Voices cut through the bird chirping and the whoosh of the wind as members of the Men Care Group gather under a Neem tree near the north-central city of Agra, India, expressing dismay.

“Another case,” says one member, rubbing his forehead. The others exchange worried glances.

I always look forward to World Vision's  Child Sponsor Trips as this means that I would get to meet my sponsored child and his/her family. This is the fifth time I have been on a child sponsors trip and each time I never fail to marvel at how much my small contribution benefits the community and my sponsored child.

A bomb blast Feb. 15 outside a World Vision-supported hospital in A’zaz, northern Syria left a crater of rubble, shattered windows and slightly damaged the building. No patients were injured, but as many as 14 people were killed in the attack.

Growing up in a poor part of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Razia Akter’s (above, far right) greatest wish was to escape the harsh reality of her family’s poverty. She dreamed of becoming a NASA astronaut and traveling to the moon. An avid reader, she yearned to explore places she read about, like the Great Pyramids of Egypt.

“You can't change the world, but you can change the world for one person” – Katie Davis

It felt that way when I first met Maybin, my sponsored child. Perhaps not so much that I changed his world, but that he changed mine.

Hello! We are a group of students from Hwa Chong Institution who have come together to raise awareness on global poverty and ultimately implement a child sponsorship programme in our school as part of the Hungry to Help Challenge. Our starting approach was to get students to care more about poverty, and offer them possible avenues to help in a tangible manner.

Sent home to die by the first doctors she encountered, Hamida Khatun is only alive today thanks to the World Vision-funded heart surgery she received as a sponsored child, the gift of life allowing her to have a daughter of her own.

Being an intern, I did not expect to get the opportunity to go on an overseas work trip. So when my boss offered me the chance to go to Bo Kluea, Thailand with her I was thrilled. Even though I bore the expenses of the trip myself, I was thrilled not just because I love travelling, but also because I would get to learn more about the work World Vision does.

The Youth Summit on Redefining Volunteerism was a truly eye opening event and having attended it as a volunteer, I have gotten a much closer glimpse as to how the seminar has made an impact on the students who had all come together, eager to rediscover ways in which they can make a difference.