Hope for the Generations

Restore

ISSUE • 5

PURSUING GOD’S INTENTIONS FOR CHILDREN

A CUTTING-EDGE TOOL FOR GOD’S WORK WITH CHILDREN

hope noun 1 a person or thing in which expectations are centered DICTIONARY.COM UNABRIDGED (V1.1)

hope

for the

generations

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Children are a promise of hope for every generation…

Each generation has a unique contribution in God’s purposes for human history. Children have been shaped by the history of their community, are living fully in the present moment, and will reshape their community for the future.

Hope

God intends that each generation will extend faith and fullness of life to the next.

God intends that this generation grasp the centrality of children to his purposes for our time.

for every

generation

STATEMENT 5, UNDERSTANDING GOD’S HEART FOR CHILDREN BIBLICAL FRAMEWORK

FOREWORD

‘Children are a sign of hope … the poor center their hope on their children’

– Rev Dr Vinay Samuel, World Vision International Council, Aug 2001

WHAT’S INSIDE?

Think!

(biblical reflection, opinion piece, feature etc)

EVERY COMMUNITY has inherent local capacities and opportunities which can be sources and signs of hope. Identifying and gradually expanding these ‘windows of hope’ is thus critical, particularly for children. The following quotation from World Vision’s Supplementary Resource Guide: Emergence of Hope makes the practical reality of children bringing hope clearer: … Because children are a window to the future for their families and communities, a focus on children offers an entry point to addressing hopelessness. Even where past and present experiences have undermined hope that living situations can improve, most parents still aspire to see a better future for their children. Therefore: Involve children as active participants from the outset: As the social visibility of children increases their influence as agents of change and bearers of a vision for a new and better future will increase Invest and monitor changes in the well being of girls and boys: As the quality of life of children is seen to improve the sense of hope of a better future grows.

Thinking about children in this way does raise some deep practical and theological issues. Some of these are highlighted in Steven Tollestrup’s biblical reflection. Toolkit sections (leadership training; meaningful children’s participation; seeing childhood more clearly) help us to allow children to ‘reshape their community for the future’. Meanwhile, Jennifer Orona’s Kids Bible Study and Hugh Dickey’s advice help us to ‘extend faith and fullness of life’ to the next generation. Fe Foronda’s case study on Project Rhoda provides one working model that integrates many of these aspects.

We praise God that He is the source of endless and abundant hope. Thus, our prayer for you and the children you serve is one of Paul’s blessings to the Church in Rome: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

(Romans 15:13 NIV)

Children are the promise of hope for every generation……………… pg.3 a biblical reflection by Stephen TOLLESTRUP

Releasing the promise within – relaying God’s hope to the next generation ……...………………… pg.6 an article by Hugh DICKEY

Leadership training through the Christian Camp experience .……… pg.8 a case study by Cath MOORE

Children behind closed doors .…… pg.10 a case study by Fe FORONDA

Act!

(activity toolkits, practical ideas etc)

Seeing childhood more clearly …… pg.13 a toolkit adapted from original modules developed

by Viva Network and World Vision International

More than taking part – helping children’s participation in decision-making become more meaningful ………………………… pg.16 a toolkit adapted from original material developed

by Save the Children International

The life of Mother Teresa …………pg.19 an activity toolkit adapted from original lesson published by Educational Aid Services of CBM International

Hope and the generations ..……… pg.22 a kids bible study by Jennifer ORONA

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

Children are the promise of hope for every generation STEPHEN TOLLESTRUP reflects on the theme.

SUMMARY If we take seriously that “Children are the Promise of Hope for Every Generation” and wish to move beyond any sense of cliché or sentimentality, then our task is inter-generational. It is to ensure all children know the fullness of the hope Christ gives and calls them to. There is the need to grasp fresh ways of seeing children and youth, recognising their dignity, capacity and potential for partnership and participation while providing them with guidance and nurture. We need to assure them of the space, security and opportunity to explore, express and enjoy hope. That will require real and meaningful support for caregivers and their communities and taking seriously policies in the light of their potential impact on children. Finally, if we are serious about children as the promise of hope for the future it is our responsibility to listen, hear and act on that hope.

Setting the context

T

HE STATEMENT ‘Children are the Promise of Hope for Every Generation’ is such a big idea that it runs the risk of becoming an exaggeration or leading to unexamined clichés or marketing sound-bite.

Certainly I believe children are bearers of hope. Children are our future leaders and citizens and they will one day inherit the complexities and challenges of this world: spiritual, moral, intellectual, social and political. However, if we are to grasp the breadth of meaning and the imaginative possibilities of this statement, we have to begin by unpacking the layers of assumptions that get in the way and compromise our goal.

First, we need to take great care in assigning children as the ‘promise of hope’ without looking at the bigger picture. While we can speak of putting our hopes for the future in children, or that their growing hopes will shape our world, we still need to keep the bigger perspective that it is Christ alone who is our ‘promise of hope.’ As Paul points out, all promises find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ (2 Restore 5 Hope for the Generations

Cor 1:20). If there is in any sense that they carry hope to fulfill God’s purposes, it is always in subordinate relationship to God’s presence and actions. There is an interesting Biblical motif that runs as a subscript through scripture. It is the recurring story of the barren woman unable to conceive: Sarah, Rachel, Hanna, Elisabeth and Mary. Against the natural order of age, sterility and even virginity God’s gift of new life breaks through all barriers bringing the promise of hope into reality. The birth of a child is a tangible expression of God’s promised and hoped for redemption to come.

With the birth of Jesus, the first son of a refugee family, born in the humility of a stable, every new life could be considered worthy of the promise of hope for our world.

Secondly, countering the western pre-occupation with individualism, there is the important observation that God does not look on us as detached individuals but as individuals in relationship. We are created as part of framework of family and society. Children are primarily social beings, full of play

and networks. They are part of our world, and if there is any sense in which children are bearers of hope, it is in relationship to the adult world. Perhaps sadly, but in truth, children do not often significantly affect changes in the world when adults do. It is for this reason there is necessarily an important, creative and a dynamic interdependence.

Thirdly, I bring an ‘integrationist’ perspective. I have another caution about any assumption that places children in the pre-eminent position of God’s love and concern at the expense and exclusion of every other. I believe all persons are held in the centre of God’s affections and concern. Jesus comes into this world for humanity in distress including children. For those of us engaged in children at risk ministries, this requires recognition of the diverse ministries of the Church and a respectful and constructive engagement with them. If we want our passionate concern to be heard, we must work together with them as the body of Christ for redemption of humanity and creation.

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“Each child is part of a generation, which carries into adulthood attitudes, values and strengths, learned and experienced in childhood.”

The interdependence of generations – the importance of dialogue/ trialogue For this paper, hope is defined as the expectation of good things to come.

Each child is part of a generation, which carries into adulthood attitudes, values and strengths, learned and experienced in childhood. We are saying that there is always present with each and every generation the promise of the possibility that through them our world can be improved. Importantly, hope, as a promise for every generation, is an intergenerational enterprise. It requires reciprocity between generations where respect and hope is shared.

We need each other; adults and children in dialogue and partnership for hope to emerge. In fact, we are in more than dialogue. As Christians we recognise the Spirit of Christ who is the ‘presence and hope of the future’ with us. Perhaps the idea of trialogue is more correct. Our adult task is to make possible the expression of hope in children and young people who come within our sphere of influence tangible through a variety of biblically based, Spirit led and sociologically sound strategies. I would like to suggest what I consider are some prerequisites for that to occur.

We need to have a view of children beyond what the world offers.

Wess Stafford puts the issue succinctly.

“Too many of us tend to treat childhood as a preamble to actual life, a vulnerable period of time merely to be survived in order to get on with the real business of being a valid, contributing member of the human family. This is the mindset that causes us to speak of children as ‘tomorrow’s world,’ or the ‘church’s future.’ As noble 4

as that can sound, it is all about pushing off the value of children to the Realm of Someday.

Someday they will add value.”

Stafford, Wess. Too Small to Ignore, Water-brook Press, USA (To be released) We need a satisfactory ‘Theology of Childhood,’ or ‘Theology of the Child’.

A superficial approach to the theology of children has lead to a weak framework for a response, when a vigorous one was required. That task of developing such a theology remains to be finished and the need is urgent.

We need to know how children themselves wish to be seen.

We should take more time in letting children themselves address this question. However, that does not mean I am advocating at any point for some kind of idealistic empowerment whereby children are expected to discover alone and for themselves, by luck and experience the things that matter. Kids need adults.

Children do not live in a vacuum and there are social and economic forces that in a very real sense are contending for their lives in both the developed and developing world.

We need to take responsibility to pass on the spiritual and life skills required to live confidently and successfully.

We need to undertake this education while avoiding the simple socializing of children into passive and submissive occupants of the adult world and its agendas. From an early age faith, justice, compassion, peace making, social responsibility are all part of that education. We need to demonstrate that Kingdomcentred alternatives to the ‘waythings-are- world’ exist, and to equip children with the ability to identify, manage and resist those things that are the enemy of self-respect, love and life.

The reality of hopelessness – the importance of giving hope Not all children have hope. One of the major issues facing children and youth today has been what the sociologist Emil Durkheim referred to as ‘anomie.’ Anomie is defined as malaise, lack of meaning and a very tangible and painful sense of isolation. It can be defined negatively as the opposite of hope. Today it is the major source of youth suicide, crime, drug use, loneliness and despair. The major component is alienation and it is a major challenge today throughout the world.

I doubt that ‘anomie’ was a widely present malady in the world of ancient Israel. That is because there was a strong cultural and community cohesiveness based on common features of worship, law and the re-telling of the salvation history. That ‘Salvation History’ recalled God’s goodness to Israel and judgment on its enemies in order to encourage confidence, security and a verifiable reason to hope. Importantly, Hebrew thinking actually believed in a future to bestow on their children in which to exercise hope. We take this for granted in our modern world. But in the flatearth of the ancient near east, with ba’als and fertility worship, Israel alone pointed to a future in which hope, trust and faith could be placed.

Outside the covenant community, the Canaanite nations were captive to an idolatrous belief of a neverending cycle of seasons renewed only through ritual and sacrifice. Its security and predictability had tremendous influence and attraction, and for that reason we see instances of the people of Israel, even their leaders, falling back to the apparent comfort and security of worship of the Canaanite deities in the high places. It took courage and faith to live in a world with an unfolding future in which to hope.

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IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHURCH 1. Church leaders and congregations need to understand some of the issues in the theology of children and childhood and especially to avoid falling into the trap of thinking that children are pre-adults needing training before they have any value.

2. Churches need to spend time with children finding out how they view themselves and would like others to view them. This includes helping children identify and grow their own competencies to take responsibility and trust them to do this.

3. Churches need to support parents and guardians in their primary role of helping children grow in all aspects of faith – and to take on this role where there are no parental figures. This includes looking at God’s ‘saving acts’ within the Bible and in local community and family life.

We need to look back with our children and acknowledge God’s presence and ‘saving acts’ in the history of our lives and communities, whether as parents, project workers or friends.

We need to help harness the energy of youth for vision and action, of pushing boundaries and testing limits. We need to encourage young people to dream large and have a confidence to influence their world.

We need to rethink our ideas of children and young people’s competency, if we are going to ‘empower’ children and entrust them with hope. That means understanding the exciting possibilities of what can occur when children are given real participatory rights. Until we do this, a rich resource lies undiscovered and latent.

Learning from children – the importance of participation There is an understandable adult concern about children’s competency and capacity to have and exercise real power and decisionmaking. That is, can children handle the responsibility of being allowed to make real change in their world?

The evidence is overwhelmingly positive when children are given the opportunity. From a community development point of view, acknowledging children’s capacity and competency is dynamic. That is, it impacts positively by giving a sense of worth and confidence in the ability to tackle challenges that children and their communities face.

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In the Bible children are very much agents of change, and given generous recognition of capacity.

The reading of Proverbs 20:11 ‘Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right’ invest a substantial and noteworthy degree of autonomy in children within the framework of the community. In the Bible, we see children, in refreshingly candid vignettes participating within the covenant community e.g. Isaac, Joseph, and Samuel.

Children have regard for relation-ship as the cornerstone of their lives – interconnectivity.

Research bears out that children and young people have a unique view of social order and a deeply rooted and almost instinctual acknowledgement of interdependence between people and groups. There are lessons here for us, and hopeful ones, about a world that values relationships as a priority over individualism.

A challenge for policy makers – the importance of safe spaces As well as life-skills, values and encouragement children need safe spaces – physical, social and political – to thrive and hope. Even in a limited degree, any improvement on security and safe space impacts hope. That includes refugee camps and street environments as well as settled communities and neighbourhoods. The idea of ‘safe space’ also makes it a priority for private and public policy makers at every level from programme, mission or wider civil bureaucracy to ensure a childcentred consideration of impact is

conducted and reported. As Kirsten Hanna of the Institute of Public Policy at Auckland University of Technology recently commented in the New Zealand Herald, “It would be unthinkable to build a dam without an environmental impact report.

It should be equally unthinkable to develop and implement public policy without considering the effect on children”.

A final challenge – the importance of hearing the prophetic voice of children Finally a challenge for us all; throughout this paper, we have been developing a case for building environments and contexts for hope to be birthed, to thrive and be expressed by children. Success will be varied from situation to situation, but the essential principles remain.

Here is the big question. Christian hope has the capacity to carry a prophetic voice. When our children and youth speak, will we, as adults be able – with the competence and capacity ourselves, to hear their prophetic voice? Our world needs the answer to be yes. Ω

Stephen joined TEAR Fund in January 1995 after 10 years with ITIM Industrial Chaplaincy of which he served as Executive Director. A graduate of Bible College of New Zealand with B.Th and post graduate in Labour Studies from Auckland University, Steve is particularly interested in the contribution of Christian thought to the development sector and the role of the church in social and community transformation.

TEAR Fund is an International Associate of Viva Network.

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ARTICLE

Releasing the promise within Relaying God’s hope to the next generation

HUGH DICKEY writes about the importance of relaying faith across generations and how this releases children into God’s purposes that will significantly shape their communities.

C

HILDREN ARE a promise of hope for every generation. But all too often the promise is snuffed out before it has a chance to ignite into full flame.

This happened time and again in the history of God’s chosen nation, the Israelites. The effects of God’s moves lasted only one generation because the promises were never fully passed on to the next generation. Psalm 78 is one of the clearest Biblical passages on the importance of relaying faith intergenerationally: “…things we have heard and known, things our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord….(He) established the law in Israel which He commanded our forefathers to teach their children.” (Ps 78:4-5) The theory of this was acknowledged by the Israelite nation, although the consistency with which the children were taught varied considerably at different times in their history. The real problem was how the children were to be taught so that the promises of God and the hope which comes from them could have life-giving consequences. This of course is still the problem for us today. The answer comes in following the three-step process revealed in the next two verses.

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…the lessons for us 1. Teach and learn – The first step is to teach children about God’s ways, “So the next generation would know them” (verse 6). That is, the children are to be given knowledge about God and about His ways. But knowledge by itself is not sufficient.

Just hearing the stories about God does not bring about change. And today we know the dangers of the ‘academic’ approach to Christian education where children may claim to have ‘heard it all before’ without any impact on their lives.

2. Accept – So this necessary first step is designed to lead on to the second step – “Then they would put their trust in God” (verse 7). This indicates a personal response to the things they have heard, and by implication, entering into a personal relationship with God. Today there is a wide-spread acceptance of the need to lead children into a place of personal commitment to Christ, which brings them into relationship with God through His Holy Spirit.

“God has no grandchildren!” is often quoted as a reminder to us that the members of every new generation need to make their own decision to follow God and to be ‘born again’ as children in His family. They cannot rely on the experiences of their parents or leaders, but must trust and know God for themselves.

3. Live – There is yet a third step that follows on from the second.

The children then “would keep His commands”. (verse 7) That is, children should live out the lifestyle designed

by God and the promises of blessing and hope then follow. Notice

however, that the ability to keep God’s commands is a result of the child’s personal trust in and commitment to God.

Where does it go wrong?

There are two tragedies that can be observed in the Christian education of children today. The first is that children are often taken only as far as step one. They are told stories from the Bible or taught basic doctrines, but not consciously led into any life-changing personal relationship with God. The second is that we can jump from step one to step three. We tell children about God and how He wants them to live and then say, “Go and do these things”. But this is placing an impossible burden on their shoulders, since no one has the ability to live for God in their own strength. So often the message children receive is basically “Be good!” Of course they try, but soon become disillusioned and give up, thinking, “It is too hard to be a Christian.”

It is vital that step two comes before step three. Without a personal relationship of trust in God (in New Covenant terms, receiving Christ and the power of His indwelling Spirit) no adult or child, can ever hope to “keep His commands.” The great problem in the Old Testament, and in fact through large parts of Church history, is the omission of step two from God’s educational plan. This failing is recorded in the next portion of the Psalm. If the three steps indicated in verses 6 and 7 were followed, then “They would not Restore 5 Hope for the Generations

be like their forefathers – a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to Him” (verse 8).

This same three step process is repeated elsewhere in the Bible (e.g.

Deuteronomy 31:12-13) and it is vital that it is followed today by parents and Christian educators if a vibrant faith is to be successfully passed on to the next generation, and if they are to become inheritors of the promises and hope to be found in God.

Life Changers curriculum During our travels to different countries as part of Children’s Bible Ministries (CBM) International training team, our first task has been to establish that birth always comes before growth. This is obvious in the natural world, just as it should be in the spiritual world. Until a child in ‘born again’ by the Spirit of God, they cannot grow spiritually and in the purposes of God, for Paul tells us “the man without the spirit (KJV – the natural man) does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

For this reason the “Life Changers” curriculum designed by CBM for use especially in nonWestern countries starts by laying a foundation of who God is and the different aspects of the gospel message, then shows clearly how children can make their own decision to receive Jesus Christ in a personal way. This leads on to basic teaching on key elements of Christian growth, beginning with developing a prayer relationship with God. In Ephesians 4:11-12, Paul clearly explains the ultimate functions of anyone involved in spiritual ministry (pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc).

It is “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up”. This includes all those who are working to meet the spiritual needs of children. We must be preparing them to serve God through whatever ‘works’ they are given to do. Serving God must be seen not only in terms of being a pastor or evangelist (a very common Restore 5 Hope for the Generations

conception in Asia) but in being a fully committed Christian teacher, doctor, taxi driver, government worker, house-wife, shopkeeper or farmer who touches the lives of those with whom they come in contact, and ultimately brings about change in their communities. Indeed, “works of service” must be understood as relating to this wider context, and our task seen as “preparing” children in the here and now to serve God by serving others even in the apparently mundane affairs of childhood life.

God’s purpose for every child The theme of God having a purpose for every child is strongly conveyed.

This is not just a purpose for their future, but a purpose for their present, since the way they relate, react, think and work in childhood determines the degree to which God can use them to fulfil His designs in their community and the world both now and in the years ahead. One of the important messages we must convey is that until God can trust us to serve in the small things, He can never trust us to serve in the big things. As children grow with their developing abilities and through their experiences, so they can work out more and more God’s purposes for their life in their community.

An excellent way of imparting this sense of purpose and destiny to children is through the use of modern-day biographies of well known Christians whom God has used in significant ways, often in spite of difficult childhood backgrounds. The inspiration received through these stories of Godempowered men and women, and the practical examples and role models they can be, cannot be overemphasised, and for this reason CBM includes in their curriculum modern-day stories from Christians around the world.

Purpose, destiny and hope for the future are as much ‘caught’ as ‘taught’ as children hear of these things being worked out in the lives of real people. Of course, the people of the Bible times must also be included as the age-old stories are retold using creative imagination that

relates their experiences to the daily lives of the children who are listening.

A further use of biographies and testimonies is that God and only God can fully release children from the rejection, trauma and insecurity caused by poverty, family dislocation and the various forms of child abuse.

This is essential as over many years of ministry, CBM staff have become convinced that the one thing that will prevent children from finding and fulfilling God’s purposes for their part in human history is their bondage to present hurts. Unless our teaching leads to liberty in these areas the children will never experience the ‘fullness of life’ (John 10:10) that Jesus refers to and therefore will not be able to fulfil God’s purposes for themselves and ultimately for their communities.

Therefore, CBM has built into their curriculum numerous lessons that touch on these issues.

The need for change It is obvious to us as we travel that continuing the ‘status quo’ in the spiritual education of children will not see them released into God’s purposes in a way that will significantly change or shape their communities. There has to be a revolutionary change in mindset away from the academic approach towards a ministry approach which releases children to become disciples who know they have a purpose and have the power to carry it out. Our passion is to train and resource Christians to make this happen. Ω

Hugh has been on the staff of Children’s Bible Ministries for the past 34 years, and currently works as a member of their International Training Team. He is responsible for publishing the “Life Changers” curriculum, which is fully visualised and aims to bring about spiritual change in the lives of children through 5 years of life-related lessons for non-Western cultures. It is currently translated into 15 Asian and African languages (some are still being worked on).

CBM International is an International Associate of Viva Network.

Link: http://www.cbm.org.nz/international/ lifechangers.htm

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CASE STUDY

Leadership training through the Christian Camp experience

Photos courtesy: Cath Moore / New Generation

CATH MOORE looks at how the relatively simple tool of a Jamaican Christian Camp is used in helping young people learn about themselves and their situations in the context of God’s redeeming love and so gain hope and skills that can change the course of their lives and the lives of their communities.

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ANIEL THOMAS came to the Leadership Camp when he was just 13. The day he arrived, he was with a cast on his leg as, after God, his second passion is basketball and he had twisted his ankle in a recent game. This Sunday, he is taking the sermon in the main service at the Church for Youth Sunday. More than 2,500 people will attend and hear him preach over two services. Leadership training recognises the potential of young people like Daniel and helps them understand and fulfil God’s call on their lives.

IN JAMAICA, as in so many other countries around the world, there is a huge need for children to be allowed to hope that they can make a difference to their world by equipping them with the skills they need for that challenge (as well as advocacy for their words and actions to be fully taken into account).

Perhaps the most obvious problem affecting Jamaican children 8

is the level of violence in society. An average of four murders a day leads to orphaned children and many more who are witnesses to this violence. Children are also the direct victims of violence – nearly 120 murdered and over 400 injured by gunfire in 2004 alone. A further (and contributing) factor is the entrenched level of discrimination against women and girls. It is estimated that 70% of all sexual assaults are against girls. (UNICEF State of the World’s Children 2005) Breaking the cycle of violence means helping children develop more positive attitudes to themselves and others. Since children make up nearly 40% of Jamaica’s population, helping this generation to hope could lead to very radical changes for a more peaceful and harmonious society. The evidence shows (backing up common sense) that among other factors, young people are more likely to choose peaceful solutions to conflict if they have strong self-esteem, a sense of empowerment to make decisions, and opportunities to get to know others who are different – opportunities that a leadership camp can provide. (For more information, see: http:/www.aed.org/ToolsandPublications /upload/Youth_Catalyst_Peace.pdf)

Reversing the trend “I’ve failed my friends, family, Church and God.” How many talented young people have said this? Can it be right that as the Church we desire or expect teenagers to rise above their peers and take on responsibility for themselves or even leadership positions with little or no training/ mentorship? Do we set them up to fail? When they fail is it any wonder that the young person (whom God may have chosen for a leadership position in the Church or community) looks outside the Church for a leadership position – and not necessarily one that is wholesome – for example in a criminal gang?

Looking to the business world, we see programs in place for training young people in leadership – we can learn from these as we build more biblically guided programs for our young people. To address the lack of training for young people in leadership, New Generation, a Jamaican Christian organisation, has developed a Teen Leadership Camp. The emphasis of the camp is on building self-esteem and personal responsebility on the basis that leadership of others begins first with leadership of self.

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A Christian camping journey The camp is a journey for each child as an individual as well as a time to form deeper relationships with others and with God. The program begins with self discovery. Children are encouraged to look honestly at themselves to learn more about their character and the impact this has. They examine their strengths and weaknesses. Crucially children think about their relationship with God. These questions can lead to mixed feelings for children as they may discover new things about themselves which are not always comfortable. It is therefore important that this is followed by a session on ‘Who does the Bible say I am?’ This helps to bring the selfdiscovery process into perspective and provides the hope and encouragement for change. This involves searching the scriptures for the promises made by God. For example, ‘I am a child with promise’ (Galatians 4:28) and ‘I am set free’ (Galatians 5:1).

Many children break down at this point, especially as they realise how much God really cares for them.

Camp counsellors have to be prepared to stop the session as young people are counselled through past hurts and untruths that others have spoken into their lives. This session is followed by a spiritual gifts questionnaire and discovery of God’s gifting in their life. This helps children realise that they need not be bound by the past in fulfilling God’s calling on their lives, which in itself is a source of hope.

Learning biblical leadership Now that the initial part of the journey is complete, we turn to look at biblical leadership using Nehemiah and Joseph as examples. Young people particularly relate to Joseph as God ‘grows’ Joseph over many years and through many ‘downs’ and ‘ups’. Jesus is then presented as the perfect example of the servant leader. The main point to be made is that Jesus’ model of leadership is upside down compared with the world. The children learn that leadership is about giving oneself sacrificially to others and think about how this might work in practice.

STORY OF HOPE

‘Andre’ SOME OF the teenagers who attend New Generation’s Teen Leadership Camp come from volatile inner-city communities.

Usually, leaders within their communities recommend them to New Generation. Through donations from sponsors, many of these teenagers have been able to attend the camp.

Including Andre.

Andre is a 19-old boy from Trench Town, one of the most notorious neighbourhoods in Kingston, the capital and largest city of Jamaica. Andre could not read as his mother could not afford to send him to High School.

Fortunately, he has recently been attending classes conducted by Operation Restoration Christian School, a remedial school which has been serving communities in and around Trench Town for over ten years.

When the school principal heard that Andre would be going to the camp, he took him shopping for clothing and also bought him a Bible. The next day, he arrived for the camp bus looking smart in his new clothing and with a brand-new Bible in his hand. As other teenagers gathered, he opened his Bible and began to read to anyone who would listen (thankfully he did not turn to Leviticus!).

After going to several camps, Andre is now a confident young man serving in his community, school and church. When asked to share his thoughts on the camp, he said it has been an amazing experience for his personal and spiritual growth.

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Lastly, there are sessions on accountability, mentorship and goal setting. The camp is brought together with communion and sometimes foot washing. This is a time to build a sense of belonging and accountability and to demonstrate that leadership is about serving others rather than self.

An important feature of the camp is that half of the program is practical involving many group initiative games and problem solving exercises. The benefits of this are that different learning styles are supported as the children gain experiential understanding. It also helps to maintain motivation as well as helping children learn to work together with others.

The purpose and process of the camp does not finish with the end of the week. It is important that the young people have the opportunity to put their learning into practice straightaway, so that they can consolidate their self-esteem and skills and also make use of their new found giftings within the community.

In partnership with a church, the children are encouraged to work in a ‘service project’ and mentored by a church volunteer to continue in the growth of their leadership. This process gives the child a structured opportunity to succeed, reversing the trend of personal and community failure.

Conclusion The challenge is for the Church to get involved in equipping, training and mentoring our young Christian leaders so they may not fail but succeed! By following a structured programme (not necessarily a camp) that incorporates mentoring, building self-esteem with biblically based principles of leadership, the Church has an opportunity to help children grow in hope and so pass on that hope to their communities. Ω

Cath is a swimming instructor who works with New Generation. New Generation is a Christian, non-profit, non-denominational organisation which seeks to impact the lives of children and teenagers across Jamaica and the Caribbean. http://www.newgeneration-jm.org http://www.operation-restoration.org

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CASE STUDY

Children behind closed doors Project Rhoda’s Life Skills Training for Child Domestic Workers in the Philippines Faced with the needs of child domestic workers in Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines Children Ministries Network (PCMN) responded by developing Project Rhoda. Here, MARIA FE FORONDA covers the need for that ministry, what that training involves and how the project operates with the partner churches to bring life skills training to these vulnerable children.

A volunteer facilitates a Project Rhoda meeting (Picture courtesy: PCMN / 2007)

Background

A

CCORDING TO the Philippine government, some of the most vulnerable working children in the Philippines are child domestic workers. This is because they are hidden from the public eye, living and working within the confines and privacy of their employer’s homes. In such a situation, abuse against children is a common occurrence that is difficult for the child to report. Child domestic work is listed by the International Labor Organization as among the worst forms of child labor as it impedes the normal growth and development of a child and exposes them to exploitative work practices and abuses by adult employers.

A recent (November 2006) interview of 24 child domestic workers aged 12-15 years old, found the average working hours to be 6-8 hours, with a few up to 10 hours per day, well beyond the maximum allowed work hours even for government sanctioned child work (children performing in the entertainment industry and those in home-based family business). Children’s work allowed by the law requires direct supervision by parents or guardians and a work permit. Both parental supervision and a work permit are of course absent for child domestic workers.

Why do children become domestic workers? Child domestics in the Philippines are mostly migrants from the provinces, who, without resources and opportunities at home, are sent away by their parents to relatives or

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acquaintances in the city in exchange for a promise for the child to continue schooling while at the same time performing some household chores. The child is integrated in the household as one of its members but performs more than the average child household work, as he or she is expected to pay back the cost of schooling through work. The practice of employing children is culturally accepted and tolerated by society in general.

The government lacks the mechanism and resources to monitor households employing children.

Responding to needs through life skills training Knowing that child domestic workers have gone through life with various levels of difficulty from an early age and without supervision from parents, PCMN responded to their needs by creating a short 16-lesson course called Life Skills Training Module for Children Domestic Workers. It is designed to be facilitated by volunteers in small groups of 6-8 children through a meeting once a week. The lessons are conducted for 2-2 ½ hours per week using various child friendly methods. To reinforce learning, an assignment is given at the end of each lesson which the child then works on through the week. The facilitator reads the assignment and counsels the child about anything of concern the next time they meet.

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LESSONS LEARNED

A. How the local church benefits from Project Rhoda 1. The local churches discovered that if Project Rhoda is combined with other ministries of the church, it is an effective tool to reach out to communities expanding the reach of the church to include the employers and families of children domestic workers.

2. The church leaders and workers also were enriched by new relations forged with the school teachers and local government officials who open up their offices for use by the church in reaching out to more children in the communities. By the church’s involvement in Project Rhoda, the churches became credible and relevant in the communities they serve.

B. Significant learning points 1. The project arose out of existing network meetings that first assessed the local needs of children.

2. There has been significant co-operation with local government agencies to ensure an integrated response to the needs of child domestic workers.

3. Church leadership is actively involved from the beginning and lay members are also empowered to take a leadership role whether through co-ordination or facilitation.

4. Churches maintain their autonomy in running the project but receive support from PCMN through training and monitoring as well as information and practical resources.

5. The project partners have their own network meetings for support and sharing problems and ideas.

By conducting the course, the facilitator’s goal is to: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Bring the child to an understanding of his or her situation through sessions on knowing oneself.

Help the child learn to keep out of abusive situations by building awareness of child sexual abuse and developing protective behavior against it; orientation on child trafficking; familiarisation with the laws to protect children.

How to seek help and support when needed from government institutions and community groups (e.g. church and school).

Help the child develop a positive relationship to his/ her own family, employer and God including an understanding of forgiveness and salvation.

Setting up and running Project Rhoda In 2005, the ‘city cluster’ of the Philippines Children Ministries Network (PCMN) decided to establish a ministry for child domestic workers in Quezon City.

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Initially, 50 children were enlisted to be helped through Project Rhoda (named after the slave girl Rhoda in the book of Acts). The aims are to: a) Bring to light the child domestic workers hidden behind closed doors b) Make their situation known to the authorities c) Respond to the needs of child domestic workers.

The project’s target is to serve 170 children in 2007.

Administration PCMN partners with local churches in the provision of direct services and in facilitating a transformation process for the children. Project Rhoda is therefore a network ministry and currently has 10 participating churches and organisations. The participating churches are mainly medium and small sized urban churches (average of about 50-100 members) in Quezon City and surrounding cities and areas in Metro Manila. The project has a life span of 3 years, funded primarily by Tearfund Netherlands and additionally from PCMN and the local churches. Within participating churches, Project Rhoda is under

the oversight of either the Missions and Evangelism Ministry or Community Outreach. Each partnering church forms a local coordinating team of 3 people with one acting as coordinator. With the help of church volunteers this team is in charge of facilitating practical help to the child (school support, repatriation, medical needs, counseling, etc.), networking with school authorities and local government officials, referral of cases of children for rehabilitation, aftercare, legal and psycho-social support, reporting to the church leadership and linking with PCMN. While Project Rhoda is coordinated at the national level through PCMN, local churches implement their own plans and schedules.

The role of the church To join the Rhoda project, each church enlists a minimum of 20 children to the program. The church goes through a process of finding these children through a survey conducted in school or in the nearest community with support from school and local government officials. PCMN provides training in conducting the survey and monitors implementation.

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After finding the target children, the church partner validates data gathered from the interviews by visiting their employers. This visit is also the time to gauge the situation of the child at the employer’s home, inform them of the project, and the schedule of the Life Skills Module the child will attend. The church then designs a personalised helping plan for each child, again with PCMN support.

All Rhoda project implementers meet monthly as a working group with representatives from each church or organisation to share experiences and updates, raise issues and discuss possible solutions, fellowship, encourage and pray for one another and plan for succeeding months’ activities.

Project Rhoda taps into the leadership of the local church specifically involving the Pastor and elders in the concerns of the project.

Pastor Roberto Awa-ao, pastor of Volunteers of Christ, Inc. says that, “The whole church will need to embrace the project. Ministering to the children will not involve a few volunteer individuals but ministering comes out from the leaders themselves”.

Similarly, Pastor Joel Candano of Church of Praise quotes that “As a Pastor, I have a vital role in my church as an advocate for the little ones. I see the need of including an allotment for this ministry in the annual budget of my church”.

Hope for future intergenerational impact By ministering to child domestic workers, the church and Christian organisations ‘re-create’ God-fearing children for the next generation. In this, Project Rhoda partners anticipate that this generation of transformed children will also minister to the next. At this time, everyone involved in the project believes that there are still many children like ‘Gerson’ (see below) who remain behind closed doors.

The challenge is reaching out to them in time, making them known and investing in them “an inheritance that is imperishable” (1 Peter 1: 4). Ω

Fe is the Program Development Coordinator of the Philippine Children's Ministries Network (PCMN), a network of Christian organisations, ministries and individuals working together for the Filipino children that they may reflect God’s image and reach their full potential. PCMN serves as the Commission on Children at Risk of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches and is an affiliate of Viva Network.

STORY OF HOPE

‘Gerson’

The face of a domestic worker

Gerson is not only helped

G

but is in turn helping

ERSON is but one of hundreds of thousands of children employed as domestic workers in the Philippines, the majority of whom are female, below eighteen, and often as young as 12 years old.

other children.

At his school, nobody would suspect that 16-year old Gerson is a child domestic worker, juggling his education with work at a relative’s house, where he also lives. He has been in this work since he was 10 years old. He was passed on from one employer to another and in the process suffered physical abuse, early separation from parents, dislocation from familiar surroundings, disruption in his studies and feelings of isolation and low self-esteem. His domestic work currently ranges from washing and ironing clothes, cleaning the house every day, tending the little children in the household, doing small appliance repairs and washing dishes after every meal. The household has six children and four adults.

Gerson was enlisted by PCMN partner organization Lingap Pangkabataan, Inc. The facilitators of the Project identified Gerson as having a high degree of maturity and the potential to become a peer leader.

Through Gerson’s involvement in the Project, he was able to complete the 16 lesson course in the Life Skills Module for Children Domestic Workers attending two hours of lessons every Saturday for 3 months. When asked about how the lessons were able to help him, he responded by citing the sessions on developing protective behavior against child sexual abuse as the ones that really mattered to him, and also learning the laws that protect children. Having gone through past abuse from employers, attending the sessions helped Gerson develop understanding and skills in how to detect abuse and protect himself.

Now, in school whenever he spots groups of students, he approaches them to share this learning. He believes that every child should be able to protect themselves from inappropriate touch and from being exploited. He also shares what he learned from the Module with his teachers in school. Gerson developed compassion for other children in similar situations and refers them for help to the Project. Gerson is not only helped but is in turn helping other children. Having finished high school this year, Gerson is now preparing to enroll in a public college, to work his way up to a bachelor in education. Ω 12

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ACTIVITY TOOLKIT

Seeing childhood more clearly How our understanding of childhood influences our relation with children Introduction

O

UR OWN attitudes and beliefs about children affect the way we behave towards children whether we are aware or not. Our attitudes are formed through our own childhood, through the attitudes of those around us and our culture. Since this connection is important to understand this article offers two exercises to consider our understanding of children and childhood (e.g. responsibility and rituals) and how they make children more or less at risk (vulnerability/ resilience) and consider steps to a better future for children. The first exercise helps us realise our perceptions of childhood more deeply and the second how society influences the perceptions of childhood.

The exercises are adapted extracts from two toolkits. The first is taken from Viva Network’s Understanding God’s Heart for Children and the second World Vision’s Our Understanding of Childhood of the Child Protection Training Modules.

The resources you will need for the exercises are fairly simple: paper and marker pens and something to stick paper onto walls for display. You could do these activities with the group of people in your organisation or as part of a network meeting. The exercises can be done separately.

Note that these activities are extracts from whole programmes.

To find out more about Viva Network’s Understanding God’s Heart for Children, you can Read the introduction at http://www.viva.org/?page_id=104 or Download the entire set of guidelines at http://www.viva.org/en/articles/gods_heart/facilitation_guidelines.pdf.

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EXERCISE 1

Reality, risk and resilience Activity 1b from Viva Network’s ‘Understanding God’s Heart for Children’ Total duration: 76 minutes Aim: Exploring participants’ perceptions of children in relation to their vulnerability and resilience.

Part 1: Setting up

As a group discuss: •

Divide the participants into three, allocating to each an age range to consider for this activity: 1.

2.

3.

Children aged 0-5 years Children aged 6-12 years Children aged 13-18 years

(10 minutes)

Each participant should think of a child within the given age range. This could be a child within the project they work in, or a friend or family member.

Give instructions to the participants as follows…

1. Individually: Picture this child in your mind. Write down some answers to the following questions: 1. What qualities and characteristics does this child have?

2. What is this child able to do?

3. What makes this child vulnerable?

4. What makes this child resilient?

(7 minutes)

2. Each participant should then pair up with another with the same age range. Share your answers with each other, making a common list to describe the child in this age range.

Discuss in your pair:

•

In what ways would these vulnerabilities and resiliencies change depending on the cultural and social context of the child?

In what ways does the gender of the child affect these things?

Note that EXERCISE 2 deals with these issues in more depth.

(7 minutes)

3. Pairs should then join together with others in their allocated age range.

In your group: •

4. Each group should write up key points on a large sheet of paper. Alternatively they may: • •

Part 2: Facilitating

•

•

What have you learned about children’s qualities and capacities as you have worked with them?

How do culture and gender affect the vulnerabilities children face, and their resilience to cope with life?

Share the key findings from your discussions.

Draw a big outline of a child in the middle of the paper, Invite each person to draw their findings on the outline.

(Idea: Use two colours, red for risk and green for resilience) (7 minutes)

5. Display the outcomes from each group around the communal area. Give time for all participants to look at each other’s insights.

(10 minutes)

6. Ask a representative from each group to present their findings. When all groups have presented, invite participants to comment on…

• •

Notable differences for the children in different age ranges, Any similarities, or things that remain constant as the child grows.

(15 minutes)

Part 3: Synthesis Help the participants process the activity by asking the following questions and allowing them to share their feelings and reflections to the whole group. Encourage everyone to participate.

Application questions: 1. What did you feel and think while going through the activity?

2. How did your responses to the activity questions reflect the way you perceive and value children?

3. What insights or learning did you have?

4. How can you apply your learning in the way you relate to children?

(20 minutes)

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EXERCISE 2

Our understanding of childhood from Module Three of World Vision’s ‘Childhood: Past and present’ Aim: That participants will be able to: 1. Articulate how their society views childhood in their cultural contexts.

2. Articulate the different celebrations and rites of passage for children.

3. Compare childhood in the past with the present situation for children.

4. Articulate organizational changes that have occurred around children.

Part 1: Thinking about how children are viewed in your culture

Part 2: Childhood Past, Present and Future

1. Write answers to the questions below on coloured card (one item per card):

The purpose of this section is to consider the changes in cultural practices over recent generations, that is, identify the good aspects that are still there and the ones that are lost.

1.

2.

3.

4.

How are children viewed by adults in communities today? In particular, list words which are used to talk about children and other words that come to your mind as you answer this question? What words are used to describe the different stages of childhood? (What are the implications of these words – positive/ negative, amount of responsibility/ competence attached to the child etc.?)

What aspects of childhood are celebrated? How are they celebrated?

When do children become adults? From a legal point of view and from a cultural point of view?

(What does any difference tell you about the way that children are viewed?)

Are there ceremonies associated with this transition? What are they? (What do they reveal about the way that children are seen?)

2. Place the cards on flip charts around the room with the following headings: Words to describe the different stages of childhood Children in community today Celebrations of childhood and adolescence Transition from childhood to adulthood

3. Do a grouping exercise. Put similar statements together on each flip chart sheet.

4. Discussion. Why is this important to consider when thinking about child protection?

It is interesting to note that every group no matter what the age of participant tends to focus on the negative aspects of children today focusing on the lack of respect and disobedience.

1.

What differences do you see between the lives of children today compared with your childhood and that of your parents? How should children be viewed in the future?

2.

Organise groups according to country/culture as appropriate. Each group is to make a chart as below.

3.

Put the charts up for the other groups to read.

Our Parents’ Childhood

Being a Child Today

Children in the Future?

Girl Boy

Part 3: Follow up activity You can relate the questions below to yourself personally, to your organisation, to your local context/ culture or to your nation. You could answer the questions with words or pictures.

1.

2.

3.

4.

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Our Childhood

How have children been viewed in the past?

How are children viewed now?

How would you like children to be viewed in the future?

What difference would that make to the way you/your organisation/your culture/your nation relates to children?

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BEST PRACTICE

More than taking part Helping children’s participation in decisionmaking become more meaningful Helping children to participate in decisionmaking requires certain attitudes and commitment from the adults involved. This toolkit highlights some key points of meaningful participation.

An essential foundation of this process is child protection and we urge readers to ensure their organizations implement a child protection policy if this is not already in place. See www.viva.org for more information on this. These points are mainly derived from children’s participation in decision-making, but many would be equally applicable to participation in other contexts also.

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CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION has been frequently mentioned as one way of increasing children’s sense of hopefulness in their future (because they then realize they can have an impact on their world). At the same time, it also allows their communities to experience hope (because they then have access to the gifts and experience that these children bring). In order for this to be so, participation needs to be ‘meaningful’ but achieving this requires certain attitudes and a deep commitment from the adults involved.

This article uses summarized extracts from Save the Children’s ‘So you want to consult with children? A toolkit of good practice’. In particular, it highlights some key points of meaningful participation involved in: A) Identifying what meaningful participation looks like; B) Selection of participants; C) Communication, and D) Facilitation.

A) What does meaningful children’s participation look like?

In contrast to poor, ‘tokenistic’ participation (which is more about creating a perception of involving children than in creating practical opportunities for children to influence decision-making), good ‘meaningful’ participation includes: 1. Considering the best interests of the child at all times and enhancing the personal development and self-esteem of each child.

2. Enabling children individually and together to understand correct and useful information and working with them honestly and respectfully as they choose how to use and respond to this information based on their experience and understanding.

3. Providing children with a genuine opportunity to influence decision-making based upon honesty and clarity about the extent of, and limits to, that influence.

4. Ensuring that children are able to freely express their views and opinions and have them treated with respect 5. Encouraging the involvement and equal weighting of socially excluded and discriminated groups.

6. Enabling children to negotiate their preferred method of participation.

7. Flexibility to respond to the expectations of children.

B) Which children should be involved?

If it is necessary to select children from within a group, it is essential that the selection process is transparent and fair. This helps ensure that those children selected are able to represent the views of a wider group of children and young people.

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USEFUL POINTERS

Preparing adults for children’s participation DEPENDING ON your team or organisation, adults may not be equally prepared for children’s participation.

The main challenges that may need to be addressed are: • • •

Adults’ authority may rest upon roles and relationships that do not allow children to talk openly with adults or make choices in their lives.

Children may be considered ‘too young’ to understand information or take part in decisions that could be important, or even life saving.

Adults often don’t know how to cope with children’s changing lives.

Before engaging in children’s participation then, it can help to have the adults in authority consider the following questions: 1. What good movements or trends have taken place in your community? Are these still taking place?

2. What are the reasons why they are/are not taking place? What difference have these movements made?

3. What challenges do young people face?

4. Do you think there are solutions to these challenges? Where could these solutions come from?

5. What positive things are being done by children/adolescents/youth (or other grouping of children)?

How will they be developed further?

6. What negative things are being done by … (group of children)? How will they be addressed?

7. How do/can different age groups share information and work together for the good of the community?

8. Who participates in…/is excluded from…? How will this be addressed?

(Adapted from: Commonwealth Secretariat, London, 2005 Adolescent and Youth Participation: Adults Get Ready! Available to download from http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=143804)

Key points to remember include: 1. Target those children with an interest, direct experience or expertise in issues relating to the subject of the consultation.

2. The children selected should relate to a wider constituency or group of children.

3. Include as wide and as diverse a group of children as possible considering: sex, age, religion, rural/urban, schooled/unschooled, children with disabilities, socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.

C) How can good communication facilitate good participation?

If children are well informed about the participation process as a whole, they will be more involved and committed. It also helps them to decide if they want to be involved in the first place and, if necessary, helps them choose the best representatives.

Some important things to remember: 1. Provide children with clear, sufficient, relevant and transparent information which may include: 2. Objectives of the participation 3. Description of the participation process (including timescale) 4. Information should be available in relevant languages and in child friendly formats.

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5.

6.

7.

Make extra efforts to communicate with children living in remote areas and other ‘difficult to reach’ situations Use a variety of communication methods to get the information out to as many children as possible and to ensure that those who do not have access to the latest forms of information technology are not marginalised or excluded from the process – this includes taking literacy levels into consideration Identify the learning needs of the children so that they can participate more fully e.g. more information, assertiveness skills, encouraging positive attitudes towards, e.g. children from different backgrounds.

D) What kind of facilitation is needed to bring about meaningful participation?

This is where all the above need to meet in the actual event or process. There is the additional need to review and monitor the facilitation process at every stage of the consultation or meeting.

Those involved in facilitating need to consult with each other and assess group energy. There should be flexibility in the programme to allow this and time should be allocated for facilitators to meet with representatives from the participants group to review each day.

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1.

Honour each child and young person and be attentive at all times. Include children in all aspects of the process and do not limit them. take everything that occurs as relevant.

2. Be adaptable and willing to change methods and direction as necessary.

3. If you don’t know, say so.

4. Trust the resources of the children and young people’s group.

5. Tap children and young people’s energy. Monitor the group energy level and review progress at each stage with facilitators and children.

6. Be yourself – and maintain a sense of humour.

Participation can be fun!

7. Keep intervention to a minimum: use question and suggestions where possible.

8. Seek agreement and use conflict resolution techniques where necessary.

9. Negotiate and contract ground rules at beginning of process.

10. Be culturally sensitive and ensure equal participation of genders, ages and different cultures.

11. Integrate evaluation into the participation in innovative and relevant ways – based on children’s expectations invite feedback.

12. Acknowledge and affirm – if necessary to disagree then do so with the idea, not with the person.

13. Give priority to bringing young facilitators into the process.

Conclusion There is not enough space here to consider follow-up action in any detail. Still, it is essential to remember that participation in any process, whether decision-making, community development or others, is pointless unless there has been proper planning to ensure that follow-up action in the project or community will take place as a result of children’s participation. Children involved should rightly have a chance to be part of this planning and have the support to feedback their experiences to their communities and apply the skills they have gained.

Achieving meaningful participation for children may seem a daunting task. But the value, in terms of outcomes and legitimacy, makes the attempt well worth the time, commitment and energy required. Do share with us your experiences so that other readers will be able to learn more. Ω

Points adapted from: International Save the Children Alliance (2003) So you want to consult with children? A toolkit of good practice available for download at http://www.savethechildren.net/alliance/resources/childconsult_toolkit_final.pdf A valuable annotated list of further resources on children’s participation is the UNICEF (2003) Child and youth participation guide available to download from http://www.crin.org/docs/unicef_cyp_part.pdf

UN CONVENTION

Some thoughts on child participation “States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.”

– Article 12(1), UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) RTICLE 12 of the CRC principally enshrines children’s participation in all matters affecting children. When A adults make decisions that affect children, children have

the right to say what they think should happen and have their opinions taken into account. Their participation is further enhanced through the recognition of their right to get and share information (Article 13), to think and believe what they want and to practise their religion (Article 14), to meet together and to join groups (Article 15), the right for children with any kind of disabilities to participate (Article 23), and the right to play and to participate in cultural life and the arts (Article 31).

Some thoughts on child participation to think about: Affirm God-given dignity: Genuine and meaningful participation brings dignity to children and empowers them to ‘make and shape’ their destinies and also that of their families and communities, thus fulfilling their Godgiven potential for the present and future generations.

Start early: The concept of the child as rights-holders should be anchored in the child’s life from the earliest stage: at home; in school; and in his or her community.

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Keep it relevant: Methods of participation needs to fit the developmental stages of children (birth, infancy, early childhood, school age, adolescence).

Adults have a role too! While not interfering with

adults’ responsibility and authority over children, the CRC encourages adults to listen to the views of children, give appropriate guidance, and actively involve them in practical opportunities for participation in a manner consistent with the child’s age, maturity, experience and evolving capacities

Pay attention to non-verbal feedback: Children may often express their views and feelings through non-verbal behaviour. Adults should be receptive to the context and ways children (particularly children with any kind of physical or cognitive impairment, including social or cultural disability) may express themselves, which may or may not be in words.

Don’t forget girls! Girl child participation in decisions is vital in communities where they have no voice. Their participation needs sustained attention and approaches in order to give them a chance to influence the process and outcomes that affect their communities. Don’t forget to include boys too!

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ACTIVITY FOR KIDS

The life of Mother Teresa The familiar story of Mother Teresa shows how God can use the very simple means of care and physical contact to bring hope to those who feel hopeless and abandoned.

Purposes of lesson:

Activities:

1. To help children recognise that Christians may serve and help other people as a way of showing their love to God. 2. To encourage children to follow the example of Mother Teresa by reaching out in love to help others who are less fortunate than themselves.

For age 7-11

Sequence of stories:

4. When you have finished the story ask for volunteers to retell something about part A based on their drawings. Continue with other sections.

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H.

Childhood Serving the King Starting to serve A new direction Trusting God for her needs Serving others as if serving Jesus The example of God’s love God’s example of love continues – through us!

Bible references:

1. Give each child a piece of paper at least A4 size and ask them to fold it into 8 and write the letters A to H (see ‘Sequence of stories’ on left) on the eight spaces formed by the folds.

2. Read through the story one section at a time.

3. At the end of each section, ask the children to spend a minute or two drawing something that will help remind them of that part of the story.

5. The children can write a short prayer on a separate paper about helping others or draw how they want to help others.

6.

Spend time talking/praying with the children about those they want to help.

For age 10-15 1. Copy each of the sections A to H onto a separate card and distribute one card to each child/pair/group (depending on numbers). Make sure you do not include the identification letters!

•

Matthew 25:31-46, “The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats”

2. Ask the children to spend a few minutes reading their section.

•

Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, do it for the Lord” 1 John 4:7-11, 20-21 “Those who love God must also love one another”

3. Ask the children to arrange the sections in order.

•

4. Read through the story with one child reading each section.

5. EITHER read through the story again and invite responses to the questions at the end of each section OR if time is more limited, select two or three of the questions most relevant to your group to answer. You can use the bible references (see left) to help answer the questions.

6.

Adapted from an original lesson Published & © Copyrighted 2001 by Educational Aid Services (A Division of CBM International)

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Spend time talking/praying with the children about who they think God wants them to help and how they are going to do that.

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Childhood

Starting to serve

Mother Teresa was born with the name Gonejah in Eastern Europe. (She changed her name to Teresa when she became a Roman Catholic nun.) She was born to a wealthy Christian family who practiced Christianity by sharing their home and meals with others and visiting the poor of their city. Gonejah’s mother told her that helping people is like helping Jesus.

Gonejah learned about India through a talk at her church girl’s group. Gonejah became interested and she began to read all the books she could find about India. By the time she was 15, she thought God wanted her to work for Him in India. But how could she be sure? She prayed a lot about it and after she finished school at 18, she knew in her heart that she was to serve God in India.

After learning English and Bengali and becoming a nun, she moved to the huge city of Kolkata and became a teacher in a large Christian school for girls. After only a few years she became the Principal of the school and was now known as Mother Teresa. The school was surrounded by 10-foot high walls.

Outside the walls of the school were many very poor people living in slum areas.

As Mother Teresa looked out her window and over the wall, she was concerned for these people. Sunday was the only day she did not teach, so every Sunday she went into the slums. She could not give them food or other things because she had no money. But she showed love and care for the people she met, and they said, “Please come back again. You make us feel happier.”

How can someone be sure what God wants them to do?

Mother Teresa was giving something to the people she visited. What was it?

Serving the King

A new direction

So Gonejah said a sad “goodbye” to her mother and sister. Even though it was hard losing her, both of them were happy with the decision she had made.

But her brother in the army wrote her a letter. “Are you crazy, going half way around the world, and leaving your mother?”

She wrote back to him, “In the Albanian army you serve the King of two million people.

But I serve the King of the whole wide world!

Which of us do you think is in the better place?”

After she had been in India for 17 years, Mother Teresa went on her yearly holiday into the mountains of India. As the train passed slowly through one of the worst slums in Kolkata, she saw the station platforms filled with beggars and homeless people. As she looked out of the window, a thought came into her mind: “I must do something.”

She prayed, “Lord, is that you speaking to me?” Then she thought of the Bible verse she had read many times: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

What had Gonejah given up by going to serve God in India? What had she gained?

Why do you think God was asking Mother Teresa to change the direction of her work?

Permission is given to photocopy this section for use.

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Restore 5 Hope for the Generations

Trusting God for her needs

The example of God’s love

After one year of waiting, Mother Teresa was allowed to leave the school work and start a new work with the poor. On her first day in the slums, she had only 5 rupees but before the end of the day she had given it all away.

How could she pay rent or buy food? But she thought, “If God is calling me, He will bless my work and never leave me.”

At the end of her first day, a man had given her 50 rupees to help with her work; ten times more than she had given away! Then an Indian teacher let her live for free in the upstairs of his house. From that time onwards, God supplied all the things she needed.

Mother Teresa was especially concerned that no one wanted to care for the dying people.

The hospitals would not take them and many died on the streets. Every day the Sisters brought in people who were very sick or dying and cared for them in the Home for the Dying. Mother Teresa said to one of her Sisters, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer or TB, but rather the feeling of being unwanted and uncared for.”

Once an atheist (a man who did not believe in God) came to visit. He watched a Sister care for a man covered with maggots. She lovingly cleaned the man. Afterwards, the atheist said to Mother Teresa, “I came here godless. I came here full of hatred. I am going away full of God. I have seen God’s love in action. Now I believe.”

How do you think Mother Teresa felt at the end of her first day of the new work?

Why do you think the man now believed in God?

Serving others as if serving Jesus

God’s example of love continues – through us!

As Mother Teresa walked around the slums, she saw so many sick people, she wondered, “Where do I begin?” She decided to start with the children. She gathered them on the street and started teaching them to read. She began by writing letters in the dirt with a stick.

In the evening she cared for the sick and dying. She was working long hours every day, and it was hard work, too.

How could she keep going? There was only one reason. She treated every person as if she was doing it for Jesus.

Do you think it is easy or difficult to treat each person as you would treat Jesus? What could help you do this?

Today the Missionaries of Charity started by Mother Teresa have 4000 Sisters and Brothers in 600 houses serving the poor in 120 different countries.

Mother Teresa herself lived to 89 and was given a state funeral by the government of India in recognition of the work she had done.

Mother Teresa became well-known all around the world and was given many awards, although she always said, “I am unworthy. You, too, have an opportunity to love others as God loves you – in the small things.”

Are you willing to show love to others in the small things?

Concluding: If you see someone who needs your help, either at home or at school, why not help that person as if you were helping Jesus Himself? Let us close our eyes, and those who want to can ask the Lord to help them to help others over this next week. Maybe you could ask Him to show you who to help.

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KIDS BIBLE STUDY

Hope and the generations An “Understanding God’s Heart” bible study This bible study by JENNIFER ORONA is appropriate for children from age 9-14 years old. In this study, the words in italics are for the leader to say to the group.

Objective: To learn about the characteristics of God, and to understand that we can have hope because of who God is.

1. Introduce

4. Explain

A popular song in the United States says,

This psalm and many like it have a special name. They are called “psalms of lament.” To “lament” means being sad, asking God “Why?” and feeling like there is no hope for the future. Almost one of every three psalms is written like this, along with the entire Bible book of Lamentations.

“I’ve given up on love, ’cause love’s given up on me.”

The Bible’s book of Psalms sometimes talks about this same feeling. The writer of Psalm 10, for example, cries out to God, saying, “Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (v.

1). 1 And then later, “The wicked say to themselves, ‘God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees” (v. 11).

2. Read Let’s read verses 1-11 to find out other reasons why the writer of this psalm felt so hopeless.

One child could read this out loud or all the children together.

3. Understand The leader can use the following questions to help children understand these verses.

What actions did the wicked do that displeased God? Why did the wicked think they could get away with these actions and not be punished?

How did the writer feel about this?

Many people think David wrote a lot of these “psalms of lament.” You may know David as one of Israel’s mightiest kings, or the shepherd boy who fought and killed the giant Goliath. But his life wasn’t always that way. He didn’t always have power, and he wasn’t always famous. In between the time when he fought Goliath and when he became king, David faced many difficult challenges. He was forced to leave his home, chased by an army, and almost killed many times. For several years, he did not have a home and was thought of as an outlaw. He had to run for his life. 1 Samuel 19, 21, and 22 tell more about the hard times that David endured.

5. Caution Be sensitive to children who may have faced similar hardships—homelessness, abandonment, violence, false accusations, or other challenges. Allow them to express their frustration, fear, or anger without judging them. Encourage the children to explain why they felt that way. Then, demonstrate that God understands these feelings and is able to protect his children. Encourage them to keep these thoughts in mind for the discussion later on. For children who may have experienced traumatic events or abuse, you may need to speak with them individually or encourage them to share their feelings with a counselor.

Have you ever felt the same way? Why?

1 All Scripture quotations are taken from the Today’s New International Version of the Bible.

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6. Build Hope

9. Variations

David had many reasons to feel hopeless, but yet he never lost his hope because he knew who God was. He knew that he could pray to God and tell God how he felt.

Psalm 10:12, 17, and 18 show us why:

Read Psalm 10:12-18 to find out what God can do to help his children.

The same basic concepts in the activity above can be demonstrated in various ways. For example, writing the problem or drawing a picture on paper and then crunching/tearing the paper can help the children to experience the concept of God’s power over troublesome situations. Alternatively, use modeling clay. Drawing a picture or writing words on the shell of a raw egg, then allowing the children to throw their eggs against a wall can demonstrate how God’s forgiveness “smashes” sins and restores us to fellowship with Him. More examples are possible— be creative! Better yet, encourage the children to think of ways to act out the characteristics of God that give us hope!

7. Understand

10. Conclude

What are some words from these verses that describe God? Write words up on a board

The main reason that we can have hope is because of God. God is faithful, kind, [fill in other characteristics of God mentioned in the discussion time here] and loving.

He wants us to have hope that He will watch over us, forgive us, and help us during difficult times. Jeremiah 29:11 says,

“Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.

“You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry. defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.”

What else do you know about God that allows you to have hope? Write words up on a board How does the writer’s attitude change between verses 111 and verses 12-18?

Why does the writer have hope in God? What can God do to help his children?

8. Act One of the ways that we can renew our hope in the Lord is by telling Him the things that take our hope away.

Then, we can think about God’s power, faithfulness, and love. This helps us to remember why we can have hope.

What is one thing that takes your hope away? [Allow the children who wish to respond – see caution above]. Let’s use a stick to draw a picture of that in the soil.

Look at the words that we’ve used to describe God. Are there any others that help us understand that God gives hope? [Allow children to answer with various characteristics of God as mentioned above or extras]. Give each child a strip of paper and ask them to write a word about God that helps them have hope. They could decorate these words. Attach these strips of paper to a broom. To show how God’s ______ [love, faithfulness, power, etc.] can take care of this problem, let’s sweep away the picture. Allow each child to sweep away their picture and restore the smooth surface of the soil.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

We can pass on the hope we can have in God to others that we meet now and in the future – how could we do that? [E.g. Listening; telling others about what God is like; praying with them; helping out]

11. Pray Invite several of the children to pray, encouraging them to tell God about their challenges and the hope that only He can give. Close the time with Psalm 103:17-18: “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children – with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”

Jennifer serves as the Children at Risk Program Coordinator for Fuller Theological Seminary’s School of Intercultural Studies. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and her Master’s Degree in Cross-cultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, specializing in Children at Risk. She has worked with children in various countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the Philippines. She desires to help children by providing accessible and practical training materials to caregivers around the world.

http://www.cyfm.net Restore 5 Hope for the Generations

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Restore

Pursuing God’s Intentions for Children

How to use this magazine?

Editor: Managing Editor: Advisory Group:

THIS IS not an ordinary magazine.

Katharine DE VILLIERS KOK Chik Bu Louie CADAING TEARFUND Paul STEPHENSON WORLD VISION Philippa LEI WORLD VISION UK Richard STELLWAY Ph.D VIVA NETWORK Tim GLENN COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL

Published on behalf of the Viva Network movement by

Viva Network Asia Centre, a company limited by guarantee, 23-2 Jalan 8/146, Metro Centre, Bandar Tasik Selatan 57000 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA Tel: +6 03 9057 0070 (Fax: +6 03 9057 0071) E-mail: restore@viva.org Website: http://www.viva.org/restore © Viva Network and the respective authors. International Associates of Viva Network, churches and charities have permission to use this tool for teaching and non-profit purposes only.

Printed by Akitiara Corporation Sdn Bhd 1 & 3, Jalan TPP 1/3, Taman Industri Puchong Batu 12, 47100 Puchong, Selangor, MALAYSIA

May 2007 KDN PP 14535/1/2007 Restore has been made possible through the financial assistance from COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL and MISSION OF MERCY. Both organisations are International Associates of Viva Network.

Restore is a collaborative initiative of Viva Network, a global movement of Christians working together to bring better care to more children worldwide.

This issue is part five of a 7-series volume exploring seven affirmative statements of the Understanding God’s Heart for Children Biblical Framework. For the full statement, visit http://www.viva.org/restore.

Restore is intended as a cutting-edge tool for anyone who is involved in God’s work with children. This magazine has been designed to stimulate your thinking and structured in such a way as to help you, the reader, find relevant materials for your work with children and decide on how to best utilise them.

Biblical reflection helps you to think biblically about the theme.

Feature articles build on the theme and provide valuable insights on current trends and development in the childcare ministry.

Toolkit sections such as case studies and best practice are handy for experiential learning and application, while practical ones such as kids bible study provide useful activities that you can do together with the children you serve.

Additional resources and suggestions point you to more detailed and relevant information.

If you’re already engaged in holistic childcare ministry, Restore will give you some practical ideas. For those who are new, the collective experience contained here will be a useful learning tool.

We hope you enjoy using and reading materials contained here and find this ‘not-an-ordinary magazine’ useful in your work.

“

Children have been shaped by the history of their community, are living fully in the present moment, and will reshape their community for the future.

Previous titles: DIGNITY PARENTING

”

COMMUNITY

Cover photos: (clockwise from top) Janelle and Moses with Jenny at an orphanage in China. (November

A JUST SOCIETY

2004)

For subscriptions and enquiries, please get in touch with us.

Jamaican teenagers relaxing after a session at the New Generation leadership camp (2007) Bridging of generations – two hands held together in hope and expectation of good things to come (August 2004)