RESPOND Child Protection Initiatives funded through Compassion UK:

• Orphan schooling in Haiti• Alcohol awareness training in

India• Training schemes in Brazil

RESPOND Child Protection Initiatives funded through Compassion International this year:

• Abuse awareness training in Indonesia

• Child protection advocating in Rwanda

• and more...

Future RESPOND Child Protection Initiatives requiring funding:

• Alcohol awareness training in north India

• ...and more

Welcome to the very first CHILD PROTECTION RESPONSE annual update.

I want to say thank you to those who have contributed to the work Compassion is doing in this area. In these difficult financial times I appreciate the sacrificial giving of our supporters.

Compassion’s CHILD PROTECTION RESPONSE tackles circumstances that place children in vulnerable positions. Traumatic life events such as the sudden loss of parents or caregivers being alcohol dependent are deeply unsettling to children. Compassion steps in when the need arises including providing alcohol awareness training, emergency foster care, trauma counselling or other types of support.

When I think of Compassion’s work in this area I am reminded of Ti Mirak’s story:

Ti Mirak, the youngest of seven children, lives with her family in a village north of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. A village with the unenviable reputation of being known for the abduction and murder of children for human sacrifice. 20 children have gone missing in the last 12 months.

In July 2013, on her way to meet her mum in the open market nearby, Ti Mirak was taken by an unknown woman to a location she didn’t recognise. Left with little food, she was beaten and mistreated by her captors.

“Ti Mirak was supposed to come meet me at the market. I ran to the project, because it is the only place I could find help,” said Elianne, Ti Mirak’s mother. “I am not yet a Christian though I come to church sometimes. However, I was impressed to see the reaction of the church, the project and even Ti Mirak’s classmates, who were praying for her every day. I felt that I was not alone. As a result, the Lord brought my child back to me alive after two months,” Elianne said.

Ti Mirak is the only abducted child in the village to have been returned alive. She still bears the scars of her mistreatment. With trauma counselling, funded by Compassion and provided by a well-known Christian Psychologist in Port-au-Prince, Ti Mirak is recovering from the depression and weight loss she suffered after her release. She has a long way to go, but with the help of Compassion, her project, church and her friends, she will recover.

Thank you for making stories like this possible. On behalf of the 6,000 local church partners that deliver Compassion programme in 26 countries, I thank you and trust this update will inspire you.

I’d love to hear your feedback on this as we work to ensure we communicate clearly with you. Please feel free to e-mail me at MarkP@compassionuk.org.

Mark PrestonDirector of Philanthropy

WITH COMPASSION

“I was a heavy alcoholic. I remained drunk most of the day. I lost all the money to alcohol and there was no money to feed the family. The children were left to starve. I was so sick of it but I couldn’t stop the habit.”

Arockiya says he was determined to stop drinking, but even with help from a government hospital he could not control his addiction. After three sober days he gave in and started drinking even more.

“At this beaten down state, my children told me about the de-addiction programme that they heard about at the Compassion project. I was skeptical at first, but something within me drove me to it. It was a life-changing decision. Over seven days, the participants are taken on a journey within themselves which helps them to be self-aware. One topic is carefully covered on each of the days. At the end of the week, the participants let God take complete care of their life. The submission is true in the case of many victims,” he says.

Arockiya’s wife Shanthi, describes the transformation, “before the de-addiction, we did not have peace in the family. Fights and quarrels were part of life. My children would not stay at home if he came back drunk. Now that he has changed, there is joy and peace in the family. There is no gold in the house, but tons and tons of love. We now have regular prayer in the family. We pray every day in the morning.”

A REPORT FROM INDIA

All children who attend Compassion projects are taught about hygiene, disease prevention and how to recognise and react to abuse. However, holistic child development is impossible without reaching children’s families. Many caregivers do not fully realise the implications of their choices, following only what they see others do if they have not been taught otherwise. More than half of the Compassion-assisted children in India have alcoholic fathers that spend 60-70 per cent of their daily wages on drinking. About 15 per cent of the parents who are addicted indulge in antisocial activities to fund their habit. This creates unsafe and potentially violent home environments for children, where their basic needs are often neglected or abused. Children suffering in these situations

need outside help to ensure that their home environments are safe.

Compounding this, many caregivers do not know how to keep clean and hygienic living environments or how to protect their children from preventable diseases. Today diarrhoea is the second major cause of death among children in India, after respiratory-tract infections (UNICEF). Unhygienic practices and unsafe drinking water are some of the main causes.

In answer to this, Compassion India has been working to raise awareness about child hygiene, nutrition, preventable diseases, and the negative impact of alcohol. Generous UK sponsors and donors have provided funding for training that will have a lasting impact on the generations to come.

A RESPOND Initiative launched in 2013 is currently providing education to 1,893 parents and caregivers in seven different project locations. Because of this initiative, 50 new mothers will learn about nutrition during and after pregnancy; 990 parents will learn about the devastation that can come from alcohol abuse; and 850 parents will know how to ensure that their children do not suffer needlessly from diseases that are entirely preventable.

Changes are evident in the life of Arockiya. He works hard and supports his family. He had debts before, which were not possible for him to pay. Due to this, he was always on the run. Money-lenders were at his doorstep. The shame was too much for him to bear.

“The life I live now is in grace. I cannot thank anybody but the Lord. I thank him when I go to work. I thank him when I eat,” Arockiya says.

A REPORT FROM BRAZIL

It’s time for the children to leave the Compassion project. As they file out of the gate they are greeted with an all too familiar sight. Across the road the bright lights of the gas station illuminate a group of prostitutes trying to earn what little money they can.

Located in the northern region of Brazil, just outside Fortaleza, the project sits in an area known for its garment manufacturing. There is high unemployment and those who are fortunate enough to have a job earn half the minimum wage. The localcommunity is extremely poor and has to contend with inadequate living conditions, a lack of infrastructure and regular flooding.

And yet, in spite of these many challenges, there is hope. The project has started a vocational training scheme. Recognising that a steady and sufficient household income brings a higher likelihood that children finish school and the Compassion programme, this training scheme is playing an integral part in releasing the community from the poverty that enslaves it.

Thanks to funding from Compassion UK, the vocational training scheme has been started and sewing machines, raw materials and tools have been purchased. With the funding covering the cost of a class instructor too, the scheme is empowering 30 mothers of Compassion-assisted children in the first year. By gaining

skills the mothers are being given the opportunity to start their own businesses and increase their household income. Project staff members are working on creating contacts and partnerships with local employers to provide internships that will give the mothers work experience.

The training scheme will continue after the mothers have completed their studies so the children in the project can acquire the same skills. This ongoing vocational scheme is providing long-term opportunities for the mothers and children to increase their employability, and once in employment their self-esteem and economic self-sustainability. In doing this, children are protected from the realities of poverty that so often lead to some

of the most deplorable circumstances of our world: child labour, human trafficking, exploitation and abuse.

Compassion Ireland Christian Child DevelopmentSuite 3, Eden Gate Centre, Delgany, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Tel: 01 5133719 E-mail: info@compassion.ie www.compassion.ie

Charity No. CHY 19426, Registered Company No. 493955

Compassion UK Christian Child Development43 High Street, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 8BB

Tel: 01932 836490 Fax: 01932 831275E-mail: info@compassionuk.org www.compassionuk.org

Registered Charity No. 1077216, Registered in England No. 3719092

A THOUGHTSOMETHING TO EATAs evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” Matthew 14:15-16 (NIV)

I watched the sun setting slowly over the hills. Soon it should be dark, and an unknown fear gripped me. For the first time, I would go to bed without seeing my mother. In my mind’s eye, I could see her at home preparing dinner. I was 10 years old and in a boarding school 250 kilometres away from home. It would be another 90 days before I saw her again. I longed for her protection and the safety of my home.

I remembered this longing 25 years later when I met a little girl named Chantal. She was staring down at her feet, so afraid. Her frail hand held on tightly to the girl standing next to her. She couldn’t have been more than 6 years old. I asked about her and learned that her parents had died some weeks ago. She and her sister, Jackie, were looking for a place to live and had been moving around begging for food. My heart broke as my mind went back 25 years. But, unlike

me, Chantal would never see her mother again. Unlike me, she wasn’t in a place considered remotely safe. She didn’t know where her next meal would come from, and her total sense of safety rested in her tiny sister.

Thankfully, I was here on a mission of hope. Compassion was establishing a home for highly vulnerable children, and Chantal and Jackie would be among the first beneficiaries. I thanked God for this divine provision. We wouldn’t just walk away.

The story in Matthew illustrates the great compassion of our Lord Jesus. The disciples were tempted to send the crowds away, but Jesus commanded, “You give them something to eat.” As we encounter various challenges in our work, let’s remember that we are not alone but working in partnership with the Lord. He is willing to work with us, in our obedience to Him, to help us give His children “something to eat.”

Lord, fill our hearts with your compassion so that we will be moved to action. Above all, help us remember that we are not in this work alone, but in partnership with you, and to you only be all the glory.

LILLIAN GITAU, Compassion Child Protection Technical Advisor