BY EMMA STONEHOUSE Unthinkably, 61 per cent of ten to eighteen year-olds in Paraguay have experienced some form of violence or mistreatment from their closest family members. Violence against children remains an issue largely hidden inside the walls of homes, and consequently it is left unaddressed and ignored. Our partner network in Paraguay believes that […]
Tag: violence
Lester: “I’m committed to care for children”
Lester, a young adult from Honduras, shares his story of why his mindset about children has been turned around through the work of Viva’s partner network in his community. My name’s Lester, I am 19 years old and I am a volunteer with Red Viva Honduras, especially in helping to lead its Good Treatment Campaign.* […]
Hope for change in Mexico
BY AIXA MARÍN, CO-ORDINATOR OF RED VIVA MEXICO Mexico is a country of enormous proportions and sharp contrasts. However, despite representing more than 30 per cent of the population, children here are barely noticeable in the statistics. This invisibility of childhood and adolescence has led authorities and society in general to a misconception: that the […]
True humility in a hostile place
BY CHARLOTTE GYE Charlotte Gye is 21 years old and starting university in the UK studying nursing. Earlier this year, she spent four months living in San José, volunteering for Red Viva Costa Rica. Here are her reflections on her time there. I stood with a church leader, Pastor M, as he shared an incredible […]
An incredible force for good
BY BRIAN WILKINSON The 38 networks that partner with Viva connect 2,324 churches and 1,152 organisations – but these numbers do not tell us the real story. What has motivated and inspired me over the years has been meeting the heroes and heroines who sacrificially give their lives to serve children at risk. Over the last […]
Changing times in Purral
BY MOLLY BEEGOO Over the last decade, crime rates have plummeted in Purral, an area of Costa Rica’s capital city, San José. As Molly Beegoo writes, one key reason for this change has been an increase in churches collaborating together and reaching out to those in need. South America is infamous for its high crime rates, […]
Finding life in the cemetery
Liz Cross, Viva’s Supporter Care Co-ordinator, writes about her recent trip to visit Viva’s partner network in Guatemala City and about finding positive stories in difficult places. A cemetery is one of the last places I expected to be standing when visiting Viva’s partner network in Guatemala City. However, over 2,000 people live on the […]
Viva at UN launch to end violence against children worldwide
Viva’s Chief Executive Mark Stavers attended the launch of the ‘Global Partnership and Fund to End Violence Against Children’ at the United Nations yesterday (Tuesday 12 July).