Takayo Sasaki
Director, Program/Operation Department, World Vision Japan

World Vision (WV), which was founded by American missionary Bob Pierce in 1950, is an international NGO rooted in the Christian faith supporting the children of the world. World Vision Japan (WVJ) was established in 1987, and now, more than 30 years later, we have expanded our support activities to 36 countries around the world, with development assistance through child sponsorship, emergency humanitarian aid, and advocacy as the three pillars of our work.

In November 2021, UNICEF unveiled data which showed the difficult circumstances faced by the 240 million children with disabilities in the world. The data revealed that children with disabilities are 49% more likely never to attend school than other children of the same age, 41% more likely to feel discriminated against, and 51% more likely to believe that they are unfortunate.

In the communities where we provide support, we at World Vision carry out activities to close this gap as much as possible by addressing the needs of these most vulnerable children and the barriers that hinder equality of dignity and quality of life. In addition, aiming not only to meet their needs but also for them to play a part in bringing about the “fullness of life for all children” which is our aspiration, we seek in all our activities to give children and adults with disabilities equal access to opportunities, as far as possible, and to have them participate in local communities.

Hamida, a mother of three in Bangladesh (centre), has a physical disability in her left leg. Her family faced financial difficulties, and she felt that she was a burden on her family and society.
One day, she was selected to be a member of the local committee for World Vision’s water and sanitation project, and began awareness-raising activities to encourage teenage girls and their mothers in the local community to improve their hygiene practices.
The initial reaction of those around her was cold, but as Hamida continued her activities every day, her community’s view of her changed. Before this, she had been known as a “cripple with a limp”, but she has now come to be called a “Big sister” or “Respectful aunt”. She also empowers other women with disabilities.

Mary from Zambia (centre) caught tetanus when she was very young and was unable to walk on her own. She had to ask her mother for assistance every time she needed to use the toilet or bathe.
However, World Vision began support activities in her town, installing accessible toilets and other facilities for disabled people and providing wheelchairs, and so Mary became able to move around by herself, changing her family’s life in a major way.
Mary is unable to go to school at the moment due to the distance, but she spends her days playing with her friends and siblings and helping around the house by doing the laundry and washing up and feeding the hens.

In an on-going education project in Jordan, we are encouraging children with disabilities (centre) to participate in their school management committees.
In this project, in addition to making schools and learning materials accessible and providing inclusive education training for teachers and other school staff as part of the move towards inclusive schools, we are aiming to have pupils (including children with disabilities) participate in school management committees as one aspect of capacity building for these committees. School management committee discussions include checking in with pupils with disabilities as they proceed.
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As we carry out our activities, we at World Vision will continue to work towards communities and societies where both children with and without disabilities are accepted as equally important.