Girl saved from trafficking in Nepal.

“Look! This is what’s going on around you! This is the problem – fact! Open your eyes to the needs of your children!” This is what one group of 5 Christian leaders heard when they recently attended a Viva partners meeting in the small Nepalese town of Nuwakot.

“We want to help” the five leaders proclaimed to Viva network staff. “We truly do, but we don’t know how! We see this problem everyday here in Nuwakot. Women and girls treated as if they were nothing, being abused as if it were the God-given right of their “possessors”. Desperate girls have turned up on our doorstep pleading for help as they attempt to flee their abusers. But what can we do?” One of the leaders, Makol, insisted. “What can we mere 5 people possibly do to change a situation that is so deeply rooted in our society?” The desperation was marked by the fine lines that creased his forehead due to the days, months and years of worrying for his people.

The sum of the parts: what working together for children really means!

Have you ever had to study for a particularly hard exam, spending all night awake, drinking Colombia out of coffee and racking your brains over one particular question you just don’t seem to get? And how many new mums have felt so desperate when bedtime arrives and their tiny infant just doesn’t seem to want to settle down and go to sleep? “I should know what my child needs!” might race through your mind.

There are many moments in life when we feel alone in the face of a certain problem. So what do we do? Well, naturally, we would seek out the advice of someone who’s been in a similar situation. And how often do we actually find that we are not alone; that many of our classmates have found that topic difficult, or that all new mums have felt frustrated at some point? Someone might even suggest a simple solution, “Have you tried swaddling?” that suddenly makes our lives that much brighter.

Early Encounter means 2 children saved from the streets EVERY DAY!

“I’m a numbers man, and these numbers are really something - 712 children are no longer on the streets of Latin America as a result of Viva and the networks this year. That’s nearly two kids every day!” Brian Wilkinson, our Chief Operating Officer and main numbers man, has just recently returned from an Early Encounter programme visit in Peru. He particularly recalls one centre in Lima…

When we arrived, the hall was filled with young girls and boys, cradled babies, mothers, fathers and even grandparents. Many parents were still arriving even after the event had already started, some sweaty and tired from having to hurry from their jobs out on the streets. However, their faces were lit up with smiles, despite the fatigue, knowing that in just a few minutes they would all take part in the celebration of something very special: their child was going to be given the opportunity to go to school for the first time in their lives!

Miguel's dream

“Life is not easy, and as children we have faced many people treading on our dreams. But with my songs I am saying that whoever you are and whatever has happened to you, you can live your dreams.”

Miguel Arevalos has helped to lead several nationwide campaigns against child abuse, he is a singer and songwriter for a local band and he will soon begin presenting his own TV show, broadcast to 150,000 people in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Miguel is also just about to celebrate his 15th birthday.