How we select gifts and recipients
Gifts
At World Vision we have our ears to the ground! Our field staff in Africa live and work locally with the communities we support. It is their daily contact and commitment that gives us the content for the Community Gifts Catalogue.
But what does this mean for you? Well, when you decide to purchase from the Community Gifts Catalogue you can be sure that the gift is truly needed and will be treasured by the people who receive it.
All our gifts are bought locally – which is vitally important for three reasons:
- we do not waste money on international transportation costs.
- when we buy locally, we inject money into the local economy.
- all the animals we buy are properly suited to the environment from a climatic and dietary perspective.
Recipients
Communities who benefit from the Community Gifts Catalogue are based in one of our long-term development programmes in Africa and work with World Vision to achieve a self-sustained future.
Each community is headed by a committee made up of community leaders, women and children. It is their role to manage the progress of the community and decide how to spend donations and allocate gifts.
A number of our gifts such as fruit trees and setting up a classroom go directly to the schools that need them most.
Other gifts such as animal gifts or training for vulnerable children go to individuals who were identified by the committee as most deserving. Often those gifts go to vulnerable or orphaned children, one-parent or grandparent headed households or families struck by illnesses such as HIV/AIDS.
Many of our animal gifts keep on giving! Breeding programmes are established in the communities and the offspring of the animals is given to other community members in need.
If you would like to read more about our recipients visit our Gift Stories section.
