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Every child has the right to be safe, educated and heard. Sadly, this isn’t the experience of millions of children around the world – especially girls in developing countries. That’s why the United Nations marks International Day of the Girl every year. This special day aims to make people aware that many girls across the globe face huge challenges. Their health is often at risk, they live with the threat of violence or aren’t able to go to school. However, the day also celebrates their courage, creativity and strength in spite of these challenges. Girls everywhere can become world changers, positively in uencing the world they live in. All they need are the right opportunities and skills.
You can help celebrate International Day of the Girl by writing or drawing a story about a girl who overcomes dif culties to make a difference. Ask your parents or carers to help you nd an overseas pen friend who you can encourage. Be a friend to a girl in your school who is a refugee or asylum seeker. Pray for girls in developing countries who experience inequality, violence and poverty. You could also raise funds for a charity that helps girls go to school or live healthier, safer lives. Whatever you do, show some girl power and make a difference on Tuesday 11 October!
The Salvation Army, which publishes ‘Kids Alive!’, supports girls in Bangladesh who are vulnerable to being mistreated. They also help them to stay in education and reach their potential. For more info visit salvationarmy.org.uk and search for ‘Helping-Hand Appeal’.
Jonah is not a happy bunny in this week’s Bible cartoon, is he? God asks him to go to Nineveh and tell the people there to start behaving. But instead of listening to God, Jonah makes a quick escape and runs the other way! Jonah’s escape didn’t go to plan, though. He even ended up inside a big sh’s belly! Something else to complain about!
How does it make you feel when you’re asked to do something you really don’t want to do? Maybe your parents or carers ask you to tidy your room or help them make dinner. I know my four-year-old daughter doesn’t always like it when I ask her to help with things she thinks are boring. That’s when I tell her to ‘turn her frown upside down’. In case you’ve not heard that phrase before, to turn a frown upside
says Cara Mottdown simply means, stop frowning and start smiling.
The truth is, God, and our parents or carers, don’t ask us to do things for no reason. Your parents or carers can’t do everything, they need help. And God needed Jonah’s help too.
Once he got to Nineveh Jonah had something else to complain about! He was very angry when he realised God was going to forgive the people of Nineveh. He didn’t think they deserved to be forgiven. The thing Jonah didn’t realise at the time was that that’s the best thing about God. He’s full of love and forgiveness. He forgave Jonah for running away, he forgave the people of Nineveh and he’ll forgive all of us if we make mistakes too. I think that’s something to celebrate, not complain about. Don’t you?
Help Jonah find his way through the maze to Nineveh without making any wrong turns
As soon as we become friends with Jesus, God’s Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts. Each day, he helps us to become more like Jesus. As the Holy Spirit changes us, we produce good fruits so we can share the love of God with others.
The peace that Jesus gives to his friends is special. It comes from God and is stronger than any challenge we face. With God’s peace, we don’t need to be anxious, worried or scared because we can trust the promises that God has made to us. One day, Jesus will return and take all his friends to live
Dear Jesus,Thank you for promisingto look after me. When I feelscared or worried, pleaselet your peace fill my
KA! JAM is the coolest Bible activity clubaround. As a member you’ll go on amazingadventures through the Bible learning aboutJesus. Each activity sheet is filled with lotsof great stuff about being a Christian. You’llalso receive our mini-mag, Chatterbox,which is filled with jokes, games andmuch more. And to top it off, there areloads of awesome prizes to be won!
To join KA! JAM and complete theBible activity courses online, go tosalvationist.org.uk/kajam.
Or if you would like to receive the postal version,simply fill in the coupon below.
Name:
To join KA! JAM just ll in the application form and send it – along with two rst-class stamps – to: KA! JAM, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. Applicants must be between 7 and 17 years old to join.
Date of birth:
Address:
Boy or girl:
Postcode:
Do you attend a church, and if so, which one? apply for membership of Kids Alive! Jesus And Me. I understand that joiningKA! JAM doesn’t mean I have joined The Salvation Army and that it is not afree subscription to Kids Alive!
PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS.
Find the five differences
the two pictures
He he, he he!
How do you make a sausage roll?
Push it down a hill!
What do you call an underwater spy?
James Pond!
What type of cheese is not yours?
Nacho cheese!
What did the lawyer name his daughter?
Sue!
Starting at row 1, use the letters from the row above to make a new word in each row until you arrive at the base of the pyramid with a six-letter word.
Clue: Outcome.
pals, whether there are two of you or many more. Kids have been playing simple games like catch for a long time, but now you can take that game to the next level!
SlingBall is a high- ying game of catch like you’ve never seen before! Use the rubber loop to release the ball through the air so your friends can catch it with their rackets. Included in each SlingBall pack there are two SlingBall rackets and two SlingBalls –perfect for singles or doubles matches. If you’re feeling really strong, the ball can even be launched 18 metres into the air! As well as being a bundle of fun, SlingBall also encourages active play and improves hand-to-eye co-ordination. So don’t just ing it, sling it! For your opportunity to win a Stay Active SlingBall, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk
Remember to put ‘SlingBall Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 4 November when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by lling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: SlingBall Competition, Kids Alive! 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN.
Remember, the best way to enter
kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk
October is Black History Month so to link with International Day of the Girl we’ve created this cool colouring of Ebinehita Iyere. Ebinehita is the founder of Milk Honey Bees – a safe space for girls to express creativity, feel supported, access opportunities and gain skills. Add some colour to the design below and if you’d like to share your artwork with other readers, email your colourings to: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Make sure you write ‘Black History Month Colouring’ in the subject box and give us your full name, age and address. Alternatively you can post your colourings to: Your Space, Kids Alive! 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. One last reminder, if you’re sending by post remember to ll in the details below so we know who you are. We send a gift to everyone whose colouring we publish, so don’t miss out!
Name:
Age:
This Sunday (9 October) is Homelessness Sunday. It happens around the same time every year as 10 October is World Homeless Day. Both of these days have the aim of highlighting the issues people experiencing homelessness face.
This year the theme for Homelessness Sunday is Homelessness and Mental Health Issues. This is because mental health issues can affect people experiencing homelessness in a big way.
When you picture someone who is experiencing homelessness you probably think of someone sleeping on the street, maybe wrapped in a sleeping blanket. However, this is just one form of homelessness. It’s called rough sleeping. There are also many other ways people experience homelessness. Some people could be staying in temporary housing, such as shelters, hostels, bed and breakfasts or women’s refuges. Others might also be sleeping on friends’ sofas. So homelessness includes everyone who doesn’t have a permanent home to call their own.
Because of the many different ways people experience homelessness it’s hard to work out the exact number of people who don’t have a permanent home at the moment.
Government gures estimate that around 2,440 people were sleeping rough on a typical night in England in autumn 2021. However, this number only includes rough sleepers in England. This means that the gure for people experiencing homelessness in the UK and Republic of Ireland will be much bigger.
Living a healthy and an active lifestyle and caring for your physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Thankfully there are many charities that are helping people experiencing homelessness. One of those charities is The Salvation Army (who also publish Kids Alive!). The Salvation Army operates more than 80 accommodation services, which are called Lifehouses. They’re called Lifehouses because they are more than just a place to stay. As well as offering help with housing issues, there is also support with many other things including employment, debt problems, training, loneliness, addiction and mental health.
The Salvation Army also operates night shelters and drop-ins. A drop-in is a place where someone experiencing homelessness can go for a variety of different things, including a shower, hot meal or warm clothes. There are usually specialists for them to talk to and get advice from as well.
It’s not just grown-ups who experience homelessness either. Many families, including children, need help from charities too. More than 100 children are staying in just two Lifehouses in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. These Lifehouses also provide homework clubs, toddler groups, cookery classes and art activities.
The Salvation Army is always looking for new ways to help people, so they’ve partnered with a company to develop a different way to provide emergency accommodation. The NAPpad 20 (Night-time Accommodation Project) is a moveable structure about the same size as a shipping container. Inside there are four ‘micro ats’ or pads that offer privacy and safety to people who might otherwise have been rough sleeping.
There are many ways you can do your bit to help people experiencing homelessness too. Here are a few ideas…
Saying a prayer to ask God to help people experiencing homelessness is a good place to start. You could also ask him to look after the people who work for charities such as The Salvation Army.
Find out where your nearest Salvation Army is and ask them if they need any volunteers or donations. With winter coming, there will de nitely be people in need of blankets and warm clothes, as well as food and toiletries. Although only grown-ups can volunteer, there will be something you can do to help.
Do you have time to do a sponsored event or a bake sale? You could raise money for The Salvation Army so they can use the money to help fund their homelessness services.
If you want to learn more about The Salvation Army’s work with people experiencing homelessness, visit salvationarmy.org.uk/homelessness
You can also search for your local Salvation Army and make a donation.
Age? 9.
Favourite colour? Red. Favourite food? Chinese. Favourite sport? Football –come on Newcastle United! Favourite bit of Kids Alive!? The wordsearch.
Favourite Bible story and why? Moses leading the slaves out of Egypt, because my mam and me must watch the movie, The Prince of Egypt, at least once a week. It’s a lovely treat. Favourite TV programme? I mostly watch YouTubers, such as Mr Beast.
What do you want to be when you’re older? I want to be a police dog handler.
Pets? I have two dogs, Jack and Heidi. I absolutely love dogs! Hobbies? Kickboxing.
Tell us a joke. Why does water not like jokes? Because it hates dry humour!
What special skill or talent do you have? Kickboxing. I’ve done this only for one year and I’m already a green belt.
Tell us something interesting about yourself. I have my own YouTube channel where I make gaming videos.
Would you like to feature in our Reader Pro le section on this page like Oliver? If you would, ask your parents, carers or Sunday school leaders to email the address in the blue box below and we’ll send a questionnaire for you to complete (as well as sending a photographic permission form for your parents or carers).
The Kids Alive! team loves to hear from its readers. And guess what –other readers love reading your news! So why not get in touch? You can email or post your own colourings, drawings and letters. Or you could ask your Sunday school, church or corps leaders to email us or write to us with any news about the fun stuff you’ve been doing at your church or corps. Email: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk Post: Kids Alive! 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN
This is Daniel, who recently became a junior soldier (young member of The Salvation Army). Daniel is autistic, which means changes to routine can cause him a lot of stress and anxiety. Sadly, Daniel’s dad died last December and his life was turned upside down.
During this really dif cult time Daniel had lots of questions about his life. But God was with him and helped him make two important decisions. First, he decided to become a junior soldier. Second, he decided he wanted to do something to mark the loss of his dad and decided to fundraise for The Salvation Army and help fund mental health training.
Between Father’s Day and what would have been his dad’s 51st birthday, Daniel climbed the stairs of his home 51 times every day for six days. So far, Daniel has raised £1,035! That’s so amazing, Daniel. Great work!
Faith, age 10, chose to write a prayer for the Queen and the Royal Family. You’ve chosen some really lovely words, Faith.
Julia, age 8, sent us this super Scottish tribute to Her Majesty. We love the ag and thistle – well done for using your imagination so well.
A junior soldier is a young member of The Salvation Army Imogen, Canterbury; Blossom, Chelsey, Evie, Govan; Luke, Phoebe, Tadley.
What’s that you’ve got, Pirate Dick? But why does Cap’n Pete need something like that? It wasn’t me I was talking about…
…It was this ugly mug that my aunt sent for my birthday!
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…It’s meant to be the best face cream, ever.
It’s something I bought for Cap’n Pete… I overheard him saying he has an ugly mug. I thought this might improve his looks.