Latin America and the Caribbean

Who we are

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.

Since 1950, World Vision has helped millions of children and families by providing emergency assistance to those affected by natural disasters and social, developing long-term solutions within communities to alleviate poverty, and advocating for justice.

Motivated by our faith in Jesus, World Vision serves alongside the poor and oppressed – regardless of a person’s religion, race, ethnicity, or gender – as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people. There are no conditions attached to our assistance other than human need.

Our commitment is to children of the communities we serve. To help secure a better future for each child, World Vision focuses on the transformation and the empowerment of families and communities to improve the sustainable access to clean water, food supplies, health care, education, and economic opportunities.

To download Child Protection Policy click here

Our history

World Vision was founded in 1950 by Bob Pierce, a Christian journalist from the United States. In 1953, a sponsorship program was created for children orphaned as a result of the Korean War, in which North Americans could contribute a monthly sum to the cost of their care. Over the following two decades, World Vision extended its work throughout Asia, and into Latin America and Africa. Sponsorship funds were used to provide children with food, education, Health care and vocational training.

During the 1970s, a broader model of community development was adopted and an emergency relief division was established. Efforts began to address the causes of poverty by focusing on community needs such as water, sanitation, education, health care, leadership training and income generating projects. At the same time, large-scale relief efforts were initiated on behalf of earthquake victims in Central America, cyclone survivors in India, and refugees adrift in the South China Sea.

In the early 90´s, following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, World Vision began operations in that region. Priority was placed on small loans for poor entrepreneurs, and support homes for boys and girls who suffered some form of discapacity.

Also, the new Model of Area Development Projects (ADPs) is introduced, amounting now to more than 320 of these in Latin America and the Caribbean and around 1,250 throughout the world. More than two million children benefit directly from World Vision sponsorship, while our relief and development work enhances the lives of nearly 100 million people.

World Vision offices in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean was founded in 1977 and headquartered in Guatemala before moving to Costa Rica in 1980. It oversees, facilitates and monitors much of the work of 14 national offices located in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and the Dominican Republic.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, World Vision currently maintains more than 300 large-scale development projects, benefiting more than 4,500 communities and 700,000 sponsored children through.