Written by Elizabeth Hendley, Photography by Eugene Lee

Nineteen-year-old Shivani Swaroop works in a small cubicle at a travel agency in Delhi, her phone buzzing nonstop with calls from clients or hotels. Like many interns her age trying to land a job in a desirable industry, she puts in long hours and takes on extra assignments to learn as much as possible.

Though she spends her days thinking about luxury hotels, plane reservations, and travel...

Widowed in 1986, Huoy Choeum (age 56), had to become mother and father to her four children.

Sometimes they didn’t have enough food. She tried farming, growing corn and beans, but says the crops weren’t a good quality.

Even though Huoy’s village is near the mighty Mekong River, she couldn’t access the river water, just 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) away, to help grow her crops.

When World Vision came, staff set up an irrigation system for the community. That...

Gift Notification (GN) received by sponsored children brings hope and happiness to their families, the neighborhood and the entire community in which they live. Families that benefit from gift notification always feel cared for and loved.

Gift Notification is when a sponsored child receives a gift in a form of letter, money, greeting card, or item directly from their sponsors. Each time a GN is received by a child in the form of...

Charles Dickens wrote his masterpiece, A Christmas Carol, to explore the real meaning behind Christmas at a time when a whole host of new traditions – including Christmas trees and cards – were being introduced.

Watching his contemporaries celebrating the season with present-buying, excessive food and increasing selfishness, he juxtaposed their attitude with the needs of society’s...