“It’s a blessing to connect with them regularly through letters and get their updates. These letters, and the connection I felt with my sponsored children, are what kept me going," shared Anna.

Derartu's community in Ethiopia is facing the worst hunger crisis in a generation but sponsors are a lifeline in keeping malnutrition at bay. Sponsors don’t just impact a single child, but invest in an entire community.

Fourteen-year-old Stella is an environmental conservation champion at her school. Her love for nature inspired Stella to join the school’s environment club after being taught about the benefits of trees by one of her teachers that founded the club. The benefits that the children have reaped from the increased tree cover in their school have given them hope for a bright future in their community.

Cutting forests for firewood and farming had ruptured the ecosystem and set off a chain reaction. Fuel-efficient cook stove has shown themselves to be capable of solving many of these problems such as reducing reforestation, indoor pollution at homes, protecting children against respiratory diseases and more. 

Humanitarian needs in Syria are currently at their highest, while funding continues to dwindle year after year.  The recent earthquakes of February 6th have only added to their complex layers of suffering, making them more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, the NGO adds. Many Syrian children have known nothing but war as the protracted conflict reaches its twelfth year today and they now risk once again being forgotten by the international community. World Vision has released a policy brief outlining the dire situation of children and their families in Syria today.

There is a mental health crisis, especially among children, in Northwest Syria, as a result of the earthquakes which first struck on 6 February 2023 (one month ago today) and the conflict which began 12 years ago this month. Mental health experts believe that the devastation of the earthquake, and the series of aftershocks and displacement resulting from it, will further worsen the mental health needs of children. 

The death toll continues to rise hour by hour and has now sadly climbed above 21,000 in both Syria and Türkiye. As the international effort gathers pace in Türkiye, Syria is significantly underserved and remains a serious concern. World Vision has worked rapidly to assess the needs to already-displaced children and communities in the wake of the earthquake and are scaling up our emergency response.

"...if I can live my life comfortably with the money that I have, why not challenge myself to also put aside a sum of money every month to give to these children," shared Shawn.

Hundreds of thousands of children in Northern Syria are currently stranded outside of their homes and are becoming even more vulnerable to family separation, exploitation and abuse. Children are also at risk of hypothermia as they struggle to survive in freezing temperatures. Children will also be out of school as the buildings are still deemed unsafe. 

The major concerns at the moment are displaced people sleeping wherever they can. People are building fires in oil drums, sleeping outside, sleeping on chairs and in cars, trying to find anywhere that is warm, anywhere except in a building that has the potential to collapse. Buildings and homes remain unstable.