FAQ

Short term mission opportunities arise throughout the year. Usually these trips involve   two to three weeks of mission led by both Visionledd and WOW.  We also offer a longer term mission opportunity called the Footprints Program which was developed by our partner agency Hands at Work in Africa. Footprints engages people in a 12-month program enabling them to leave their own footprint in Africa. After a 3-month training program in South Africa, participants spend 9 months helping develop small communities affected by HIV/AIDS in one of 7 other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.  Please see our Footprints Brochure for more information.

The best way to support orphans and widows is by strengthening their community and the services it provides.  This enables the entire community to become self sustainable which provides the greatest benefits to orphans and widows.

90% of all donations go directly to community-enhancing projects with WOW communities. WOW reserves 10% for administration and marketing costs.

WOW is a ministry of Visionledd, founded on the same Christ-centered vision to motivate, educate, equip and empower people and churches with a compassionate, effective response to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. 

Out of the 40 million people living with HIV in 2005, over 25 million of them were living in Sub-Saharan Africa. An astounding 3.1 million people died of AIDS last year alone. By 2012, it is estimated that 45 million will have succumbed to this deadly disease. 9000 people are dying of AIDS every day!

Visionledd relies on a large base of volunteers, both in Africa and in North America. to carry out the majority of community projects. In addition to our committed web of volunteers, Visionledd currently employs 8 people to fulfill the vision we have been given.

Visionledd and WOW empower and equip local indigenous churches with the resources  they need to come together and identify the greatest needs in their community. After assessing community needs, the local African churches, together with our partnering agencies, engage volunteers in carrying out the community-enhancing projects chosen by that community.

Visionledd and WOW form partnerships with agencies whose Statement of Faith and goals line up with Visionledd's mission and vision.  Partnering agencies must seek to support people and communities affected by HIV/AIDS through their local indigenous churches and in the name of Jesus Christ.

Visionledd and WOW work in communities where the HIV prevalence rate is the highest and where the help they are given is the lowest.

Funds are monitored through partnership agreements between Visionledd and our partnering agencies. These agreements define how, where and when funds are dispersed. Agreements also require partnering agencies to provide timely reports on the distribution of funds and its projects.

Local churches train their volunteers in basic health care and then send them out to visit the sick and the dying in their homes.  During their visits, home-based care workers may clean a patient’s home, prepare a meal, spend time hugging, holding and talking with small children or hold a dying patients hand.  Most importantly home-based care workers listen and pray with the sick and dying.  No patient will ever have to die without knowing the love of Christ that compels a home-based care worker to volunteer their time.

In some circumstances we do send missionaries to work with our partnering agencies but this in not a part of our strategic focus. Our primary goal is to mobilize God's church to respond to the needs of orphans and widows. We act as a conduit between those who want to help and those who so desperately need help.

Visionledd is currently working in South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo and Swaziland.  WOW is currently supporting three communities in Zambia, one community in Swaziland and two communities in Malawi.