In Beit Awwa, Jumana transformed a mother’s concern into a mission to create safe spaces for children through child protection and community support.

In the Shadow of Hunger: The Power of Self-Reliance to Protect Children and Restore Hope

Ten-year-old Ayen walks daily to the Sobat River in Anackdiar Payam, where her family, displaced by conflict, relies on unsafe water for all basic needs. The contaminated river water especially during floods causes frequent illness, leaving Ayen often too weak to play. Her mother, Nyajuma, worries as sickness becomes routine for their children. Despite hardship, the community remains resilient but exhausted. Hope is emerging through a World Vision WASH project funded by the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund, which will provide safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services. For families like Ayen’s, access to clean water offers a chance for health, dignity, and a better future.

In rural Zambia, menstrual poverty remains a significant barrier to education for thousands of girls. For many, missing up to four or five days of school every month, not because of illness or absence of will, but because of a lack of menstrual hygiene products, is simply the reality of life.

As funding declines and hunger rises, new research from World Vision, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), shows that household self‑reliance—or the ability to provide for basic needs without external assistance, protects children from hunger, child labour, early marriage, school dropout, and family separation.

In Cox’s Bazar, girls like Win risk losing education as poverty, insecurity, and funding cuts threaten to pull them out of school.

After leaving home for work and returning exhausted and discouraged, 16-year-old Aklima found a new path through education, family support, and a sewing machine that helped her rebuild her future.

In northwest Syria, displaced children face hunger, lost identity, and no education—while shrinking aid threatens a generation’s future.

World Vision is helping learners at Mwanga Primary School excel academically through quiz competitions that build confidence and improve classroom performance. Learners who once used not to do well are now performing better in class and have also boosted their confidence.

This report highlights the progress made in various areas, guided solely by the goal of empowering children and vulnerable communities through the work of World Vision Senegal.