Welcome to World Vision's Women of Vision Austin!  In 2010, our group began meeting informally to learn more about God's transforming work in communities through World Vision, a Christian humanitarian aid organization founded in 1950. Since then, WOV Austin has raised thousands for clean water, sanitation and hygeine in Kenya, anti-human trafficking efforts in Bangladesh, and microfinance in both and several other countries.

In 2015, God led us to a deeper understanding of one of the underlying causes of poverty and oppression: the cultural acceptance of violence against women and children in their homes & communities. We can send girls to school and train children on their rights; we can educate families on the tricks of traffickers; we can empower women with microloans; we can drill wells to cut water-borne disease and increase school attendance...but to what end when there is violence in the home and community?  NOT that we should stop these investments and interventions, but what can be done to address this cultural acceptance of violence? 

It’s an issue requiring  scrutiny for all nations, yet, few organizations are tackling the issue because it is so challenging to combat culturally-held belief systems about the way men view/treat women and parents view/treat children.  The goal of an exciting World Vision project called Channels of Hope for Gender is just that: to change the hearts of man by using God's word to stop generational violence. 

It's found so much success that it's initially being rolled out to 19 countries and is being adapted to be used in any faith setting. When our leadership team met in November 2014 to discern where to focus our efforts, God led us via Scripture (Job 28, 33, Jer 4, 2Tim 2-4, Acts 10:34, Luke 1:19-20, Luke 8, Eph 5:25) -- to trust Him with the work already underway in our early projects and to tell others about Channels of Hope for Gender. Please join us in learning, acting and giving to this important work!

WOV Austin is actually raising money for two causes. Channels of Hope for Gender, has long-range vision to change the heart of man so there is less violence in the homes & communities. A second project we are very passionate about has immediate impact right now: the Syrian Refugee Crisis. Please visit our separate Syrian Refugee giving page for more info on how to stand with us in this crisis.

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Since God opened our eyes and hearts that summer in 2010, our group has grown. Over 250 women from the Austin metro area have asked to join and now belong to our distribution list of justice seekers!  At any given time, 50 of us are actively volunteering to educate first ourselves and then others. We are a non-denominational ministry of World Vision focused on uniting our gifts & talents for God's purposes! If you are in the Austin area, we hope you can join us at an upcoming event -- we would love to meet you! For more info, you can visit our blog or Facebook (wovaustin.blogspot.com or facebook/wovaustin)

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Team Members