![Bob Pierce](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_portrait/public/2019-03/V260-003_03_681128.jpg?itok=87j7YcFB)
Going when no one else would
Our History
For more than 70 years, World Vision has been committed to protecting and caring for children and those in need. From our founder Bob Pierce giving the last $5 in his pocket to help care for an abandoned Chinese girl in 1947, to then-CEO Stan Mooneyham purchasing a large ship in 1979 to rescue refugee families stranded at sea in Vietnam, World Vision has gone where others would not. Even in the places where it is hardest to be a child, God is there—and we should be there too. So, our mission continues.
![Bob Pierce Praying - 1950](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_landscape_16x9/public/2019-03/Foundation-web.jpg?itok=BAJKibM4)
1950s
Bob Pierce founded World Vision three years after he came face to face with an abandoned child and chose not to look away. Determined the last $5 in his pocket wasn’t enough, he knew more people had to be involved for a long-term solution and broader impact. Initially based in the state of Oregon, the organisation focused on missions service for emergencies in East Asia. Today World Vision has become the largest Christian international non-governmental organisation working in nearly 100 countries worldwide.
![Operation Sea Sweep 1979](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_landscape_16x9/public/2019-03/Sea%20Sweep_3.jpg?itok=abrSvcMK)
1970s
When the countries surrounding Vietnam were refusing to accept the fleeing refugees because of political and racial tension, World Vision believed each person’s life was more valuable than the cost of the risks involved. They were warned against the mission. Despite the captain learning that his license could be revoked and the ship could be denied refuelling and the right to return to port, they all chose to take the risk. Our World Vision ship became the first international rescue ship to provide food and medical assistance to 93 stranded refugees from Vietnam during Operation Seasweep in 1979. When no one else would, we did.
![Family enduring the Ethiopian famine](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_landscape_16x9/public/2019-03/Ethiopian%20famine.jpg?itok=c8MhkVLF)
1980s
During a devastating civil war, Ethiopia was hit with a famine and a hunger crisis which defined a decade and made for one of the worst humanitarian events of the 20th century. The United Nations estimated nearly 1 million famine deaths, along with millions displaced from their homes. World Vision emergency relief workers were among the first on the ground to assist the starving children and families, providing help where it was most critically needed.
![Syrian refugee boy refugee camp](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_landscape_16x9/public/2019-05/Lebanon1.jpg?itok=ZqgIQYVH)
2010s - Today
World Vision has been working in the Middle East for more than 40 years and has been responding to Syria’s deadly civil war since it began in early 2011. To date, approximately 5.6 million people have fled from Syria and another 6.2 million people are displaced within the country – half of which are vulnerable children. World Vision is helping with healthcare, emergency food, water and sanitation, shelter repair kits, education and recreation. We're also providing child protection training for adults and psychological support for Syrian families as well as members of host communities near where refugees have found shelter in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.