The heart of Viva’s vision is to see children at risk kept safe and healthy, given opportunities to learn and empowered to play an active part in shaping their own futures.
We believe that the best way to make this vision a reality is for people to work together, combining their skills, ideas and resources.
HOW VIVA BEGAN
It was this belief that fuelled the founding of Viva by current Chief Executive Patrick McDonald in 1996. When he went out to volunteer in Paraguay as a 17-year-old he found four different churches providing food for street children in a local park, each one doing so on a Monday.
None of the churches were aware of the work of the others, so the local children feasted on Mondays and starved the rest of the week.
The simple act of introducing these churches to one another ensured that more children were fed more often.
You can watch a short video about Viva's vision here.
VIVA TODAY
Although Viva has grown and changed since the days of that story, the straightforward but striking truth that we can do more together than we can alone is still the driving force behind the organisation.
Today we work in 14 different countries, supporting thousands of projects working with children at risk in 22 city-wide networks. Through our partnerships with these organisations, ranging from large international charities to tiny grassroots initiatives, we are currently working in the lives of 104,000 children across the globe.