Cristina and Karen- Child Abuse & Child Protection Policy

This week was a really good week for me. We did a lot of hands on activities. The first day we played jeopardy with the categories being different types of child abuse-physical, sexual,spiritual, neglect and emotional. Another activity that i enjoyed and got a lot out of was when we had to act out a skit consisting of an abused child and how to react/handle when the child tells you about the abuse that they have suffered. She also taught us how to take legal actions and who to call in a situation like this (PANI), which was very helpful and necessary. The thing that was most impacting to me was when we had to write a fake journal of a Haitian child that went through the earthquake. This helped me realize what some of the children might be going through/thinking and put myself in their shoes. Our outreach went really well, besides the fact that i was completely exhausted after wards, but of course it was worth it. We picked up four adopted siblings and took them back to the orphanage from where they used to live and hung out with them we did arts and crafts and lots of soccer. I did not have too much conversation with the kids which made me realize that i need to work on my spanish but this will come in time.

HelptheChildren.org

This is a non profit christian humanitarian relief organization. They work in the U.S. and around the world there goal is to meet peoples emotional, spiritual and physical needs. They have provided 165 million pounds of food, 100 containers of medical equiptment, medicines and personal hygiene, 3 million textbooks around the world and 50 free medical and dental outreaches to third world countries.

SavetheChildren.org

There vision is to ensure every child the right to survival, protection, development and participation. Their programs include: Training new mothers with prenatal care, supplying immunizations for young children, building schools in developing countries and improving literacy and nutrition for children living in rural poverty in the U.S.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/01/22/haiti-orphans-unicef-1001222.html

In this article it is talking about all the kids that have lost their parents or have been abandoned by them. The rates of orphans have gone up rapidly since the earthquake and the children are left with decisions to make where to go for shelter how to eat and most of all how to survive and in this kind of situation the children are very vulnerable and can be easily persuaded. Along with that they are being taken advantage of and being trafficked which one of the pastors in the article who is running an orphanage found out first hand he was offered to take a child in exchange for fifty dollars. Luckily he refused. But who knows if the next person will refuse and take the child. Or what the intentions of the person receiving the child are and the sad thing is this isn't the only child put in a situation like this.

Prayer Points

*Pray for orphans and abandoned to find their family
*Pray for survival
*Pray for orphanages to be just in the decision of taking in children
*Pray for protection from trafficking of the children

first week

Janna Moats - Topic: Why we're here - A framework for action

She taught us how we can use our skills, money, and influence for our advantage to reach kids. We learned about the importance of parenting and the affects of the parenting on the childrens growth. Kids have 5 basic needs; security, significance, boundaries, community and creativity. She made us aware of the issues that children are facing at home and how they react to these issues. What impacted me the most was when she told us that we need to be going into the situation to learn and not think that we have all the answers. A new understanding that i got was humility and the power of using it. One question that she brought out of me was why are people not doing anything to help preventable diseases? For our local outreach we went to a park nearby and prayed for spiritual wisdom of the things that were going on around the area. One of the girls felt like there were lots of things going on in secret, this mainly led us to pray about the prostitution in the city. This has been a very productive and busy week.

http://www.compassion.com/
This website is focused on helping children spiritually, socially, physically, and economically. They try to get people to sponsor children, want to link one sponsor to one child in need. They offer to educate sponsors about poverty and development.

https://www.worldhope.org/
They are a non-religious organization. They are focused on fighting poverty by helping people get clean water, food, shelter, clothing, and medical supplies. They have four values- humility, sustainability, longevity, and a holistic approach.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/17/AR2010011700901.html
In this article it is talking about what is happening in Katmandu, Nepal. The last ten years the Moaists have been in war against the government. 3 years ago they forcefully took the children out of schools and persuaded them to fight in the war not only did they take them out of school but they took them from their families. Today the children are supposed to be released from the camps that they have been trapped in for the last three years they have been given 130 dollars and a set of clothes. Along with that they have been given an identification card and a "rehabilitation package," which will allow them to go back to school or get into business. But the thing that can't be given back to them is the last three years of their childhood lives. Along with that they are going to try to be a normal child civilian again. On top of that they have to worry about reconnecting with their families.

prayer topics:
* safe travel
*reconnect with their family
*restoration from hurt that was caused in the last 3 years
*their identification is given back to them