When a teenage girl living in a socially and economically difficult area of Cape Town becomes a young mother, she is thrust into bringing up and caring for a precious new life – and yet is often ill equipped to do so. However, if a young girl is well equipped for becoming a woman, she […]
Tag: hope
No longer hidden
Fear and community stigma have created a culture of neglect and misinformation surrounding children with disabilities in Uganda, causing many children to be concealed by their parents. Eighteen years ago, while training to be a physiotherapist, Florence Namaganda would see parents brave enough to take the step of bringing their children to a hospital – […]
A clean start for children in Costa Rica
In a Costa Rican community controlled by drug cartels, local church leader, Bella Flor, has spent the last two decades bringing holistic transformation to the lives of children and families, whilst also getting her hands dirty by cleaning up the local environment. Bella Flor talks to us about her motivation, her challenges and how being […]
Mental health: helping young people flourish
BY ANDREW DUBOCK The mental health challenges of our children and young people can feel like a hopeless situation. One in eight 5 to 19 year olds has a diagnosable mental health condition, yet only a quarter of these have had contact with specialists in the past year. This statistic, released by NHS Digital in […]
Learning to listen to children
Last year, over 200,000 adults in 14 countries were reached with positive messages about treating children in their care better through Viva’s Good Treatment Campaign – more than double the number of the previous year. A total of 900 churches and organisations from 22 of Viva’s partner networks worked together to reach people in their […]
Local saints: Esther’s story
Esther felt a strong call from God to tell vulnerable girls in Kampala, Uganda about their hope for a better, safer future. Community mentor Esther locates girls who are out of school. She works with the girl and their family to discuss whether catch-up learning, run by Viva and our partner network CRANE, could help […]
Local saints: Sister Veena’s story
Sister Veena draws her inspiration from Jesus, who walked from village to village proclaiming good news to the poor, the outcast, and the neglected. She leads an organisation in Patna, India that protects children in vulnerable situations, particularly those of travelling migrant workers, many of whom have drug and gambling addictions. Becoming part of Viva’s […]
Local saints: Arturo’s story
In faith, Arturo has stepped out to pastor a pioneering youth church in Alajualita, the least developed city in Costa Rica. Many children living there have six or more siblings, and spend much of their time in often-dangerous work. Arturo soon realised that education was the only way to break the cycle of abuse and […]
Beauty for ashes
Named after an inspirational women’s leader from the past, a slum in the Indian city of Patna is home today to a new band of girls who are being empowered by Viva to change their futures, as Fran Hall writes. Dalit Noun: A member of the lowest caste in the traditional Indian caste system. Literal […]
Symbols of hope in Syria and Lebanon
BY KEZIA M’CLELLAND It can seem on the surface that things in Syria are improving because the country is out of our mainstream news in the West. However, in fact, the situation remains very difficult and dangerous. In partnership with the Lebanon-based NGO, MERATH, we have been running three Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) inside Syria, […]