You Voted for it: Helping Pakistan Heal

Last week Viva posted a poll asking our readers who they think should aid Pakistani flood victims. Because we allowed you to pick more than one option, the results sound funny:

66% thought wealthy governments should respond to the flood;

53% said international non-governmental organisations should be providing aid;

80% thought the global church has a responsibility to help;

and 73% voted that local agencies should respond.

It's interesting to note that in no case did 100% of people agree on an answer: not everybody thinks rich governments have the responsibility; and we don't all agree that the global church should respond either. Maybe this helps explain why the international response to the disaster has been so slow.

Why Does a Zebra Cross the Road?

To keep children safe, of course!

This summer dozens of children from Viva's network of projects in Kampala, Uganda took to the streets - one street in particular - to engage in community advocacy.  What does that look like?  This:

Roads in Kampala can be difficult even for grown-up pedestrians to navigate, especially in poorer areas where most children at risk live.  Just crossing the street can be a life-threatening activity for a child in these neighbourhoods!  So a few projects put their heads together and decided to make their neighbourhood safer for the children in their care and those living in the area.  They painted a zebra crossing.

Donning safety vests, these children took turns painting the stripes of the crossing and handing out lollipops and leaflets - taking advantage of the traffic caused by their work to teach passing drivers and pedestrians about child rights and child protection.  

This was a great way for children to make new friends, learn to advocate for themselves, and take responsibility for the safety of their neighbourhood.  We're hoping to bring more zebra crossings to other neighbourhoods throughout the city!

Take a look at the rest of the pictures on Viva's Facebook page.

A Step Towards Friendship?

Last week Viva posted a blog about the effects a government's decisions can have on on its country's children, refering to Pakistan's consideration of India's £3.2 million aid offer. Though the two countries have been at odds for the last 63 years, we hoped that this could be a turning point in their relationship.

So we were very pleased to hear that on Friday Pakistan did accept India's offer of aid, despite the history of conflict between the nations, and we hope the money will be put to use to directly benefit flood victims, especially those most vulnerable - the children. Viva is continuing to support the amazing ongoing work of the local projects and churches that make up our networks in Pakistan and India, as well as that of our international partners working to bring relief to those who have lost everything in the floods.

Let Your Light Shine

How do you dispel the damaging myths surrounding HIV and AIDS? How do you teach communities that children suffering from HIV or AIDS didn't do anything to deserve it? What's the best way to make sure children living with or orphaned by HIV or AIDS get the most loving care and support?

I’ll tell you – Let Your Light Shine.

Given its name because it's all about helping kids to realise their value and live in the light of it, Let Your Light Shine is a video-based tool that helps train caregivers to provide better care for children suffering from or affected by HIV and AIDS. Suffering from this disease comes with heavy stigma in Africa, where many people don't have correct facts about the causes and spread of HIV and AIDS. As a result, many children who have been orphaned by AIDS or are living with it themselves are kept out of school or treated differently by the people who should be taking care of them.

When do neighbours become good friends?

If you saw two children arguing – yelling, calling names, sulking – you’d want to intervene. An adult can pull two children apart and talk sense into them. But when two nuclear-armed countries are behaving that way, nobody can really do anything about it. That’s the situation neighbours India and Pakistan are in today.

We’ve all heard about the devastating floods that have ravaged Pakistan this month. You may not have heard that many parts of northern India have been stricken by floods too, with hundreds killed (including 18 young children who were killed when their school collapsed under heavy rains yesterday in Dehradun).

3.5 million children are estimated to be at risk of contracting water-borne diseases in Pakistan because of the floods. Their parents have lost their livelihoods; their homes have been washed away; and their friends or family members may have been killed. India has offered $5 million (about £3.2 million) in aid money to Pakistan, but because of longstanding political and military clashes and a deep mistrust of its giant neighbour, the government of Pakistan has not yet accepted and is still considering the offer.

Kids Caring for Kolkata

With more than 15 million people crammed into its metropolitan area, Kolkata is India’s third-largest city. It’s also one of the fastest-growing, with new migrants arriving to look for work every day. ‘Informal labour’ makes up nearly half of Kolkata’s economy – roadside hawkers, rag pickers, and other people who don’t have a guaranteed income each day. A third of Kolkata’s residents live in slums. No wonder Mother Teresa picked Kolkata to live in and serve the poor.

Recently 45 children from Christian projects working in these slums came together for a one-day workshop called “Why should we have rights?” In areas like Kolkata’s overpopulated slums, the needs of children often get overlooked or pushed aside for more pressing matters like feeding the family or finding a proper latrine (normally impossible). But that doesn’t mean these children’s rights aren’t just as important of those of kids in the developed world, or in the richer parts of Kolkata. And that’s just what they learned.

You voted for it: Child-Friendly Churches

In last week's poll we asked you how child-friendly your church is.  About two thirds said their church was "Very friendly!" and the other third thought theirs was "Pretty friendly".  But what actually makes a church child-friendly?

Viva believes a child-friendly church is one that treats children as an integral part of its congregation, and where children are invited and encouraged to worship and serve just the same as adults (but with a child-friendly twist).  Programmes like Sunday school are great for teaching children about God, but Sunday school can't be the only thing a church offers its children.

Children Fighting Bad Treatment

The Child Advocates are getting down to business. Recently 61 of our Bolivian child ambassadors and youth leaders met in Cochabamba for their 6th Annual Meeting, a weekend of planning, leadership activities, devotions, and of course a talent show. 

Viva’s Child Advocates (Protagonismo Infantil in Spanish) have been causing a stir around Bolivia. Their Good Treatment campaign ‘vaccinated’ more than 28,000 adults against child abuse this year, and the advocates themselves are often arranging interviews with radio hosts, television programmes and government authorities to get word out about treating children properly and respecting child rights. 

Viva’s city-wide networks throughout the country provide the platform for these little leaders to get together and talk about successes, plan out strategies and events, and learn from one another – at neighbourhood, city and national levels.

Child-Friendly Church

I’ve been living in Uganda for two years now. Working with Viva, I meet lots of pastors and am always in contact with local churches. I love my church here, it’s filled with people who truly want to be there together, are really excited about worshiping God and serving their community.

But the Ugandan church, just like everywhere around the world, suffers from contrasts in faith, actions and beliefs. What do you see when you picture an African church? Maybe a building without walls or with a thatched roof … maybe a bunch of colourfully dressed people singing under a tree, raising their hands and swaying with African enthusiasm. The reality is that African churches are unique in their own way, but also very similar to churches everywhere else.

You voted for it: Caring for Workers

In last week's poll we asked you what child care workers need most.  Of course the people who care for vulnerable children need many more things than what we listed, but if we started including things like 'malaria pills' you'd never be able to choose.

6% of our readers thought child care workers need more money,

68% thought they need better training,

and 25% of you thought they need a vacation.

You're all right.  Although it sounds materialistic to say child care workers need more money, they certainly do!  Not only for themselves, but simply to run the projects properly.  Many of the projects Viva works with are just generous people who open their homes to orphans, or give their time to care for disabled children.  They try to stretch their income to cover the costs and elicit donations from others in their community, but funds are usually hard to come by.

A New Generation of Slum Children

As a Network Consultant for Viva India, one of the best parts of my job is visiting the networks Viva works with and seeing what all the projects are doing. Recently I was on a whirlwind tour of India, travelling from Bangalore in the south to Vijayawada in the southeast, and then all the way up to Dehradun in the Himalayas, and finally back to Delhi where I work. It helped me to remember what a huge, diverse and beautiful country India is … but also how much work there is to be done.

I’d like to share some good news from Dehradun. This is one of India’s oldest cities and is home to half a million people today. It’s snuggled between the feet of the Himalayas and the vast plains of northern India, surrounded by the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Imagine coming from the hot Indian plains and arriving in a place surrounded by forests, mountains and cool rivers! Or, if you like wildlife, you could look around for tigers, snow leopards, cheetahs, or Himalayan bears.