Talk:World Vision United States

Historical background

This article's historical background seems a bit too good to be true. I already revised it to make it seem a little more encyclopedic in style, but I'm still not sure about the factual accuracy. World Vision's official site says on their about us page [[1]] "Dr. Bob Pierce began World Vision to help children orphaned in the Korean War. To provide long-term, ongoing care for children in crisis, World Vision developed its first child sponsorship program in Korea in 1953." However, the article as it stands first says that WV was founded in 1950 in the U.S. and then in the history section that it was started by Dr. Bob Pierce in China. Also would it be bad etiquette to remove the irrelevant material below this on the talk page? Edonovan 04:29, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Comments about the value of the World Vision mission and organization

I've removed all comments on THIS PAGE (Talk) about how cool World Vision is, how important their mission is, etc. The purpose of a talk page is to discuss what should and should not be in the article, when someone has a question, or something is controversial. Wikipedia talk pages are NOT intended to be message boards. John Broughton 17:46, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

Conspiracy theories

While it is reasonably neutral to report that there are conspiracy theorists who think that World Vision is a CIA front, the statement "These claims whilst outrageous, do make logical sense..." is an opinion and also not NPOV. Thatcher131 02:58, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

While attemping to present a balanced article we must still be careful to present an accurate perspective. reasonably/neutrally reporting that consipiracy theories exist may ultimately distort the perspective. for example, some may believe that the United States of America has been infiltrated by Aliens. however in the article on the United States, this information would be considered unverifiable, and would not be considered relevant by a reasonable person. Clearthinker00 20:05, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Merger proposal

The official name of the organization is World Vision International so the main article should be at that page with a redirect from World Vision Thatcher131 02:53, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

• The problem is that World Vision International is the proper name of the organization, but there was already a stub there. If I cut and paste this whole page into that one for the sake of using the right name, I would be trashing the talk and history pages. So I redirected World Vision International to this page. Thatcher131 02:48, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

Scandal in World Vision Austria

At the personal page of Karl_Habsburg-Lothringen some notes about the World vision scandal in Austria are mentioned. Could somebody please add additional information about it?

I also followed the link to learn more about the Austria scandal, but found nothing. Leaving out a scandal that resulted in jail time for the country director smacks of POV.--Counsel 20:16, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Without a verifiable reference we cannot overcome ambiguity: is the World Vision referenced in this article even the same as the international relief/development organization? where did the author get this information? Clearthinker00 19:59, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Use of 2005 figures

I think it is wrong to use $1Bn the 2005 figure for two reasons: (1) the auditted accounts aren't signed off (2) there is a lot of exception tsunami income which inflates things compared to a typcial year. Anyone agree? --BozMo[[user_talk:BozMo|talk]] 14:18, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

According to World Vision financial statements, $1bn is far below the 2005 partnership-wide financial figures. Also, the 2005 figures were audited by PriceWaterhouse Coopers. According to the most current financial statements, since 2005 World Vision's non-disaster income has also risen so that $1bn is still a low and innacurate figure. Clearthinker00 19:57, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

World Vision engages in coercion

The following statements were removed for verification: "Yet, World Vision is not respectful of other faiths. It engages in proselytism and religious coercion."

These statements could be quite harmful to the reputation of the World Vision and hinder the efforts of this and other charitable organizations. They should only be reinserted into the article if accompanied with a verifiable and reputable source.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{1}}}|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/{{{1}}}|contribs]]) .

Well proselytism is given. Its a missionairy org. Coercion up for discussion.Bakaman _Bakatalk 13:51, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

According to World Vision, their organization does not proselytize, nor does it coerce. Additionally, World Vision does not claim to be a missionary organization. Identifying them as such seems to demonstrate a lack of knowledge of the history and mission of the organization, or perhaps a simple misunderstanding of what constitutes a missionary organization. The speculative reference to proselytism and coercion should be removed from the article unless verifiable references are provided.

According to the Dictionary.com definition of Proselytize: To induce someone to convert to one's own religious faith. To induce someone to join one's own political party or to espouse one's doctrine. To convert (a person) from one belief, doctrine, cause, or faith to another.

According to the World Vision Partnership Mission Statement: ""World Vision is an international partnership of Christians whose mission is to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the kingdom of God.

World Vision pursues its mission through integrated, holistic commitment to: Transformational development that is community-based and sustainable, focused especially on the needs of children; Emergency relief that assists people afflicted by conflict or disaster; Promotion of justice that seeks to change unjust structures affecting the poor among whom we work; Partnerships with churches to contribute to spiritual and social transformation; Public awareness that leads to informed understanding, giving, involvement and prayer; Witness to Jesus Christ by life, deed, word and sign that encourages people to respond to the Gospel.""

There is no alignment between World Vision's mission statement (i.e. practices), and the definition of proselytizing.

Clearthinker00 19:44, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Neutrality badly needed

• While of course outright, unverified statements of criticism have no place in this article, it should also not read like a World Vision brochure. External links and article links should include at least a few that are critical of W.V., if any exist. Sentences like "Each national office enjoys an equal voice in the organization's governance, erasing traditional distinctions between the developed and developing world" are blatant promotions of this organization. Please remember this is an encyclopedia, not a free advertising space.

Escheffel 20:15, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

• Much of the article must rely on information provided by World Vision, as it is the most qualified party to describe the body of work of the organization. Criticism of that provided information must be done through verifiable references, or not done at all.

Clearthinker00 19:47, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

• Forgive the comparison, but that's like saying an al-Qaeda website is the best source of information on al-Qaeda. Obviously any organization's website will be self-complimentary, and therefore biased.

Instead of links to World Vision's offices in every corner of the globe, why not a few links to news stories about W.V., and to verifiable studies by charity watchdogs on what percentage of the group's funding goes toward administrative costs, etc.? Escheffel 23:16, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

• Though your followup analogy utilizes an extreme (an important distinction is board oversight, independant financial audit and regulatory/governmental accountability) I do acknowledge the fundamental assumption of your point: the need for any editorial or interpretive writeup (positive or negative) to be independantly verified, or verifiable. I'll look into watchdog and other independant analyses of World Vision's activities.Clearthinker00 23:39, 21 August 2006 (UTC)