life Inside issue 12
Mentoring children to help them thrive LIFE FOR CHILDREN AND THOSE WHO CARE FOR THEM
“Being a Child Ambassador page 3 has built the inner me” Making the impossible, page 4 possible in Myanmar Teenagers in India are page 6 flourishing for life
EDITORIAL
Fear is a powerful weapon. Shirley MacLaine once said: “Fear makes strangers of those who should be friends” and those words stand true today. As I write this, fear is gripping Asia in a way only ever experienced once before when SARS hit. We sit indoors, work from home and have been advised to avoid other contact with people, because of a fear that we may get exposure to a deadly virus.
Fear is something that we are very aware of at Viva – and the reason why we
work to make children’s lives better. At Viva, fear is the thing that causes children to live in violence and abuse; a fear that each child is not able to escape from.
But that’s where Viva comes in. It helps those children through mentoring programmes like Flourish to be able to begin to speak up and
to find ways to escape the real fears they face. We work with children so they can escape the spiral of violence and so they can start to do things in radically different ways to the situations they were raised in. As we reflect on fear a lot at the moment, the fear of CNOV and the impact it has had on our society, my hope is that you would not let fear stop you from investing in the world’s future
and support the work Viva does with vulnerable children.
If you are able to give a gift, or start a regular donation, to our work, you can do so at https://vivahk.give.asia Every dollar will help to free children from fear. May you find the time to enjoy and be challenged by reading this short e-magazine. Many blessings
Matt Coulson Executive Director, Viva Hong Kong
We are an international Christian charity passionate about changing more children’s lives more effectively. We achieve this by growing locally-led networks who are committed to working together so that children can fulfil their God-given potential.
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Last year, Viva reached over 2 million children by partnering with 38 networks and working in 27 countries. Find out more at viva.org
MENTORING CHILDREN TO HELP THEM THRIVE
BEING A CHILD “AMBASSADOR HAS BUILT THE
INNER ME”
16-year-old Jackie in Kampala, Uganda told us what Viva’s Child Ambassadors programme means to her. How did you first hear about CRANE, Viva’s partner network?
Child Ambassadors came together for activities such as camp, sports and music among others.
Far back when I was still in primary school. At first I thought it was a bank but I found CRANE had a full meaning – Children at Risk Action Network.
What was your best achievement as a Child Ambassador?
What did you learn as a Child Ambassador? Many things! First, I learnt life skills like being confident, having self-esteem and public speaking. I learnt other skills too; for example, fruit and vegetable gardening and improving sanitation. I learnt how to decide wisely and appropriately. I learnt to reflect on my life with God, to love God and the Bible – in the Safe Club we put God first in everything we did. How did it feel to be a Child Ambassador? So good! I met many new people and went to places I never thought of going to. The skills I learnt have now become part of me. I always stood up for myself and others, for change in all situations. It felt extra good on days where all the
I have come to know that I am a person who loves God very much. I still remember the first memory verse we were given as Child Ambassadors – ‘I can do all this through him who gives me strength’ (Philippians 4: 13). This verse gives me hope in life. How has being a Child Ambassador had an impact on your life today? It has built the inner me. The Jackie who is confident, has high self-esteem and is good at decision-making. The Jackie who can fight for her rights and the rights of others. I would strongly recommend other children join because I believe it is a life-changing programme. Long live CRANE, long live Child Ambassadors! Interview by Immaculate Nanfuka, CRANE’s Network Quality Assurance Manager
There are 400 Child Ambassadors like Jackie in Uganda and 7,000 children have benefited from Viva’s Child Ambassadors programme in Uganda, with thousands more around the world. These children are mentored through their journey and empowered with knowledge of their rights, and how to speak up for them and the rights of others. Read the full interview with Jackie at https://bit.ly/JackieCA 3
GOD CAN MAKE
THE IMPOSSIBLE,
POSSIBLE
Amidst the backdrop of continuing conflict, our partner network in Myanmar is giving displaced children a temporary home, with a view to supporting them to be reunited with their families again in the future. Myanmar continues to be afflicted by longstanding conflict, with Unicef estimating that 460,000 children require humanitarian assistance due to war and natural disasters. However, in the midst of such a disheartening statistic, there is abounding hope. Children can often be a forgotten party in times of war, as many find themselves far away from home and unable to return. Amidst the backdrop of continuing conflict, our partner network in Myanmar, Children Family Development Network, is giving displaced children a home with a view to seeing them one day reunited with their families. The network connects 27 children’s homes in and around the capital city of Yangon, giving the children a loving community in a city which would otherwise be unknown. From these homes, the children attend government schools and many receive 4
extra tuition in the evenings, and are able learn skills such as mechanics and agriculture. They are given a place to call home, start life again, and work through the experiences which they have faced through and as a result of the conflict. Above all, this community has a heart for seeing these children returned to their families who live away from Yangon. There continue to be challenges preventing children from returning to their birth homes. In some locations the war continues, making it unsafe for some to return. Many of the families that they are returning to are struggling financially, which makes it difficult for them to support their children when they return; and puts the children at increased risk of abuses such as trafficking. Furthermore the standard of education in many communities remains low, with many children at risk of missing out on opportunities that they are receiving in Yangon.
MENTORING CHILDREN TO HELP THEM THRIVE Despite these challenges, there are so many reasons to be joyful, and in many areas it is safe enough for children to return back to their communities. Through the network’s ongoing activities, 22 children have regained contact with families or communities and are beginning to rebuild their relationship, and eight young people have been supported to return to their communities.
The network has so much hope for these children, and for their country. Please join in prayer for the conflict in Myanmar, and the work our partner network is doing. • Please pray for peace in Myanmar; for the individuals in government and communities who are working for a peaceful outcome to the conflict. We pray that you would make the impossible, possible for Myanmar.
The network ensures the children are supported through the reconnection process, with the physical reintegration of the children being necessarily slow and considered. In the meantime, it locates and reconnects children, and enables visits. This has ensured many of the returning children are able to offer invaluable services to their communities. Hayma is one such example. She completed her education at a network member children’s home, and the network has supported her to return to her village. She now serves as a headteacher in the local school, and is helping to improve the education of many children in the village.
Through the network’s ongoing activities, 22 children have regained contact with families or communities and are beginning to rebuild their relationship.
• Give thanks for the work of our partner network in Myanmar, and pray for the children who are displaced and in children’s homes. • We pray for encouragement for the leaders in the children’s homes; that you would strengthen them and equip them in all that they are doing.
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FLOURISHING
FOR LIFE
Preeti leading a Flourish session for girls in Delhi
Andrew Dubock travelled to Delhi to see how a new Viva mentoring program is laying down strong roots for girls to help them flourish into the future.
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There is a buzz in the room. The group of 20 teenage girls create a positive energy, listening to and respecting one another, and talking about plans and hopes, with an air of confidence.
teenagers need in order to keep themselves healthy and safe, to build resilience, to raise aspirations and to prepare for life as valued members of their communities.
Rewind six months, and I imagine I would have felt a very different atmosphere here, marked by shyness, fear, anger, and plenty of eyes looking at the floor. These girls’ remarkable journeys are as a result of a new Viva programme being rolled out by the partner network here in Delhi, in other cities in India, and across Asia.
In a society in which they face discrimination and abuse, India’s girls desperately need protecting, educating, motivating and empowering – and Flourish aims to do just this. Its impact will be seen for years to come as girls continue their studies, are not forced into child marriage and know how to say no to exploitation and abuse.
Flourish is a life skills course for teenagers, which introduces knowledge, skills and attitudes that
Preeti Masih, Viva India’s life skills coordinator, tells me about the default position for girls in Delhi. “Each day, the children I meet face a
MENTORING CHILDREN TO HELP THEM THRIVE churches in the network can work togethertoprovidequalitytraining, and to have a greater influence together across a city. Fifteen-year-old Kajal bubbles with confidence as she tells me, “I have learned so much about dealing with peer pressure and improving my self-esteem; about setting goals and having a purpose in life. If I feel unsafe, I know now how to report a problem, follow a process and to get to a safety zone. I know now I can make a difference where I live.” Flourish aims to break the generational cycle of underachievement and low selfesteem. Whilst Preeti teaches the main Flourish sessions, Sangheeta provides one-to-one mentoring for the girls in their homes in the Mayapuri slum community in south west Delhi. This area is unclean and unhygienic – no place to bring up a child. But these families have no choice. Most parents are uneducated and working in a nearby factory where they only earn the equivalent of around £150 a month. The Mayapuri slum community in south west Delhi
lot of issues regarding self-esteem and they have very little confidence,” she tells me. “Our program makes girls aware of their physical, behavioural and emotional changes – and how each of them can enhance their skills and ability to be the best they can in the future.” Flourish consists of 17 sessions, taught over a six to eight-month period. There are clear values and principles running throughout it. It covers three main areas: ‘Knowing myself ’, ‘Relating to others’ and ‘Making decisions about my life’. Viva’s network model makes the program especially effective because local individuals and churches in the network can work together to provide quality training, and to have a greater influence together across a city. Viva’s network model makes the programme especially effective because local individuals and
The girls from Mayapuri don’t have positive values passed down from their parents because they were unable to value themselves. Sangheeta says, “Parents feel their children are gaining values, which can be seen in their lives. I want to give these children a better life, not to stay in slums, but to guide them along the right path.” Last year, Viva piloted Flourish for more than 250 girls in India. Our goal is to reach a total of 1,200 teenagers across seven cities that have a Viva partner network. After visiting Delhi, I had planned to see the programme in action in Patna (with sessions for both girls and boys in children’s homes) but it was unfortunately cancelled because of extensive flooding in the city following monsoon rains. It’s a stark reminder about the fragility of the places in which Viva works – and why our grassroots partner networks are so essential. Andrew Dubock is Viva’s Global Fundraising and Communications Manager. 7
“I CAN DO THINGS YOU CANNOT. YOU CAN DO THINGS I CANNOT. TOGETHER WE CAN DO
GREAT THINGS.” MOTHER TERESA
Viva, Room TA07, 6/F, Woon Lee Commercial Building, 7-9 Austin Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong t: +852 3919 5867
FACEBOOK.COM/VIVATOGETHERHK
HK@VIVA.ORG
Viva is an operating name of Viva Network (Hong Kong) Limited. Viva Network (Hong Kong) Limited is a company limited by guarantee and registered charity with company no.1657942, and registered in Hong Kong SAR at Room 608, 6/F, Laford Centre, 838 Lai Chi Kok Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong Any children referred to have had their names and photos changed in accordance with our Child Protection Policy.
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