It is hard to place a value on the difference Viva’s phone mentoring programme has made so far. It has not only been life-changing for families, but life-saving too – as this short testimony from the Philippines clearly illustrates. Lockdown has created a lot of space for introspection: for looking back at our lives and […]
Tag: Asia
God can make the impossible, possible
BY EMMA STONEHOUSE Myanmar continues to be afflicted by long-standing conflict, with Unicef estimating that 460,000 children require humanitarian assistance due to war and natural disasters. However, in the midst of such a disheartening statistic, there is abounding hope. Children can often be a forgotten party in times of war, as many find themselves far […]
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, […]
Empowering the weak; enriching the poor
BY MIKE MACLENNAN Viva’s partner network CarNet Nepal is responding to the needs of vulnerable children, by improving their wellbeing and providing protection against exploitation. Empowering the weak. Seeking justice. Nepal is experiencing a rising frequency of child abuse and trafficking. Around 7,000 Nepalese girls are trafficked to India every year with an estimated 200,000 […]
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 […]
Why Families Matter
It’s estimated that there are 145 million registered orphans across the world, and of these only about 9 per cent have lost both parents. Many families are unstable and millions more children are separated from one or both parents due to violence, abuse, alcoholism, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and other conflicts. Too many children are suffering […]
Welcoming, protecting & empowering children in Nepal
BY ISSY MITCHELL “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me.” Mark 9: 37 In an attempt to create a community that values and empowers children, where they would previously have been excluded from all or most church activity, 20 churches in the Nuwakot area of Nepal have now become ‘Child […]
In pursuit of justice
BY RACHAEL MA In October, Viva’s Network Co-ordinators from across Asia gathered in Hong Kong for a week of team meetings and also attended the Justice Conference Asia. Rachael Ma reflects on the valuable time spent together. A Typhoon 8 warning wasn’t quite the welcome we had planned for! We give thanks though that, despite […]
A fresh start after fighting
BY JUSTINE DEMMER Following economic struggle and violent conflict, families in Myanmar are strained to breaking point. Justine Demmer visited the country to see how our new partner network cares for children and reunites families. To a visitor like me, Myanmar has an untouched feel to it; there are no indications of international trends found […]
Firm foundations
BY ANDREW DUBOCK Viva is equipping children’s leaders in India through a Sunday School programme that last year reached 59 churches in five partner networks across the country. As the Church grows in India, and new congregations emerge, the training provides teachers with a curriculum that is well-structured, Bible-based and which aims to help children […]