This book is the culmination of the input, support and prayers of many wonderful people. Firstly, I wish to thank Tim Costello, Leigh Cameron and Seak-King Huang for placing their trust in me to write this extraordinary story of World Vision Australia’s first 50 years. I have been blessed by the beautiful souls on the journey who allowed me to talk things over, offered advice and historical material, allowed me to quote their remarks and assisted in the editing, proofreading and design. Thank you. To the inspiring women and men of World Vision – far too many to list here – who gave generously and graciously of their time to tell the stories that are the substance of this book, I am deeply indebted. And my special thanks to my wife Dawn, whose never-failing advice, constant love and encouragement kept me focused on the mission. This book is dedicated to all those people who believe in empowering their brothers and sisters around the planet to bring about transformation. Thank you. You inspire us. © 2016 World Vision Australia Printed by Embassy Print Solutions 706 Lorimer Street Port Melbourne VIC 3207 World Vision Australia ABN 28 004 778 081 is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. CONTENTS Contents Prelude From little things, big things grow A brave new world An unofficial start The first one at work Signing up the pm “A frail but promising boat” An original child sponsor A priceless gift Lost in translation The saint of saigon Babes on a plane Operation seasweep Defying the odds at sea Escape from the communists A new life for desperate women Nightmares and miracles in cambodia The failed ransom attempt “Our great experiment” The 40 hour famine The cycle is broken A change of leadership Unleashing the power of the box The other dave A far different story Serendipity in bangladesh The unspoken bond Stars with a cause Rebecca gibney’s special gift A joyful sacrifice Wooing the churches People of “the book” Ethiopia’s impending crisis The world awakes to a “biblical famine” Restoring the valley of death A remarkable honesty When words aren’t necessary The woman who inspired bono Gently leading the way Romania’s forgotten children Ken duncan sees the big picture Marching off the map Rwanda’s 100 days of slaughter The legacy of little esperance A road to redemption The miracle of mama deborah Messages from above A football legend makes his mark The lottery of life Small loans with giant impact When $30 can change a life Sudan at the brink The ex-premier becomes ceo Watering the weeds From street kids to mentors A transforming moment The ones he can’t forget On the threshold of change The wave that crushed asia An unprecedented challenge at home The night ratings didn’t matter Born on a mountaintop Elvo’s mission of mirth Resilience in the aftermath Beasts ease the burden The lesson of the fallen tree A stark reality of hope Protecting the most vulnerable How on earth do they cope? Visions of good and evil Mel doyle’s biggest influence On the back roads with tracey A supermodel comes to peru A shelter from the warlord Child soldiers no more The three candles Tony the tree whisperer Warrior for the poor The impossible just takes time The heart of hugh jackman A promise is kept Giving voice to the poor An advocate speaks out A decade of emergencies Rescuing the terrified kids The devil’s work or good business? “I never looked back” Fashion with a passion A tale of beauty By their fruits … Transformed through sponsorship Singers strike a chord Rebuilding an island nation Alas poor rupert Moving mountains in nepal Pennies from heaven Vision from the mountain A long way from home “I tried to retire” The giving takes off The invisible ones Too young to be married A witness to hidden stories The rescue of roghini Comedy with a conscience The miniature world Wealth is like manure The boy with the gun Getting to the core The need at home Hope for children of a child bride A cause for all australians The communities of faith Youth at the front The lesson of timor The mission hasn’t changed A final thought PRELUDE TIM Costello is on the beach at Banda Aceh, Indonesia, not long after it has been hit by one of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history. It is early January 2005, days after the giant earthquake rumbled beneath the waters of the Indian Ocean, triggering a powerful tsunami that smashed into the shorelines of 14 countries, demolishing towns and killing more than 230,000 people. No area has been as badly hit as Banda Aceh. This is ground zero. About a third of the 320,000 residents of Banda Aceh are dead or missing. Corpses are being recovered and buried in mass graves. Locals and emergency aid workers are working frantically to find survivors and to clean up the mess. The carnage is of a scale that defies comprehension. An Australian TV crew sees Tim, the new CEO of World Vision Australia, on the destroyed beach and the reporter goes for a soundbite. “Reverend Costello,” he asks, “you are a man of God. If God exists, how do you explain all this devastation?” Tim looks around, and says: “I can’t explain to you the events that occurred but I want you to cast the camera around and look what’s happening right now with this extraordinary human response. That’s God at work.” It is a spontaneous and yet profound answer; a statement of faith in the face of calamity. It is what World Vision is all about. “I hadn’t planned to say it,” Tim is to explain later. “The heart is always way ahead of the head. And the head often doesn’t understand where the heart is. I think World Vision and the experiences I’ve had have been all about that.” From its beginning, World Vision was always going to be about the imaginative fire of the spirit, the songs of the heart and the reality of faith. The faith that we can make a real and positive change in the lives of the world’s poor and oppressed if we try. Believing the seemingly unbelievable – that we can all make that difference – and then choosing to live under its promises is no small thing. It requires a willingness to be stretched beyond safe limits. For 50 years, World Vision Australia has been at the forefront of a bold mission, tackling emergencies through relief, acting against injustice, standing with the oppressed and changing countless lives through child sponsorship and long-term development in some of the harshest environments in the world. It has created no monuments but has left footprints right across the globe – from the war-torn streets of Vietnam and the killing fields of Rwanda to the deserts of Ethiopia, the mountains of Nepal, the hellholes of Cambodia and far beyond. The journey over half a century has been marked by hopes and amazing triumphs, as well as disappointments and frustrations. It has required patience, commitment, professionalism and unwavering perseverance. As Tim Costello says: “World Vision has made every mistake there is to make but we’ve learnt from it.” In almost every major crisis, every natural disaster and famine over the past 50 years, Australians working for World Vision have played key roles in alleviating the suffering. The stories in this book hopefully pay proper tribute to the many extraordinary World Vision Australia men and women who have “marched off the map” to serve in developing countries where the rewards are few and the dangers are many, and to the passionate and gifted professionals who support them in so many ways in World Vision’s offices around the nation. And to the thousands of families and individuals who sponsor children and donate to vital projects, the participants in the 40 Hour Famine, the donors who remember World Vision in their Wills and corporate organisations, businesses and churches who support the vital work. But most of all it is to the ordinary Australians who have compassion for the real concerns in the world and believe that lives can be changed, that we pay tribute. The people featured in this book generously and openly shared their most personal and often extraordinary stories – sometimes with tears flowing – in the hope that their experiences might inspire others to also make a difference. Today, World Vision is Australia’s largest charitable group, working in about 100 countries. More Australians entrust more money to World Vision than any other charity in the country. With the support of more than 400,000 Australians, World Vision Australia helps more than 20 million people every year. Fifty years is an important milestone. But it is not the end of a journey that must continue in a world that needs so much healing. The mission goes on. This was the prayer for the future given at the close of a World Vision Australia staff devotion recently: “May God bless us with discomfort. Discomfort about easy answers, half- truths and superficial relationships – so that we may love deeply in our hearts. “May God bless us with anger. Anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people and our Earth – so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace. “May God bless us with the tears to shed. Tears for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war – so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and transform that pain to joy.