life Inside issue 6
Protecting children changes lives LIFE FOR CHILDREN AND THOSE WHO CARE FOR THEM Child protection training page 3 for Indian schools New app to report page 4 child abuse in Nicaragua Creating safety nets page 6 for children in Uganda
Viva Life
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Issue 6
Spring 2018
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Protecting children is at the heart of all Viva does.
EDITORIAL
That’s why we provide tailored training to both children and adults, so that whole communities can work together to ensure children are safe, well and able to fulfill their God-given potential.
In this issue of Life magazine, read how our partner networks have developed a mobile app to report abuse in Nicaragua (page 4) and trained church leaders and community groups about child safety in Uganda (page 6). You’ll also see across on page 3 details of how our child protection training in schools is radically changing attitudes to keeping young people safe, and helping them to thrive. Together we can protect children – thank you for standing with us.
Paul Kennel Executive Director, Viva North America
GOOD TREATMENT CAMPAIGN 2017 THE PROCESS Campaign planned, adults trained, children selected and trained to be advocates
Children go to the streets, supported by leaders, to ask adults to commit to treating children well
Adults sign promise cards and pledge to make a lasting change to the children
The campaign is repeated year-on-year
CITY AUTHORITIES RECOGNISE AND SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN
THE GLOBAL NUMBERS
11
Viva partner networks took part and reported back
501 5,281 1,924 24,320 15,046 churches and organisations were involved
children led the campaign
“I am really supportive and agree that everyone must listen to, love and care for children – they are our next generation.”
adults supported the children in outreach
adults engaged in conversations
promise cards signed
“Many children had not been aware of their rights so they said that they now felt empowered.”
We are an international Christian charity passionate about releasing children from poverty and abuse. We grow locally-led networks who are committed to working together so that children are safe, well and able to fulfil their God-given potential. Last year, Viva reached 2.2 million children by partnering with 38 networks and working in 26 countries. Find out more at viva.org 2
Viva Life is published three times a year by Viva Network North America
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PROTECTING CHILDREN CHANGES LIVES
Devesh Lal, Viva Network Consultant, talks with students at a school in Ranchi
TIME TO TALK
Viva is actively promoting child protection training in schools in six cities across India. Teachers, counselors and administrative staff learn how to recognize and respond to child abuse, and attain recognized standards. Children are taught how to protect themselves by taking part in ‘Good Touch, Bad Touch’ workshops. Santa Sylvia (pictured below), Network Co-ordinator of Viva’s partner network in Bangalore – where 27 schools are being trained – told us about the deep-rooted issues being addressed. I think the need for child protection is really high in our city. We forget to teach our children how to be safe at home. With the schoolchildren we train, it’s helpful when we say ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ because it’s simpler and children understand it better than saying ‘appropriate’ and ‘inappropriate’. Children experience neglect and abuse at schools – but staff don’t realize this because for them it is a part of discipline. Through our child protection training, we advise teachers that, if a child is not doing homework, instead of shouting at them and humiliating them in front of the class, talk to the child one-on-one and find out the reason. Is it because the father is a drunk and beating up the mother? Or is there no electricity at home? Give the child a chance and you’ll get the real story. Build a relationship that Viva Life 31280 Viva Life US issue 6 STG2.indd 3
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enables the child to freely express themselves. Often during training, teachers realize their actions may have been the cause of emotional abuse or neglect. Some confess this and once they realize it they can start working on it. And that is what we want to see: a safe school, where children grow to their Godintended potential.
At some point during their childhood, 53% of Indians are sexually abused. (Source: Ministry of Women and Child Development study, 2007)
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APP
CALLS OUT ABUSE
Six out of ten children in Nicaragua have experienced domestic violence at home
A brand new mobile app has been launched by our partner network Red Viva Nicaragua allowing users to report instances of abuse or bullying to local authorities anonymously, writes Jaime Tercero.
Six out of ten children in Nicaragua have experienced domestic violence at home and 75 per cent reported witnessing violence at school among students. This statistic was discovered in a poll of 300 children conducted by Red Viva Nicaragua in 2016. A recent government report also highlighted that 50 per cent of all reported sexual assault claims made were committed against children – more specifically, girls under 13 years old. UNESCO has published data which places Nicaragua as the country with the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Latin America. Over the past few years, we at Red Viva Nicaragua have been working hard to organize and promote training in reporting abuse within the local community, so that those affected by 4 31280 Viva Life US issue 6 STG2.indd 4
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Issue 6
violence would know how best to ensure their abusers are dealt with severely. However, the people the training aimed to help very rarely attended. Therefore, in a bid to encourage anonymous reporting, we teamed up with the National University of Engineering (Nicaragua) to create an app which enables survivors to report abuse directly from their phone! The app has been named ‘Estoy Con Vos’ – translated to English as ‘I’m With You’. The app gives you two options: report a case of sexual abuse, or bullying. It then gives you simple and straightforward advice about how to report it or, if the user prefers to stay completely anonymous, there is the option to send your request straight through to the team at Red Viva. Spring 2018 06/04/2018 09:43
PROTECTING CHILDREN CHANGES LIVES The account doesn’t have to come straight from the survivor of an attack either; a concerned friend or family member can just as easily log a complaint on their behalf. If an incident report is received at the network, the information will be assessed, and the appropriate police staff are informed in order to begin an investigation.
For the future, we’re planning to introduce the app to the National Council of Organizations Working for Children so that it can be promoted at a national level by other NGOs. At the moment a global non-profit is interested in partnering with us after recognizing the uniqueness of the reporting faculty of this app, which similar apps in the past have failed to achieve.
If the case needs extra intervention from other organizations, network members can team up with other local groups who are able to provide support such as psychological follow-up. At the moment, eight cases have been reported, and most of them resolved at local level through these partnerships.
Momentum is definitely building with this ground-breaking initiative and, if the current trajectory of success continues, we hope it will be taken up by national organizations in the near future. Watch this space! Jaime Tercero is Red Viva Nicaragua’s network coordinator
This is what Viva is all about: the beauty of working together through a network of organizations, each able to compliment one another’s methods of reaching children most in need within their area. Working this way provides the opportunity to achieve far more for children than would be possible through one single organization. We’re currently promoting the initiative across the local areas through festivals, parades and training, as well as through visuals such as t-shirts and banners. A handful of young people from these communities were asked to be interviewed on the morning news to talk about the app and the situation of violence in their communities.
Your gift can help us support networks like the one in Nicaragua to more effectively protect children. Please use the form enclosed. Viva Life 31280 Viva Life US issue 6 STG2.indd 5
Issue 6
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© CRANE
SAFETY
NETS AND
SKILLS
TRAINING
Victoria Price looks back on a year full of child protection projects by our partner network CRANE in Uganda, highlighting three exciting ways in which children’s lives have been transformed.
1.
Many children in the city of Kampala do not receive the level of protection they should have. Due to widespread poverty and inequality, children are engaged in the worst forms of child labor – putting themselves at risk on the streets or in hazardous work environments. Pervasive attitudes that ward against reporting perpetrators also play a very strong role in maintaining a culture of violence against children. Deep-rooted issues within the city such as poor law enforcement, lack of training of professionals to handle cases of abuse and barriers to accessing services also contribute to the fragile web of abuse within the city, which can often be within family homes.
Church leaders are encouraged to regularly remind their congregations that families should always have children’s best interests at heart. Messages such as discouraging the separation of parents or sending children to work have established safety nets for children, despite the circumstances poverty creates. 152 church leaders have been trained through six workshops, organized on a quarterly basis, to help them to promote a child-focused message and nurture families into being safe places for children. One church pastor testifies of the impact the training has had: “Through the pastors’ training, I have been helped to understand children and to relate to them and have also been equipped to build strong families – at my home, in the church and in my community.”
It is into this situation that our partner network CRANE operates in Uganda. The network brings together childcare workers, duty bearers and other stakeholders from 150 churches and organizations to collaborate in transforming the lives of over 70,000 children at risk. 6 31280 Viva Life US issue 6 STG2.indd 6
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Trained and mentored adults are able to have an influence on the culture of the city.
Professionals such as local council members, family coaches and police officers have also participated in training workshops on family therapy, child protection, positive parenting and conflict resolution. Issue 6
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PROTECTING CHILDREN CHANGES LIVES
CRANE supports those working to make vulnerable children safer
2.
Equipped and empowered Child Protection Committees change communities.
Family and child protection issues are dealt with by committees who regularly discuss current cases and brief children and parents about the specific risks of abuse in their area, and strategies to ensure child safety and wellbeing. There are at least 80 committees overseen by CRANE, with each group carrying out needs assessments and running particular projects to deal with identified problems. Ten year-old Sarah’s story is a perfect example of the community identifying a need and working together to overcome it. Sarah’s mother died of AIDS and her father is living with HIV, unable to provide a regular income. When the church discovered the problem, they found Sarah a foster mother from their church. Then, together with the Child Protection Committee, they lobbied for school fees support. They were successful, and Sarah was taken to school, where she sat her primary examinations last year and achieved a high grade. Viva Life 31280 Viva Life US issue 6 STG2.indd 7
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3.
Village Saving and Loans Associations: the unsung heroes of promoting child protection!
Although perhaps not the most obvious way to ensure children are safe, 37 Village Savings and Loans Associations give members the opportunities to improve skills and knowledge on topics such as becoming better parents and spouses, protecting their children, and boosting their income in the various small businesses they run. The Odoki family had two children who had to drop out of school to help increase the family’s income. The eldest daughter wanted to commit suicide because she missed her friends at school so much. But, after the Child Protection Committee visited their home, they encouraged her mother to join the Village Saving and Loans Association. She joined and borrowed money that she used to start a second-hand clothes business. She was able to pay back the loan in time and now both children are thriving back in school. Victoria Price is Viva’s Fundraising Officer Spring 2018
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Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100: 1-2, 5 (NIV)
Even in the midst of their hurt, poverty and tragedy, we believe God is always present for the world’s vulnerable children, with his enduring, immeasurable love and compassion.
Remember what he has done in the past. See how he is at work now, even in the tough places. Trust that he will shape the lives of generations to come. Please join us wherever you are on 2-3 June 2018 for our World Weekend of Prayer. Come with an attitude of praise, not forgetting God’s goodness and faithfulness.
Resources at www.worldweekendofprayer.com Viva, 330 County Road 16 1/2, Longmont, CO 80504, USA t: 206-382-0790
FACEBOOK.COM/VIVATOGETHERFORCHILDREN Mixed Sources Product group from well-managed forests, controlled sources and recycled wood or fibre. www.fsc.org Cert No. SA-COC-09174
NA@VIVA.ORG
VIVA.ORG
Viva is an operating name of Viva North America. Viva North America is a registered 501(c)3 organization, registered under employer identification number 84-1541857. Any children referred to have had their names and photos changed in accordance with our Child Protection Policy.
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