August 2007
I recently returned from a brief filming trip to Zambia and while I was there it really struck me how vital it is for us, as the largest aid and development agency in New Zealand, to speak up for the poor. We can really use our size and our influence to amplify their voices, to change hearts and minds, attitudes and policies, to truly Make Poverty History.

I spent time in Mporokoso, a very new Area Development Programme (ADP) in Zambia, which is funded, like all our ADPs, by Child Sponsorships. Because it’s a start-up ADP, I was pretty shocked at the level of poverty – the children with distended bellies and open sores, the villagers without access to clean water. There was a lot we didn’t film; it was just too graphic. This is our core work – bringing health and hope to the desperately poor, with a clear focus on the children. We can only do this with your help, but we also need to involve our Government and our key decision makers so we can achieve justice and structural change for the poor.

Early in May I spent a few days in Wellington, meeting with politicians, aid officials, the Governor General and the Prime Minister. I had many opportunities to speak about our work and the MPs I met were very receptive. The key message I took to Wellington was our concern over the spread of HIV and AIDS in the Pacific, which is a huge and growing problem, and one that New Zealand, as a leader in the Pacific, should be concerned about.

Those I met with were also impressed that we have over 80,000 supporters, and they agreed with me that New Zealanders are very generous givers, who have a deeply grounded concern for the poor and disadvantaged.

We at World Vision were very pleased a few weeks later, with the announcement by the Rt Hon Winston Peters that overseas aid would be increased from 0.27 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI), to 0.3 per cent in this year’s budget, with a focus on an increase to 0.35 per cent by the year 2010. This is much better progress than we have seen in recent years and gives us a better chance of reaching the global goal of 0.7 percent by the year 2015.

It’s great to see the Government following the example of ordinary New Zealanders in being generous to the poor. July 2007, is the midway point to those all-important Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), so this progress is significant. We joined with thousands of others on July 7 to blow the half time whistle with Micah Challenge, and to keep the pressure on the decision-makers to meet those MDGs by 2015.

I encourage you to partner with us and add your voice to the cry of the poor and the dispossessed. We have a number of programmes people can be involved in; click on this link, and choose something that suits you. We can all make a difference to those who are living in extreme poverty!

Kind regards,

Lisa Cescon
CEO, World Vision New Zealand