World Vision Mission Statement, Core Values and GAD Policy
1.1 World Vision Mission Statement, Core Values and GAD Policy
Since the early 1980s, World Vision has grown increasingly aware of the importance and necessity of integrating gender mainstreaming into its daily work and ministry. As emphasised in its core documents and vision statement, World Vision is concerned with the well-being of children and with promoting justice. The work of Gender and Development aligns completely with these values as discussed in the following.
World Vision Mission Statement
WORLD VISION is an international partnership of Christians whose mission is to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the kingdom of God.
We pursue this mission through integrated, holistic commitment to:
Transformational Development that is community-based and sustainable, focused especially on the needs of children;
Emergency Relief that assists people afflicted by conflict or disaster;
Promotion of Justice that seeks to change unjust structures affecting the poor among whom we work;
Strategic Initiatives that serve the church in the fulfilment of its mission;
Public Awareness that leads to informed understanding, giving, involvement and prayer;
Witness to Jesus Christ by life, deed, word and sign that encourages people to respond to the gospel.
World Vision’s Core Values
WE ARE CHRISTIAN
We acknowledge one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Jesus Christ the love, mercy and grace of God are made known to us and to all people. From this overflowing abundance of God’s love we find our call to ministry.
We proclaim together, “Jesus lived, died, and rose again. Jesus is Lord.” We desire him to be central in our individual and corporate life.
We seek to follow him—in his identification with the poor, the powerless, the afflicted, the oppressed, the marginalised; in his special concern for children; in his respect for the dignity bestowed by God on women equally with men; in his challenge to unjust attitudes and systems; in his call to share resources with each other; in his love for all people without discrimination or conditions; in his offer of new life through faith in him. From him we derive our holistic understanding of the gospel of the kingdom of God, which forms the basis of our response to human need.
We hear his call to servanthood and see the example of his life. We commit ourselves to a servant spirit permeating the organisation. We know this means facing honestly our own pride, sin and failure.
We bear witness to the redemption offered only through faith in Jesus Christ. The staff we engage are equipped by belief and practise to bear this witness. We will maintain our identity as Christian, while being sensitive to the diverse contexts in which we express that identity.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO THE POOR
We are called to serve the neediest people of the earth; to relieve their suffering and to promote the transformation of their condition of life.
We stand in solidarity in a common search for justice. We seek to understand the situation of the poor and work alongside them towards fullness of life. We share our discovery of eternal hope in Jesus Christ.
We seek to facilitate an engagement between the poor and the affluent that opens both to transformation. We respect the poor as active participants, not passive recipients, in this relationship. They are people from whom others may learn and receive, as well as give. The need for transformation is common to all. Together we share a quest for justice, peace, reconciliation and healing in a broken world.
WE VALUE PEOPLE
We regard all people as created and loved by God. We give priority to people before money, structure, systems and other institutional machinery. We act in ways that respect the dignity, uniqueness and intrinsic worth of every person—the poor, the donors, our staff and their families, boards and volunteers. We celebrate the richness of diversity in human personality, culture and contribution.
We practise a participative, open, enabling style in working relationships. We encourage the professional, personal and spiritual development of our staff.
WE ARE STEWARDS
The resources at our disposal are not our own. They are a sacred trust from God through donors on behalf of the poor. We are faithful to the purpose for which those resources are given and manage them in a manner that brings maximum benefit to the poor.
We speak and act honestly. We are open and factual in our dealings with donor constituencies, project communities, governments, the public at large and with each other. We endeavour to convey a public image conforming to reality. We strive for consistency between what we say and what we do.
We demand of ourselves high standards of professional competence and accept the need to be accountable through appropriate structures for achieving these standards. We share our experience and knowledge with others where it can assist them.
We are stewards of God’s creation. We care for the earth and act in ways that will restore and protect the environment. We ensure that our development activities are ecologically sound.
WE ARE PARTNERS
We are members of an international World Vision Partnership that transcends legal, structural and cultural boundaries. We accept the obligations of joint participation, shared goals and mutual accountability that true partnership requires. We affirm our interdependence and our willingness to yield autonomy as necessary for the common good. We commit ourselves to know, understand and love each other.
We are partners with the poor and with donors in a shared ministry. We affirm and promote unity in the body of Christ. We pursue relationship with all churches and desire mutual participation in ministry.
We seek to contribute to the holistic mission of the church.
We maintain a co-operative stance and a spirit of openness towards other humanitarian organisations. We are willing to receive and consider honest opinions from others about our work.
WE ARE RESPONSIVE
We are responsive to life-threatening emergencies where our involvement is needed and appropriate. We are willing to take intelligent risks and act quickly. We do this from a foundation of experience and sensitivity to what the situation requires. We also recognise that even in the midst of crisis, the destitute have a contribution to make from their experience.
We are responsive in a different sense where deep-seated and often complex economic and social deprivation calls for sustainable, long-term development. We maintain the commitments necessary for this to occur.
We are responsive to new and unusual opportunities. We encourage innovation, creativity and flexibility. We maintain an attitude of learning, reflection and discovery in order to grow in understanding and skill.
OUR COMMITMENT
We recognise that values cannot be legislated; they must be lived. No document can substitute for the attitudes, decisions and actions that make up the fabric of our life and work.
Therefore, we covenant with each other, before God, to do our utmost individually and as corporate entities within the World Vision Partnership to uphold these core values, to honour them in our decisions, to express them in our relationships and to act consistently with them wherever World Vision is at work.
Real World – A Vicious Cycle
- Two-thirds of the world’s illiterates are women.
- In 22 African and 9 Asian countries, school enrolment ratios for girls are less than 80% of boys.
- Girls are 1.5 to 3 times as likely to be sexually abused as boys.
- More than 100 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM).
- Only 10% of parliamentarians worldwide are women.
Transformed World – A Virtuous Cycle
- Affirmation of both men and women as created in the image of God
- Gender equality and equity
- Justice, peace, reconciliation and healing
- Transformed relationships between women and men, girls and boys
- Development projects that equally benefit women and men, girls and boys
Matrix of Core Values and Mission Statement
What do our core values and mission statement mean for GAD?
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Real World Situation |
Core Values | Gender Lens | Impact |
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Mission Statement
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3 Only those sections in World Vision’s Mission Statement and Core Values that are relevant to GAD are mentioned.
World Vision’s Gender Activities: A Brief History
1970s - 1980s
1979 Dr. Graciela Esparza was Program Director for Ecuador and later Acting Region Director for Latin America.
1982 Dr. Annette Fortin became Field Director for Guatemala.
1985 WV Delegation sent to Nairobi conference, which adopted “Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women.”
Reverend Dr. Roberta Hestenes became Chair of the WVI Board.
1986 WV commission formed to assess the situation of women within the organisation.
1988 Conference on Women in Development held in Accra, Ghana.
Africa Region drafted Women in Development regional strategy.
1989 WVI Triennial Council formed a Women’s Commission.
1990s
1992 Joan Levett became the first woman VP at the PO; she was in charge of Ministry and Partnership Support Services.
1992 WVI Policy on Women in Development and Leadership adopted by WVI Board.
1992 WV Girl Child Initiative adopted.
1994 WVI Africa Region Gender and Development Director position created.
1995 WV delegation sent to UN World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
1997 WVI Gender and Development Director position created.
1999 WVI Gender and Development Policy adopted by the Board, based on revisions to the previous Policy on Women in Development and Leadership.
Since 2000
2000 Dr. Radha Paul became the first women VP of the Partnership People Division.
WV delegation sent to UN General Assembly Special Session on Beijing + 5 in New York, including four girls from
WV ADP communities in the Philippines, Uganda, Colombia and Guatemala.
WVI Diversity Management Director position created and new policy on Diversity adopted by the Board.
2001 WVI Gender Network formed, comprised of more than 50 WV staff globally.
2003 Dee Giannamore, Kathy Currie, Caryn Ryan and Corina Villacorta were appointed as VPs for Audit and Crisis Management, Children in Ministry, Finance, Latin America and the Caribbean Region, respectively.
44 per cent of the Pathways to Leadership MBA program are women.
WV held the first Partnership forum on Advancing Women in Leadership in Bangkok, Thailand. This was attended by both men and women leaders to celebrate the contribution of women in leadership.
2005 Gender Training Toolkit published to enhance WV capacity in gender analysis and main streaming gender programming.
2005 WV Partnership receives the “Mildred Robbins Leet Award for the Advancement of Women”, for the Partnership’s work in gender equity mainstreaming and publica- tion of the Gender Training Toolkit.
2007 Partnership Women in Leadership meeting held in Singapore.
The Gender Network Team
For the past few years, the Gender and Development (GAD) Office has been engaged in a series of initiatives to draw attention of various Partnership representatives to the importance of mainstreaming gender within World Vision ministry. One significant achievement is the formation of the Gender Network Team, consisting of representatives from World Vision entities who have actively promoted gender mainstreaming in World Vision ministry.
As World Vision acknowledges gender issues as a key factor in promoting the justice and human rights principles emphasised in World Vision Core Values, and as need increases for more effective network and information-sharing amongst World Vision entities, it is deemed necessary to establish a Partnership- wide Gender Network Team to provide leadership in co-ordinating gender mainstreaming within World Vision ministry. The Gender Network Team commits itself to:
- Support establishment of appropriate mechanisms that would facilitate gender mainstreaming efforts within World Vision ministry.
- Promote transformation and empowerment of both men and women at organisational and community levels.
- Assist communities in their strategies of moving from the “vicious cycles” of poverty to a “virtuous cycle” of community-based sustainable development.
The team is made up of four issue-based groups that focus on the following areas of concern:
- Christian Foundation
- Provision and Participation
- Prevention and Protection of Human Rights
- Research and Documentation
World Vision Policy on Gender and Development
PREFACE
Whereas
Our biblical and theological stance values the equal worth and dignity of women and men; and
Our core values state that we value people, emphasise partnership, seek justice, and are committed to the poor; and
Our development goals include the transformation and empowerment of people oppressed by poverty, and
We recognise the crucial role of women in the care and nurture of children; and
We are aware and sympathetic to the ongoing global concerns for and national commitments to promoting the importance of women, their rights and their roles in development.
POLICY
The World Vision Partnership shall implement policies, programmes and projects that:
- Strengthen the partnership between men and women in their shared responsibilities in the home, the workplace, the church, the community and the nation.
- Increase our sensitivity to understand and overcome the lack of equity in the relationship between women and men, girls and boys, with particular concern for women’s and girls’ unjust subordination, exploitation and oppression.
- Increase women’s capacity to improve their own and their family’s social, cultural, economic, spiritual and political condition and increase women’s access to, and control over, resources, including land.
- Address women’s and girls’ needs, including spiritual, physical and mental health, literacy, education, vocational training and information.
- Ensure that women and girls participate actively in the design, implementation, and evaluation of activities supported by World Vision.
- Take action through advocacy and programming to ensure respect for and protection of women’s and girls’ rights in situations of war/conflict, natural disasters and domestic violence and abuse.
- Develop strategic alliances and participate actively in international dialogues on gender issues.
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