We’re so grateful for many churches faithfully supporting our work with vulnerable children. One of these is Banbury Community Church (BCC), in Oxfordshire, UK, and they told us why they are passionate about partnering with Viva. Why Viva? We’ve been supporting Viva since 2004 through an initial link with a previous BCC leader. We appreciate […]
Tag: UK
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 […]
Fuelling the fire
BY MIKE MACLENNAN God blesses us, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Isn’t that an incredible truth? God has made each of us unique. Viva has partnered with others in Oxford to work to fulfil the plans God has for young people here. PIG… that was a knock to my self-esteem when I visited a […]
Building resilience
Andy Jefferson asks: how do we protect our young people from those who would exploit them? The challenge of tackling exploitation can seem daunting. When we hear stories of young people being groomed or taken advantage of in some way, it can make our stomachs turn. And, as a youth worker, it can be heart-breaking […]
Marshmallow burgers for dinner today!
BY HANNAH BARR There’s an old episode of ‘The Woodentops’ in which the twins, Willy and Jenny, are washing their hands for dinner and start singing their own song with the lyrics, “What shall we have for dinner today? Sawdust and hay for dinner today!” I was reminded of this story as we took a […]
Christmas in June: that’s magic!
An Oxfordshire church has raised nearly £1,000 for Viva Christmas Parties by holding an evening that included a combination of magic, comedy, curry and a bit of ukulele. More than 100 people attended the event put on by Grove Free Evangelical Church, who likes to get into the festive spirit earlier than most! Fiona Massie […]
Exploring the hidden curriculum
BY HANNAH BARR Another year and another cohort of young people have completed ‘Find your fire’, Doorsteps’ ten-month programme for helping young people at risk of disengaging identify what they are good at, what they feel passionately about, to attach value to those things, and help them look at ways of developing in them. Sarah […]
BCDO 18: an unforgettable time
BY ANDREW DUBOCK As a Viva staff team, we don’t get out of the office very much together. But when we do it’s usually memorable. A few weeks ago, we returned again to the Big Church Day Out to set up a stand in the Bazaar and share with passers-by stories of how Viva changes […]
Making mental health more visible
BY HANNAH BARR This is Mental Health Awareness Week (14-20 May), with the NSPCC revealing that schools in England made almost 125,000 referrals for specialist help since 2014, with more than half of these coming from primary schools. Across the age spectrum, the stats on mental health struggles look bleak. Last week, British universities said they […]
Safeguarding tips for parents
BY HANNAH WOODS I feel passionately about parents having confidence in the choices they make around keeping their children safe, and parents and young people being able to make informed choices they make to keep their children safe. I’m sharing here tips I’ve trialled both as a parent and a youth worker. I’ve also gathered […]