life Inside issue 1
Putting children in the center LIFE FOR CHILDREN AND THOSE WHO CARE FOR THEM Collective care for refugee children
page 3
Standing up to abuse
page 4
Children should be seen and heard
page 6
EDITORIAL
A warm welcome to ‘Life’, a new magazine from Viva. In this issue we want to showcase a little of how our locally-led networks in 22 countries are putting children in the center of society.
RESTORING
HOPE In Bolivia,Viva’s partner networks are working with the churches to ensure they are relevant for the community. One of the most important challenges there is domestic abuse. This happens at home within families – the place where children are supposed to be safe. A girl called Brenda, who is now 12 years old, was sexually abused at home by her father from the age of five years old. Her father was abused too when he was a child and when Brenda was born he put all the anger he had onto her.
2
When our partner network Red Viva Cochabamba interviewed Brenda’s mother and asked why she hadn’t said anything, she said she was unaware. She started to share her situation, with tears in her eyes, with network
Truly putting children in the center cannot be achieved as isolated individuals but has to be done together. Thank you for the part you play in helping us do this.
Paul Kennel Executive Director, Viva North America
IN BOLIVIA
Over the coming pages, read how churches in Uganda and Zimbabwe are giving a voice to children (pages 6-7), how Lebanese churches are responding to the most pressing needs of Syrian refugee children (page 3) and why one of our 191 youth advocates in the Philippines says with confidence that “I made a big impact in the lives of young people like me” (pages 4-5).
staff who were giving support, saying she didn’t know anything until her son told her what was happening to Brenda. Immediately she went to the legal office, reported her husband and started the legal process. The mother couldn’t read or write, so the network taught her this over the next six months. It was impressive how the whole family changed when the mother could help Brenda. Hope was restored and they started to be a family again. Now Brenda is in a shelter in Cochabamba with other girls and boys like her, and her mother is now a specialist in supporting these children. The network is changing lives: not just for Brenda, but for all the family. By Carmen Alvarez, Viva’s Director for Latin America
PUTTING CHILDREN IN THE CENTER
COLLECTIVE
CARE FOR REFUGEE
CHILDREN Eight million children are estimated to be in urgent need of assistance inside Syria and neighboring countries due to conflict. Viva is working alongside local Lebanese NGO, LSESD, and its networks of church partners in Syria and Lebanon, to develop child-focused programs to address the risks children face. Many are experiencing abuse or violence, missing out on education, involved in child labor or struggling to cope with the horrors they’ve been through. Local churches have recognized the need to support children, and it’s been exciting to see the new ways in which they are working to help children develop. It’s been a privilege to support a team of young people in a conflict-affected area of Syria to initiate and develop a ‘child friendly space’ – a safe place for children to come every day where they can play and learn, and receive support from people they can trust. Many children have lost a parent or have been separated from part of their family. One team member shared, “Often children will sit with us and cry, and we cry together.” In Lebanon, where one in four people is a Syrian refugee, it’s been encouraging to see the innovative ways in which churches are putting children at the center. After five years of conflict, one of the greatest needs for children is education, with over half of refugee children in Lebanon still out of school.
It’s becoming increasingly important to ensure that children living in situations of conflict are not left behind, writes Kezia M’Clelland, who is supporting work with Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. Viva is providing training and support for a number of churches that have begun informal education projects and, by bringing them together, children’s needs can be more effectively met. In today’s world of often unpredictable and long-lasting conflicts, churches are willing to be involved in caring for children and their families for the long-term. This is critically needed right now. Viva is looking to build on the work we’re already doing here to find further ways to use our resources and experience to equip those working with children in these most difficult of circumstances. Kezia M’Clelland is Viva’s Children in Emergencies Program Specialist, currently supporting church partners in Lebanon who are working with children affected by the Syria crisis.
“I have learned that loving each other is the most important thing.” A boy from Syria who attended a child friendly space.
3
Children are learning their rights and knowing that they are valued
LOVED, VALUED, AND RESPECTED A youth advocacy campaign in the Philippines is helping thousands of children to stand up to sexual abuse at the hands of adults. Ellie Cameron shares Debbie’s story. It’s hard for us to imagine a place where child abuse goes by unchallenged, where children don’t know their rights and don’t expect to be valued. Yet for many children in the Philippines, this is the norm. Viva’s partner network, Philippine Children’s Ministries Network (PCMN), is committed to tackling this problem: changing a culture of neglect and abuse to one of valuing, nurturing, and protecting children.
4
At the age of 14, Debbie had two choices. The most likely option was for her to join a gang in the murky backstreets of Tondo, a district of the capital city, Manila – a place where so many children sadly
end up trapped in this underworld of drug dealers and prostitution. Living on the sewerage pipes, choices for the future for these children are limited and bleak, and they don’t believe that they deserve anything better. Debbie was given the choice to join Youth for Safety, PCMN’s youth advocacy campaign designed to educate children on how to recognize, report, and therefore prevent child sexual abuse. Training for youth advocates includes courses on children’s rights, sexual abuse prevention and online safety, and supports them to stand up for themselves and for others. Debbie had to unlearn the idea that adults had the right to treat her however they wanted, or that she was too young to be able to contribute anything of value to her community. Instead, she was encouraged to develop her musical abilities and discovered a
PUTTING CHILDREN IN THE CENTER This is Debbie’s dream: that children in her community will grow up free from fear and with hope for the future, as every child deserves.
Children publicly speaking out against sexual abuse
gift for teaching and, more importantly, a sense of purpose. She says, “PCMN and my church showed me that it’s not right for children to think that they cannot contribute anything good to their community because they are still young. As a Youth Advocate, I can say that I made a big impact in the lives of young people like me.” Youth advocates pledge to pass the information they’ve learned on to their peers, enabling them to educate and protect many more children from harm. So far, PCMN has trained 191 youth advocates, reaching over 9,000 more children with their message of protection and empowerment. These children will not grow up believing the lie that child abuse is inevitable or acceptable. Instead they will know that they have rights, they have choices, and they are valued. Like Debbie, they can be leaders in their community, not victims. Debbie is now 19 and studying for a degree in Public Administration at the University of Manila. She continues to be involved with PCMN, helping to develop materials for the Disaster Risk Reduction project. The project aims to protect children during natural disasters, as the ensuing chaos makes this a time when they can become especially vulnerable. Again, she is preventing other children from suffering the same experiences which she faced as a child.
Through these opportunities, Debbie is turning those experiences into the driving force which compels her to educate, to encourage, and to advocate for her own rights and those of her peers – skills which will carry her through life. “I envision that all the young people in my community will know about Youth for Safety and Disaster Risk Reduction and every young person will become a leader. In this way, fewer children will become victims.” Children who know their rights will not assert them unless they are told that they are deserving or until they believe that they are valued. Debbie is proof of the success of the Youth for Safety program, and of the lasting impact that it is having on the lives of children in the Philippines, by giving them not just education, but value, a voice, and a future. “There will be peace, not only in our country but also in the hearts of the children,” she says. “The fears, anxieties and worries in their hearts will also be gone. I know these feelings because I experienced them when I was a child.” This is Debbie’s dream: that children in her community will grow up free from fear and with hope for the future, as every child deserves. Let’s join her in making that happen. Ellie Cameron is Viva’s UK Operations Officer All images © PCMN
Visit viva.org/give to support life-changing programs like this
5
Churches in Zimbabwe are becoming increasingly child-friendly
CHILDREN SHOULD BE SEEN AND
HEARD In places where poverty rates are high, life is a constant struggle and there can be little prospect for improvement.
More than half of Uganda’s children are not simply living in low income families; they lack the essentials they need to thrive: food, shelter, clean water, sanitation, education, and information. In Zimbabwe there are believed to be 100,000 child-headed households, where children are raising children because their parents have died and there is no one left to help. However, one of the very characteristics that makes children vulnerable in such circumstances also gives grounds for hope. Children watch and model what they see. They are powerfully influenced by their environment and the messages – implicit or explicit – that they hear. If children can be shown a different way, there is opportunity for real change. 6
Jo Mitchell reports on how Viva is training children in Uganda and Zimbabwe to be change-makers. Viva’s aim is not simply to try to provide what is lacking – food, shelter, medical help, education – but to raise the status and visibility of children, so that wider society values and protects them and is increasingly intolerant of their exploitation. This is exactly what is happening in Uganda and Zimbabwe, where our partner networks CRANE and Viva Network Zimbabwe (VNZ) are busy putting children at the center of their work, developing children’s leadership skills and knowledge of their rights so they can believe in the possibility of change and work together to achieve it. In Uganda, 400 CRANE child ambassadors have been identified and taught to spot particular needs or injustices affecting children in their communities, and how to address them. They take part in regular camps and seminars where they are trained to go back and lead local Safe
PUTTING CHILDREN IN THE CENTER ask them to leave during the service and wait outside for the adults. Viva’s Child Friendly Church program helps church leaders put children back at the center of church life, in line with Jesus’s words in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them.” Thirty-one churches in Zimbabwe have now taken part in the specialized training. As these churches become more and more child-friendly, children are being invited to sing, dance, lead prayers and even preach, and their confidence and ability is growing. Adults are increasingly recognizing the potential of the children in their midst, and the importance of nurturing and releasing their gifts. In this way, children become visible, valued, and increasingly able to articulate their needs and the needs of others like them.
Clubs, which are made up of children who work together to tackle difficult but crucial issues like peer pressure and sexual abuse. The children are acting as vocal and determined advocates on behalf of other children. Rogers describes his response to seeing two other children in his village badly beaten by their parents: “One day these children went to fetch water and were delayed because there were many people at the borehole. The father beat them to the extent that you could touch their hands and hear a cracked bone. “I reported to my school teacher who visited the home and advised the parents to take the children to hospital. We reported to the village chairman and the headteacher of our school who cautioned the neighbours to be on the lookout for any abuse in the home. The children were treated and are now at school.” In Zimbabwe, our partner network VNZ reaches 30,000 children through 62 organizations and 124 churches. There are many churches in Zimbabwe, and they have influence in the local community. Many church leaders, however, have given little thought to the children in their congregations, and often
By valuing, investing in and empowering children in this way, Viva is helping thousands of children in Africa alone to recognize that they have worth and a voice. The hope is that these children will grow into confident, articulate adults who know how to spot and stop abuse, how to watch out for others in difficult circumstances, and how to build and lead their communities. These children, we believe, are change-makers in the making. Jo Mitchell is a freelance writer and editor (www. nightingale.ink) and was previously Viva’s UK Fundraising Manager.
“Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society’s margins, all of us will be impoverished.” Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General
Sources: UNICEF 2015, Viva Network Zimbabwe 2015 Report, Eriks Report 2015 All images © CRANE 7
I would like to give a one time donation (Please enclose a cheque payable to ‘Viva’) $ My details
Important – please fill in
Name Address
Zipcode Email
I am a US taxpayer and I would like a tax deductible receipt for my enclosed donation. Date
Signature
/
/
We’d love to hear what you think so we can make what we do even better In this issue of ‘Life’ magazine I enjoyed reading about because
Tell me more about:
romoting Viva in P my church
Regular giving
Christmas Parties
Fundraising for us eceiving regular R prayer updates
World Weekend of Prayer *tick all boxes that apply
Please return this form to 601 Union Street, Suite 3010, Seattle, WA 98101 Telephone: 206-382-0790
www.viva.org
WILL YOU HELP TO PUT
CHILDREN IN CENTER? THE
God uses children to change nations. No one is too small or insignificant in his eyes! The Bible is full of children used by God and children who’ve overcome the odds to become great men and women of God. Today, children are born into situations of great risk of abuse, trafficking, disease, disaster, early death – yet are being used by God to share his love and to change society.
Let’s empower the children in our churches to lead us in prayer.
Let’s make them more visible and listen to them. The resource pack includes: Activity ideas Five-part Bible study series Prayer diary leading up to the event Song with score and YouTube clip Prayer postcard
Be a part of this year’s World Weekend of Prayer for children at risk on 4th – 5th June.
Resources are available to download from the website www.worldweekendofprayer.com As we turn to God together please join us wherever you are this June to pray for a change of attitude and action by communities towards their children.
Viva, 601 Union Street, Suite 3010, Seattle, WA 98101, 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 Front cover main: © Richard Messenger Front cover inset: © CRANE
NA@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.
VIVA.ORG