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What Went Wrong in the World in 2013?

A Sobering Reminder of Those Struggling around the Globe

"That failure of imagination, combined with residents' skepticism that the storm would be worse than any of the other 20 or so that lash the scattered archipelago every year, had a deadly and devastating impact."

A child surveys the destruction following Typhoon Haiyan.
A child surveys the destruction following Typhoon Haiyan. | (Photo: World Vision)
Hannah was lucky to survive the flood when super-typhoon Haiyan struck in Salvacion, Palo Leyte. Two of her siblings Divine (7), and brother, Paul (11 months) died.
Hannah was lucky to survive the flood when super-typhoon Haiyan struck in Salvacion, Palo Leyte. Two of her siblings Divine (7), and brother, Paul (11 months) died. | (Photo: World Vision)
In Kpalang village, Ghana, the only water source is this dirty pond. The water tastes foul and is the color of green pea soup. Nearly every family seems affected by the Guinea worm in this remote farming village of 600 people.
In Kpalang village, Ghana, the only water source is this dirty pond. The water tastes foul and is the color of green pea soup. Nearly every family seems affected by the Guinea worm in this remote farming village of 600 people. | (Photo: World Vision)

4. Ongoing Lack of Access to Clean Water

Roughly 10 percent of the world or 780 million people, lack access to clean drinking water—leaving communities susceptible to chronic malnutrition and diarrhea, a disease that kills an estimated 1,600 children under five daily. A lack of accessible clean water also has social consequences and keeps thousands of children, especially girls, out of school because of the manual labor required to bring water to the family.

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Three-year-old Nsereko Jagenda drinking water from the water jar at home with a cupped hand. from donors in the United Kingdom through World Vision UK
Three-year-old Nsereko Jagenda drinking water from the water jar at home with a cupped hand. from donors in the United Kingdom through World Vision UK | (Photo: World Vision)
Women carry water home in Mozambique.
Women carry water home in Mozambique. | (Photo: World Vision)
Everyday Shahin is working the tailoring shop around eight hours.
Everyday Shahin is working the tailoring shop around eight hours. | (Photo: World Vision)

5. Child Labor Trafficking

While a recognition of the horrors of sex trafficking has penetrated the Christian social issue conversation in recent years, forced labor trafficking remains an understated issue. More than 115 million children are excluded from the education system and instead forced to work often physically and psychologically dangerous agriculture, mining, quarrying, fishing, factories and sexually exploitative jobs.

Shahin earned 50 taka (.51 USD) per day. He helped his family through his little income.
Shahin earned 50 taka (.51 USD) per day. He helped his family through his little income. | (Photo: World Vision)
15-year-old Savoeun went to work in Leuk Daek in southeastern Cambodia. Leuk Daek is a place of rice fields and rivers, its scenery strewn with ornate pagodas that bespeak the country's Buddhist heritage. Savoeun quit school to work at the sewing factory when she was 12. Back then, she rode a bicycle to work. But on this day, the teenager took a motortaxi, her hands clutching a small bag containing the items she had been instructed to bring: her clothes and her sister's birth certificate. That, she'd had to steal. At the factory that morning, Savoeun's sister Simean was the first to notice. 'I did not see her working,' says Simean, 21. 'I asked where she was. People told me that she'd gone to work in Malaysia. I called my family.' In making that call, Simean set in motion a Cambodian-style Amber Alert. Savoeun's family, friends, local officials, co-workers, the police, community members, and the children of two villages joined in a singular task: bringing Savoeun home--alive.
15-year-old Savoeun went to work in Leuk Daek in southeastern Cambodia. Leuk Daek is a place of rice fields and rivers, its scenery strewn with ornate pagodas that bespeak the country's Buddhist heritage. Savoeun quit school to work at the sewing factory when she was 12. Back then, she rode a bicycle to work. But on this day, the teenager took a motortaxi, her hands clutching a small bag containing the items she had been instructed to bring: her clothes and her sister's birth certificate. That, she'd had to steal. At the factory that morning, Savoeun's sister Simean was the first to notice. "I did not see her working," says Simean, 21. "I asked where she was. People told me that she'd gone to work in Malaysia. I called my family." In making that call, Simean set in motion a Cambodian-style Amber Alert. Savoeun's family, friends, local officials, co-workers, the police, community members, and the children of two villages joined in a singular task: bringing Savoeun home--alive. | (Photo: World Vision)

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