ABSTRACT
The agency "claims that under its auspices, Canadians provide sponsorship for more than 190,000 children in over 80 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia". There are, however, numerous facts inconsistent with the rose-tainted self-image of the organization in question; the function of the children within World Vision's marketing program is simply to illuminate the compassion of the sponsor. The child, and the supposed alleviation of poverty, then, is commodified; the act of sponsorship a practice of consumer culture. In past programs, studio walls slowly become bare as indecipherably small photos of children "waiting to be sponsored" are taken down one by one as people call to sponsor them. It is fair to say that the lack of ownership of a workspace for doing laundry differs little, if any, from the lack of ownership of the parcel of land on which a household once grew its own food.
