportunities for education are not even given the chance to dream of having an ambition. Marion (the young lady I met) has left me with a smile.

As a staff, I am deeply encouraged.

Andrew Lee 、华裔、是一名德士司机、曾经探访两名助养童

18年前，我的一位朋友建议我去助养一名孩子。我朋友曾如此说：“把钱捐给贫困的孩子，总好过捐给路上的乞丐；捐给孩子让他们有受教育的机会，进而改变自己的未来，总好过捐给只会伸手要钱不想未来的乞丐吧！”觉得他说得有理，所以我决定在世界宣明会助养3名贫童。

我曾参加了数次儿童助养人探访团 到泰国和中国等地，以亲眼见证世界宣明会和当地居民所开办的扶贫发展工作。此外，我也有幸和我的助养童见面，以更进一步了解他的生活近况。

身为助养人，我最殷切的盼望是希望我的助养童能获取良好的教育，以便将来他长大之后，他可以改变自己和别人的命运。

儿童助养计划在某个程度上，确实改变了我花钱的习性。与其浪费时间囤积我们死后带不走的财富，倒不如善用金钱来帮助有需要的人——拯救一条性命，为别人提供一个受教育的机会或一个开创美好未来的机会，确实是有意义多了。

当我在当地的发展计划区探访我的助养童时，当地村民热情洋溢、兴高采烈的迎送方式真的让我很感动。他们会慎重地以迎接贵宾的方式来招待我们！他们热情的待客方式真的让我心里暖烘烘的。还有，在探访过程中我也很享受学习外国的习俗与文化，看一看当地人迥然不同的生活面貌和处事方式也同时让我眼界大开。

在此我想奉劝有意想加入儿童助养行列的朋友：

马上加入我们吧！

争取机会去探访你的助养童，你就可以目睹并了解世界宣明会到底在做什么；我个人认为世界宣明会在帮助贫困家庭和孩童摆脱贫困枷锁这方面真的做得很好，你必须要亲眼见证才能相信我所说的话！

Andrew Lee, Chinese, Taxi Driver, Visited his 2 sponsored children

Eighteen years ago, I was asked by a friend to consider sponsoring a child. This friend suggested that I donate my money to poor children instead of donating to beggars on the street; he told me it is much better as giving to poor children would help provide them with education and hope for a brighter future whereas beggars will always keep asking for money. Motivated by my friend’s words, I decided to sponsor 3 children with World Vision.

As I have joined 2 sponsors’ visit – Thailand, China – I have seen for myself all the good work that World Vision is doing in the communities they are working with. I have also been given the opportunity to visit my sponsored child and to see for myself how they live.

As a child sponsor, my hope is that my sponsored child will receive a good education so that when he grows up someday, he will also be able to change his own life and another person’s life.

In a way, child sponsorship has impacted the way I choose to spend my money. I am motivated to give more as I have come to realise that there is no point in accumulating so much wealth –  we can’t bring any of it with us when we die so might as well use it to save another person’s life and to provide education and a better future for someone else.

When I went to visit my sponsored children in their ADP, I was very touched to see that the villages were so genuinely happy to meet us. They treated us as though we were some VIPs visiting the village! To see that really warmed my heart. Also, one other thing which I really enjoyed about the sponsors visits I joined was learning more about other cultures; to see how people live and do things differently from us was very interesting indeed.

My message to those who are considering child sponsorship is:

Join the sponsors!

Take the opportunity to visit the children and you will see and find out for yourself what World Vision is doing; World Vision is truly doing a good job to help these children and their families who are trapped in poverty. See it to believe it!