Like Mother... Like Daughter?

I’ve been volunteering with Viva in Bolivia for the last few months. (You may have seen my personal blog already.) I live with a local family in the city of Cochabamba, and work in different projects that are members of the Cochabamba network Viva set up with ongoing support from Toybox. So far the network is working out nicely for me because I get a taste of so many different kinds of projects and can really get a feel for how Christians are responding to children at risk in Bolivia.

One of the projects I’ve spent some time working in is a project called Fundacion Emmanuel that cares for the children of women involved in prostitution. This may sound like a very specific ministry, but these children have very specific needs. The project is open three days a week. They’d love to be available to the children every day, but they can’t afford it. They usually have 20 children a day, between six and 14 years old. There’s one boy and 19 girls! Good thing I was there to provide some male companionship.

The project serves lunch to the children as they’re arriving or leaving, depending on when they go to school. We help them with their homework, do a devotional together and provide toys and DVDs to play with (only once the homework is done!). The staff provides psychological support and helps the children deal with problems they have at home or school. I’ve noticed that the children tend to be shy, always respectful and thankful for the help they get.

Fundacion Emmanuel’s staff members also have relationships with the mothers, who are generally friendly and appreciate the care their children are receiving. Trying to arrange group meetings has been difficult as the women often haven’t come, so Goretty, the director of the project, visits each of them personally. The challenge is to convince the mothers that their lifestyle is having a negative impact on their children. Many of these women are from abusive backgrounds themselves, and the problem of abuse extends back many generations in most Bolivian families. (In fact, child abuse is prevalent in eight out of 10 families in Bolivia today.) To these women, growing up around prostitution and sexual abuse is often, sadly, just part of life.

Naturally, some daughters copy what they see their mothers doing; that’s what children do. They go to school and come to the project wearing provocative clothing like miniskirts, high boots and backless tops that their mothers buy for them. Because their mothers grew up in similar situations, there’s nobody to teach them that their bodies have a value that’s not monetary… so these little girls develop a taste for the clothes and the lifestyle of a sex trade worker. They’re growing up with the tragic mindset of a woman who believes her body is a commodity, rather than a temple.

All the children live within walking distance of the project. One day Goretty took me for a walk through the neighbourhood where the children live. It’s one of Cochabamba’s poorest districts. Filthy streets with rubbish dumped in heaps, a sickening sour smell from garbage that’s sat for weeks or months, dilapidated buildings, and listless homeless people are a few of the characteristics that stand out in my memory. ‘This is no place for little children to be growing up,’ I thought.

But of course there are hundreds of thousands in Bolivia, and millions of children around the world, growing up in similar neighbourhoods.

As we walked, I noticed women wandering through the lanes looking for clients. I’ve heard that it’s not uncommon for these women, many of whom are mothers, to bring clients into their homes while the children are there. As a result some of the children I worked with have been subjected to sexual abuse and physical violence from the clients. They’re also instilled with a sense that prostitution is a normal way of earning money. Boys can end up thinking it’s okay to visit prostitutes, and girls grow up believing prostitution is a viable job option for them.

The project is doing great work getting these children involved with children from other parts of town and from other projects. Being part of the Cochabamba network has allowed Fundacion Emmanuel to receive grants from Viva and its partners and to undergo the Viva Equip Projects training, so that it can provide better care to the children it helps. Viva also provides network-wide training sessions on specific issues that the staff of this project regularly attend. There’s a monthly meeting for the directors of all the network projects, where Goretty prays, studies the Bible, and receives encouragement from dozens of other directors. Sometimes it’s just good to know you’re not the only one fighting for children at risk.

The children are getting involved in Cochabamba network activities, too. They’re always involved in Viva’s World Weekend of Prayer, and this year they attended the huge gathering in Cochabamba’s stadium decked out in their own project t-shirts and banner, and marched through the city with thousands of other children involved in local projects.

They’re gearing up now to take part in September’s Good Treatment vaccination Campaign (an event put on by Viva’s Child Advocates), when thousands of children will ‘vaccinate’ tens of thousands of Cochabamba adults by having them sign forms promising not to abuse children. The adults are also encouraged to sign a petition about child rights, which will be presented to the government. I think it’s extremely important for these little girls (and boy!), being brought up right in the heart of the frightening and often abusive sex industry, to hear about and advocate for their own rights. Through the network and Child Advocates, they’re learning that they’re valuable people who have a right to respect and protection. They’re learning to fight for their future.

During my time in Bolivia so far I’ve realised that child abuse and neglect are deeply entrenched in the culture. But I’m seeing first-hand that a concerted effort between local projects, churches, and international partners can reverse Bolivian thinking about children, both in adults and in the children themselves. With the combined help of local adults and children, the support of local projects and churches, and the expertise and training provided by Viva, Bolivian cities are becoming friendlier places for children.

~ Jonnie in Cochabamba

Learn more about Viva’s work advocating for Bolivian children at www.viva.org/advocates.

Read my personal blog at www.jonniewelford.blogspot.com.