Stories
Stories
Building Platforms of Life for the World’s Poorest Children
Kevin Jenkins (MBA 1985) is president and CEO of the nonprofit World Vision International, a global Christian humanitarian relief, development, and advocacy organization. In this video, he talks about the organization’s mission and his leadership role.
“After about a 25-year career in business, I felt called into something that was a little more vocationally purposeful for me, which is being CEO of World Vision International, a Christian humanitarian organization focused on the world’s poorest children. We’re in about 100 countries; we raise about $2.7 billion a year; we have 45,000 staff; and we have impact in thousands of communities with millions of children around the world who are largely vulnerable and left out of key health and education systems.
“We do what I would call the ‘building blocks of life’: clean water, sanitation, nutrition; things that if you don’t have those things right you are going to be ill, your brain probably won’t develop, you’ll be physically stunted, you won’t be in school or you won’t be able to pay attention in school. So we are working in the poorest communities and trying to build that platform of life for them.
“We are very involved with all of the primary humanitarian emergencies. I myself have been to Lebanon and Jordan, sitting and meeting with refugees. We are engaged with these refugees who are moving from the Syria area into Europe these days. I was this month in Afghanistan. I was in Nepal for the earthquake.
“One of the greatest things I took away from Harvard Business School was a sense of excellence, a sense that, if you’re going to do something, make sure you understand the situation well, make sure you have the capacity—human capacity, financial capacity, basic data—and go forward to make an impact, not just an anecdote.”
(Published December 2015)
Support the next generation of leaders Make a gift nowPost a Comment
Related Stories
-
- 01 Mar 2024
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
The War Within
Re: Elizabeth Ames (MBA 1985); Elaine Klein (MBA 1985); Colin Greenstreet (MBA 1985); By: Janelle Nanos; illustration by Daniel Bejar -
- 29 Nov 2023
- HBS Clubs
A Holiday Benefit Dinner in LA; Seattle Club Revival Underway
By: Margie Kelley -
- 18 Oct 2023
- HBS Alumni News
Spreading the Words
Re: Shafiq Khan (MBA 1982); By: April White -
- 10 Aug 2023
- MassNonprofit News
Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism Appoints Alumna as President
Re: Tara Levine (MBA 2001)
Stories Featuring Kevin Jenkins
-
- 04 Jan 2016
- Alumni Stories
Kevin Jenkins: Making A Difference
Re: Kevin Jenkins (MBA 1985)