Picture the scene. A large family meal is taking place, but there are two tables. At one sit all the adults, engaged in conversation and eating politely. At the other table sit the children, complete with plastic crockery, food spilled everywhere in a scene not entirely unlike the Lord of the Flies. Sound familiar? Now […]
Month: November 2019
Making dreams a reality
Growing up without loving parental support, teenagers in Costa Rica are left depressed and confused about what the future might hold as they enter adulthood. Joel Porras writes about how a mentoring programme, run by our partner network, is giving them hope of a brighter future. A quarter of homicides in Costa Rica take place […]
“I have lived through radical change”
Antonio from Oruro, Bolivia describes the positive impact of Viva’s partner network when he was a child – and why he still believes in it today. Read his testimony and watch it in the video at the bottom of the article. My name is Antonio. I study in Oruro. I am 21 years old and […]
Growing in confidence
A new discipleship programme in Zambia aims to involve young people in learning how to protect themselves by taking them on a journey of self-discovery, learning who they are in Christ. ‘Discipleship’ is currently running in six different communities in Lusaka, Zambia. Each community was asked to suggest twenty 12-18 year-olds to attend, particularly focusing […]
Flourishing for life
Andrew Dubock travelled to Delhi to see how a new Viva mentoring programme is laying down strong roots for girls to help them flourish into the future. 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 […]
Matt’s story
Walking alongside and empowering a young person is an invested journey, with plenty of ups and downs, says youth worker Hannah Woods. During library lessons, I regularly read with young people to get to know them and identify who might benefit from youth work contact in future. It was during this time that a Year […]
“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. What is your name and where did you grow up?My name is Jackie. I grew up in a small village in Wakiso District in central Uganda. How did you first hear about CRANE?Far back when I was still in primary […]
Freed: Hope and Mary’s Story
Filipino sisters, Hope and Mary, were trapped in one of the growing number of cases of online sexual exploitation which occur each year across the world. Thanks, however, to the work of Viva’s partner network, PCMN, they were rescued and freed from their exploitation, as Emma Stonehouse writes. PCMN, our partner network in the Philippines, […]
From shattered glass to a flying bird
BY EMMA STONEHOUSE A simple green bag is having a huge impact on the lives of children in the suburbs of Harare, Zimbabwe. Our partner Viva Network Zimbabwe (VNZ) works in areas of the city with high levels of poverty and abuse and homelessness, and with children who have been orphaned. The network believes that […]