ACT joins the vision in 2011

Thursday, January 27, 2011

The ACT has topped the list as Australia’s biggest giver amongst all the states and territories with 2.5 per cent of the population sponsoring a child through World Vision Australia.

The findings are part of a national call to action urging Australians to sponsor a child in need in 2011. There are nearly 350,000 children sponsored by World Vision Australia and out of these 9137 are sponsored by residents of the ACT.

The ACT was well ahead of all of the other states and territories. Both WA and SA came an equal second with 1.7 per cent of their population sponsoring a child.

Canberra teachers, Margo and Craig Donaldson, have been sponsoring Hilario from Peru with World Vision Australia for three years. Last year they visited Hilario on his sixth Birthday.

“Visiting Hilario and his community was a humbling experience. It is good to see that our contribution is not about hand-outs or band-aids, but about teaching kids to rise above challenging circumstances, to aspire to a better life for themselves, their families and communities,” Margo said.

Tim Costello, Chief Executive Officer for World Vision Australia congratulated residents of the ACT for their generosity.

“We congratulate the ACT for their support of child sponsorship and for making a difference to the thousands of children living in poverty across the world. As Margo and Craig have seen first-hand, child sponsorship does work,” Mr Costello said.

“It is hard to imagine in this day and age that 24,000 children die a day due to poor sanitation and dirty water. Long term development work that child sponsorship supports, addresses not just hygiene and health issues but also education and economic development”.

“For the same amount of money it costs per month to enjoy a dinner out with the family or a trip to the movies, your sponsorship can provide access to school, health facilities and clean water,” he said.

The cost of child sponsorship is just $43 per month. Each sponsor receives an annual progress report about their child and his or her community’s development.

A simple way you can get involved and find out more is by become a fan of World Vision’s facebook site. In 2010 over 19,000 people became fans of the site which gives our supporter a forum to share their stories.

To become a child sponsor visit www.worldvision.com.au or call World Vision on 13 32 40.

 

End Release

Media Releases, Poverty, Asia and the Pacific, Child Sponsorship, Foreign Aid, Philanthropy, Tim Costello, World Vision

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