February 2009

2009 sees the twentieth anniversary ofthe UN Convention on the Rights of theChild (1989), and the thirtieth of the Yearof the Child (1979). This makes it timelyto take stock of the progress madearound the world investing in those thingswhich work for a more child-friendlyworld.

Despite the best efforts of many at everylevel from individual siblings, parents andcommunities, to Church, governmentsand UNICEF, the overall picture –accurately reflected I believe in thearticles in this newsletter – is sombre.Millions of children live with a horizonthat stretches no further than a stomach-pained craving for a meal; a remote dreamof consistent and affordable education;and the longing for freedom from the fearof attack, abuse or premature death. Andwhere the basics of existence are in place(as in the UK for example) children andyoung people suffer from poor quality –and often fractured – relationships infamilies, schools and their peer groups.

What is the Gospel in this context? It surely starts with followers of Jesuswho will never give up or lapse intohelpless despair, whatever the scale of thetask they face. They will always be seeking

to sow seeds of faith, hope and love. Youwill find the sheer resilience representedby these stories of belief against the odds,a source of inspiration andencouragement.

And what are some of the characteristicsof these Christian seeds and sowingworldwide?

● The readiness to start wherechildren are (needing food,medicine, training in the basic skillsof life, love), using practical andpragmatic methods, rather thanlofty ideals and the rhetoric ofadvocacy.

● A recognition that the mosteffective long-term investment willbe in the training, nurture andeducation of girls and women.

● The courage to see that others (likeglobal corporations and drugcartels) are investing in children forthe worst of motives, and thatinvesting in children and childhoodis an uphill battle in both rich andpoor countries.

● That universal education remains ahollow aspiration for millions ofchildren, and that learning throughplay is a culturally sensitive, robustand practical option.

● That holistic investment in childrenneeds a whole community or parish.

Parenting is a role for every personin the community, and churches areideally placed for this role. Cruciallythis includes children and youngpeople as agents of change.

The articles in this newsletter areprophetic because their motives are sotransparently those of helpers: they donot shout from the rooftops, and yet themessage is distressingly clear. As thenatural world that adults are bequeathingto our children and grandchildren beginsto seem increasingly damaged and fragile,our investment in the growing trees ofthe forest (the children) remains woefullyinadequate.

But in the midst of this dark and chillingreality, candles are still alight: they may beflickering, but even so they reveal thefaces of children who will not give up. Youwill no doubt find your own powerfulimage among the many represented here,but for me it is the little girl tending thewound of the injured boy using her dress.

IAFN International Anglican Family Network

INVESTING IN CHILDHOOD

EDITORIAL

Joyful waiting for maize-meal porridge, Malawi. Photo: Mary’s Meals project.

Article provided by: Dr Keith J.White, Director of Mill Grove andChair of the UK Christian ChildCare Forum, ENGLAND

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In talking about the importance ofchildren and young people in society, oneof the common local sayings in Zambia is‘Growing Trees are the forest’, meaning‘children are the future.’ Children in manyurban settings in Zambia face a myriad ofchallenges such as poor diet, poor health,lack of recreational facilities and lack ofeducation. These threaten to disrupttheir development and eventual benefit tosociety and the Church at large.

Chawama Parish is located in a high-density area where some of the poorestof the poor reside. Here the story ofpeople living on less than a dollar is nottheory but a daily reality as in many othercompounds in Zambia.

The Church has risen to these challengesmainly through running programmes suchas nursery and primary schools, literacyclasses for adults and family-relationshipsministry. Directly or indirectly, all theseare aimed at helping to improve thewelfare of the urban child.

The Church provides affordableeducation through its school, St FrancisAnglican Nursery and Primary, which hasenrolled 141 pupils. Through the school,the Church provides education thataffects both the mind and heart, therebyensuring that children grow up asresponsible and beneficial members ofthe community. The Church believes thatto educate only in the mind is creating anuisance for society so extra-curricularactivities such as sport and showing ofChristian and educative movies are anintegral part of the school programme.The Church has bought a DVD player anda big screen TV for the Children MovieOutreach Programme. This provides notonly decent entertainment but goodteaching, thus enabling the children tokeep away from vices such as drug abuseand crime.

The Parish, in conjunction with clergywives, runs a feeding programme in Misisicompound, within Chawama Parish.About 250 children are fed on soyaporridge for breakfast and are alsoprovided with lunch from Monday toFriday. This ensures that children get atleast one decent meal per day, whichotherwise they would not have in theirhomes. This programme facilitates theeducation of the children who otherwisewould miss school because of hunger.

Recently, the Church has introducedliteracy classes for adults. Almost 100% ofthe students in this programme arewomen. We believe that by educating theparents we are contributing to thewelfare of children. Literate parents,particularly mothers, are better equippedto deal with challenges affecting childrenin urban settings. Through functional

literacy programmes, parents are not onlyable to read and write but also equippedto be better ‘managers’ of their smallbusinesses and family finances, and thismeans their children are educated andgrow in a healthy manner thus reducingchild morbidity and mortality. A literatewoman is better placed to understandand apply basic health and nutritionneeds.

The Church also offers specialisedministries such as the Boys’ Brigade,Girls’ Brigade, and Girls’ Friendly Society,through which children are nurtured andtaught Christian values that promote aresponsible and godly lifestyle.

After qualifying for the Highly IndebtedPoor Countries (HIPC) initiative, andthus debt cancellation, Zambia started toprovide ‘free’ education at primary schoollevel. Although this has been a great helpfor some, many children in Zambia stillcannot afford to access governmenteducation. This is because there are notadequate schools to accommodate everychild; and also because families still haveto buy uniforms, shoes, books and

pencils/pens and – above all – they need to eat. In a country where theunemployment rate is over 75%, very fewfamilies can afford to buy the schoolrequirements. In fact, the so called ‘free’education does not go beyond primarylevel and therefore many children end upon the streets with nothing to do.

It is this background that has promptedthe Parish to get involved in theeducation sector to provide children andparents with the basics that can facilitatetheir graduation from a life of poverty toa life which is self-sustaining. In John 10:10, Jesus says ‘I have come that they mayhave life, and have it to the full.’ We believethat education is a primary and essentialtool that can ensure better and abundantlife for children.

ZAMBIA

Cooking for children. Photo: Noreen Njovo.

Article provided by: FatherEmmanuel Chikoya, St FrancisAnglican Church, Diocese ofLusaka, ZAMBIA

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Supplementary feeding for schoolchildrenThe food crisis in Zimbabwe, due to multiplefactors such as drought, has left many sectorsparalysed; one of them being the educationsector. Being unable to get even a meal a day,most parents – especially in the rural areas –have had to give up on the idea of theirchildren going to school, which causes seriousabsenteeism. Instead of attending school,pupils are spending days assisting their parentsdirectly or indirectly in getting money to buyfood.Many thanks are due to the United Society forthe Propagation of the Gospel (USPG),Lambeth Palace, the Community of theResurrection and Mothers' Union who,through our Diocesan Bishop's efforts, havecome in and alleviated the situation in those ofour schools which were most affected.We managed to implement the supplementaryfeeding programme in seven of our Diocesanschools and the impact of the intervention hasbeen tremendous. The project was delayed bythe Government regulations that prohibittransporting of maize meal or maize grainacross districts and provinces. The lack ofmaize was the other challenge. However, inMay this year we managed to commence theproject at four schools located in threedifferent provinces. The programme was thenextended to three of our schools, to bring toseven the total number of schools benefitingfrom this programme. Quantities of food distributedSizeable quantities of food were distributed,eg at least 500kg of maize meal, 24kg of soyamince, 20 litres of cooking oil and 2kg of finesalt, to each of the seven schools.All the schools started preparing and servingone sadza (thick porridge) meal with soyamince per pupil per day. Recommendedquantities of rations per pupil and portion sizewere served according to age per day, with theyoungest pupils getting 100-150gm dry rationmaize-meal with 25ml cooking oil each permeal and the secondary–school children getting

up to 250gm dry ration maize meal and 50mlcooking oil. This was done by all schools afterfood commodities were delivered. Theexception was Chasiyatende Secondary Schoolin Chivi District (Masvingo Province) becausefor a time it was disturbed by the politicalenvironment in the district. They commencedthe feeding programme at the end of June afterbeing given the nod to commence by politicalheavyweights in the area.Teachers appointed at respective schools weretasked to calculate and issue daily allocationsto cooking mothers, who numbered betweensix and eight. This process was done in liaisonwith respective Project Committees andSchool Heads and the pupils were fed duringlunch hour. Apart from health personnel whooccasionally paid visits, hygiene was monitoredby an appointed teacher conversant in healthissues. High standards of hygiene have beenenforced during food preparation, cooking,serving and consumption. Pupils brought theirown plates and were taught to thoroughlyclean their plates and wash their hands beforeand after each meal.Parents of the pupils supplied vegetables toaugment the soya mince relish. Soya mincewas preferred as a suitable relish because it isrich in protein. The meal was also assessed asa balanced diet because each daily allocationcontains all major requirements on thenutrition chart, such as carbohydrates, fibre,vitamins, protein, fats and mineral salts.Security and storageDue to the seriously devastating drought inmost parts of the country, food provisions areat risk of being pilfered. The respectiveDiocesan schools benefiting from thisprogramme have each employed a SecurityGuard to safeguard the food. Most of thestorerooms are burglar-barred. The drystores are placed on dunnage to avoid floormoisture. Rodent infestation is closelymonitored as these will gnaw at food,contaminate and deplete stocks.

Monitoring and accountabilityDuplicate delivery notes were signed and

witnessed by either a School Development orProjects’ Committee member on the day ofdelivery. These are filed at the schools and theDiocesan Project offices. Children wereweighed fortnightly. This helps monitor thebenefits anticipated in terms of weight gain ormaintenance. Diocesan Projects’ Committeessupervise the daily running of the programmeat the respective schools. They providereports to the projects’ office. Some of thedaily consumption records are being kept bythe school Heads through their Teachers-in-Charge, as witnessed daily by the SchoolDevelopment Committee and ProjectCommittee members. Impact of the supplementary feedingproject

● Increased teaching and learningatmosphere

● Improved attendance and attentiveness● Improved pupil punctuality in coming to

school● Improved participation of students in

extra-curricular activities● Reduced vulnerability, especially of the

girl-child, at secondary school level.Environmental ImpactThe Projects’ Committee has commended thesoya mince as a friendly relish since it does notrequire a lot of firewood. With children fed atschool, there is reduced cooking in the home,hence further saving on use of firewood. Drydeadwood, even faggots, were being used,hence minimising vegetative destruction.Challenges

1. More funding in foreign exchange isneeded as food commodities are beingsold in foreign currency eg 50kg bag ofmealie meal is going for US$30.

2. The unavailability of a suitable truck forferrying provisions results in numeroustrips in small vehicles consuming a lot ofthe black-market expensive fuel. Thishikes the transportation bill.

3. Government policies on purchase andferrying of maize and maize-mealnegatively impacted on the project too.

We thank our funding partners for enabling usto achieve such a noble project. It is our hopeand intention to continue with thisprogramme since there is a food crisis inZimbabwe, with many people facingstarvation. Funds permitting, we expect tocover other Diocesan schools located in otherareas that are drought-hit. The joy andexcitement expressed by pupils, teachers andparents at benefiting schools is such a touchingand humbling experience.The Diocese having the mindset of our LordJesus Christ seeks tirelessly to comfort andhearken to these needy souls, because “it hascompassion on them because they are like sheepwithout a shepherd" (Mark 6:33-37).

Willing workers help with the supplementary feeding scheme. Photo: Mothers’ Union.

ZIMBABWE – DIOCESE OF MASVINGO

Article provided by: Bishop GodfreyTawonezvi, Diocese of Masvingo,ZIMBABWE

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MARY’S MEALSSix years ago my brother Magnus and Iwere in Malawi working on an emergencyfeeding project. There was a famine in theregion. We soon realised that althoughthe famine had created a crisis, chronichunger was the daily reality for mostMalawians.

During our stay there, Magnusaccompanied a priest on a visit to amother dying from HIV/AIDS. She wassitting on the floor of her hut,surrounded by her family and praying thatsomeone would care for her childrenwhen she was gone. Magnus asked heroldest son, a boy of about 14, what hishopes were in life. He replied, “To haveenough food to eat and to go to school oneday”. This simple reply stayed with us andhis modest dream was the inspiration forMary’s Meals. This is a campaign to set upschool feeding projects in communitieswhere poverty and hunger block childrenfrom gaining an education. It is namedafter Mary, the mother of Jesus, anddedicated to her as she too knew what itwas to bring up a child in poverty. Laterthat year, the first Mary’s Meals projectbegan in Malawi by feeding 200 children.

Today, Mary’s Meals is providing over350,000 children with a daily meal inschool. Most of these are in Malawi butwe also have projects in Uganda, Liberia,Kenya, Zambia, Sudan, India, Philippines,Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Ukraine,Romania, Bolivia and Haiti. Mary’s Meals isgrowing rapidly as more and more peoplearound the world become involved,whether by donating (the average cost forMary’s Meals per child per year across allour projects is currently £8.40),volunteering their time and skills orpraying for the success of the work.Everyone has something to offer.

Earlier this year I went to Haiti to visitsome of our Mary’s Meals projects there.Our friends met us at the airport andtook us straight to Cite Soleil – anotorious shanty town slum outside thecapital Port au Prince. It is a nightmarishplace. A sprawl of corrugated iron shacksbuilt over a rubbish dump that spills outinto the sea. It is home to around 40,000people. Their poverty, their history andtheir neglect seem to have made it afertile breeding ground for every kind ofmisery a human being can suffer.

Yet when you ask the people there whatthey want in the way of help, the firstthing they say is ‘a school.’ Our partnershave built seven schools in Cite Soleil and

we are providing a daily meal to the 5,000children who attend them. The contrastis startling. A metal gate separates thesqualor of Cite Soleil from a school yardfull of children in brightly colouredgingham uniforms jostling happily as theyqueue for a plate of rice and beans. Thismeal ensures they come here every day.The education they gain is their route outof poverty. Let us hope and pray that theywill grow up to be instrumental inbringing about all the changes for thebetter that the people of Haiti are cryingout for.

As I stumbled through Cite Soleil I felt agrowing sense of despair. We passedMonique cooking ‘terre’ on hot concrete.These are made from clay mixed with alittle oil and sugar. Traditionally thesewere eaten by pregnant women for theirmineral content. Now they are a cheapfood for the very poor – something to filltheir stomachs with. The childrenclustered round us as we continued withour walk. I noticed a boy sitting on theground, scraping hopelessly with a palmfrond at a deep cut on his foot. Given thechildren’s bare feet and the rubbishstrewn ground this must be a continualhazard. When I looked again a little girlwas kneeling beside him, anxiously wipingthe cut with the hem of her grubby dress.Witnessing this little act of kindness wasa salutary reminder to me not to bemisled by the ‘distressing disguise of thepoor’. The people of Cite Soleil are ourbrothers and sisters and they badly needour little acts of kindness. One of ourcharity’s values states; “We haveconfidence in the innate goodness of people.”Time and again we are privileged to seethat goodness in action.

The roots of the charity are entwinedwith those of Craig Lodge Family Houseof Prayer. This is a Catholic retreat centrein Argyll (and its grounds are home toMary's Meals Headquarters). When thewar in the Balkans broke out, the visitorsto the retreat centre, like so many others,were desperate to do something to help.When they heard that the MacFarlane-Barrow family were organising an appeal,they were delighted to be able to help:buy tins of food, look out blankets, collectclothes and pray for the venture'ssuccess. They took this appeal back totheir churches and parishes. Wholecongregations then got involved. It wasthis network of church support that madethe initial appeal for a Landrover of aidsnowball into an avalanche of donations.When steps were taken to set up acharity to administer these donations, itwas this same network that formed anongoing source of support. And thisremains true to this day. As one exampleof a small beginning leading to greaterinvolvement, the congregation of oneScottish Episcopal Church originallystarted to support Mary’s Meals bycollecting loose change in a plastic sweet-jar after the church-service each Sunday.Such was the level of support and interestthat, as well as the continuing collections,the congregation now makes an annualgrant of £6,000 to sponsor their ownMary’s Meals feeding-kitchen at a remote,needy primary school in Malawi.

Monique baking clay biscuits. Photo: Mary’s Meals project.

Article provided by: Magnus

MacFarlane-Barrow, Mary’s Meals,

SCOTLAND

Website: www.marysmeals.org

SCOTLAND – INTERNATIONAL

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What makes a good childhood? The Children's Society (TCS) is a leadingnational charity committed to makingchildhood better for all children in theUK. TCS has supported children since1881, when Sunday school teacherEdward Rudolf found two of his pupilsbegging for food on London’s streets, andsubsequently established the Church ofEngland Central Home for Waifs andStrays. While the nature of TCS’ work hasevolved as society and children’s needshave changed, its founder’s belief thatevery child deserves a good childhoodremains at the heart of everything TCSdoes. In 2006 TCS launched a two-yearnational study called The Good ChildhoodInquiry to enquire into children’s lives andto open a debate about the nature ofchildhood today in the UK. With theArchbishop of Canterbury as its patron,the panel leading the inquiry has soughtthe views of thousands of children andyoung people as well as the findings ofsocial science on six topics; family, health,friends, values, lifestyle and learning. So far, the inquiry has found that for UKchildren, friendship is very important forchildren, both for their social andemotional development and for their ownsense of well-being. Adults oftenunderestimate the importance offriendship for children, and how friendshelp them to adjust to school, the arrivalof new siblings and the experience of

being bullied. It found that families are themost powerful influence on children andthat poverty remains one of the mostsignificant predictors of children’s well-being, causing material and emotionaldisadvantage and limiting aspiration.The inquiry heard from many childrenwho want to learn and dislike being heldback by other disruptive pupils. But it alsofound that in order to enable children toflourish, learning needs to addresspoverty and parenting as well as academicachievement. There was a lot of evidenceto show that there are not enoughstructured activities available out-of-school and those that do exist are oftenexpensive, dirty, vandalised and poorlymaintained. In rural areas of the UK,public transport is often inadequate.Many people thought that there shouldbe more child-friendly outdoor spaces aswell as more traffic-free roads and thatthe lack of these might be a factor behindat least some of the antisocial activity inwhich a minority of young people becomeengaged when out-of-school.With regard to health, the biggestnumber of responses related to children’smental health. Widespread concern wasfelt that increasing numbers of childrenare experiencing mental health problems,and that some groups – including youngpeople in prison, young carers, homelessyoung people and refugees and asylumseekers – are especially vulnerable. Youngpeople themselves highlighted the

importance of being free from stress,pressure and worry. Professionals linkedchildren’s mental health with a range ofproblems, such as poverty and materialdeprivation, pressures to achieve, theadverse effects of consumerism andexposure to violence. Lastly, childrengiving evidence to the inquiry felt stronglythat you should treat others as you wouldwish to be treated yourself. They ratedvalues like respect, kindness, friendlinessand tolerance, emphasising that theseshould be shown to others before beingexpected in return. This also meant theywanted to be listened to by adults and fortheir views to be taken seriously!Children in the UK are aware of negativeattitudes towards them, particularly inthe media and asked to be portrayedpositively, rather than as “thugs orvandals”. As well as a degree of freedomover their lives, children talked about aneed for space to enjoy themselveswithout too many responsibilities. These findings are available atwww.goodchildhood.org.uk The inquiryhas now ended. A very readable shortbook about the findings will be launchedin early 2009. It is meant to encourage allof us to think again about how childrenare treated. The inquiry will also beformulating their recommendations onwhat makes a good childhood. It is to behoped that these will be consideredseriously by policy makers, children’sorganisations and by the churches andthat real changes will take place.

The Sexualisation of Girlhood The sexualisation of girls and women is sopervasive, particularly in Western society,that it can feel normal for young girls tolook like teenagers, for teenagers to looklike adults, and for women generally to beportrayed primarily as sexual objects.Sexualisation is not to be mixed up with ahealthy understanding of sexuality, whichis important for emotional, mental andphysical health.When a person’s value is chiefly derivedfrom his or her physical and sexual appealand behaviour, when a person ispersuaded to accept that being physicallyattractive is what defines ‘sexiness’, whena person is made into an object forother’s sexual use or when measures ofsexuality are prescribed inappropriately,the oppressive conditioning process ofsexualisation is at work. Young girls whoare barely on the threshold of puberty

Childhood fun. Photo: Corbis.

ENGLAND

Article provided by: Sue Burridge,Community and Public AffairsAdviser, Church House, ENGLANDFor the Good Childhood Enquirysee www.goodchildhood.org.uk

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Antsiranana. We have a hostel withfacilities for 20 boys and also hostelfacilities for 20 girls in the main village ofDaraina.

The girls’ hostel was built by the help ofMary Tindall Trust during the time of the

Hostels for ChildrenOur work with children started duringthe 1960s. Children who were living inthe remote villages of the Malagasy rainforest were given the facilities ofattending better schools in the town of

are vulnerable subjects of thisconditioning process. The power ofsexualisation of girls and women isimmense. Hope’s Place, a Christian charity located inBristol, UK, has been increasingly awareof these pressures and is deeplyconcerned about the damagingconsequences this power has on thepsyche of children and young girls, itsharmful effects on themselves, theirrelationships and their life choices.A chief concern that prompted thefounder and director of this young charitywas the rise in unwanted pregnancies inthe UK. Subsequently through findingsand recommendations it was agreed thatlow self-esteem was a key indicator thatoften hampered young people frommaking healthy and positive life choices.Phrases such as ‘I feel rubbish’, ‘I’m notgood at anything’ really translate in to ‘I’mgood for nothing’. They reflect a frustratedlonging to look like certain airbrushedcelebrity images and reveal youngpeople’s need for loving acceptance ofthemselves.A strategic way the charity feels called tohelp in this area is by raising awarenessand stimulating critical thinking through its educational programmes. An empathetic and non-judgementalapproach is used in challenging distortedperceptions of self and others.

The charity offers free educationalprogrammes in schools, communitygroups, Anglican and other churchesacross the city of Bristol which are mainlylocated in ‘challenging areas’. Education atHope’s Place works alongside thesegroups to empower children and youngpeople to develop wholesome thinkingand decision-making in the areas of self-image, identity, sex and relationshipeducation. Examples range from working, usually inpartnership with a school, to supporting achurch group that wishes to be a pastoralpresence to its hard-to-reach youngmembers.Hope’s Place Education has a well-developed and tested programme aimedat secondary school-aged children, andgirls’ groups in church and communitysettings. It is also involved in developinginitiatives that respond to the specificneeds of the primary age group. One suchinitiative is through partnership with theBristol, Salisbury and Exeter Diocesanadviser teams who are togetherdeveloping a programme within theReligious Education framework under thebanner of sex and relationship educationfor the year six transition phase group. There is a pressing need to work withboys in processing these key issues froma male perspective. Hope’s Place hasdeveloped a programme for boys.Whatever the context or group, the

overall programmes seek to developemotional and spiritual literacy aroundthese areas. The demand for these educationalprogrammes to be developed anddelivered at various locations around thecity reveals an immense need to invest inthis way in the lives of our children andyoung people and in the fabric of familyand society as a whole.Jesus declared ‘You will know the truth andthe truth will set you free’ John 8:32.Giving children the tools that will helpthem to discern the lies that consumeristsociety offers, is a huge part of helpingthem break free of these strongholds.Leading them on a journey of discoveringsomething of being made in the image ofGod is part of helping them discover thefreedom that Jesus was talking about.Hope’s Place depends on grants, donationsfrom churches, communities andindividual members to support this vitalwork. It has a small part-time paid staffand a group of volunteers who supportthis rapidly growing need. The charityalso offers counselling as part of its work.

MADAGASCAR

late Bishop Keith Benzies. In 2008, amemorial chapel dedicated in memory ofBishop Benzies was inaugurated byBishop Roger Chung Jaomalaza. Due tothe poor infrastructure and the remotelocation of the girls' hotel, it is notpossible to visit it during the rainy season.

The boys' hostel since its opening hasproduced many successful students whohave been able to contribute to Malagasysociety. The present Dean of thecathedral of Antsiranana was sponsoredby the boys' hostel during his studentdays. With the generous help of peopleand help around the world this valuablework has been able to go on.

Since poverty is rampant in this part ofthe world, the hostel work will needsupport for years to come.

Pray for us.

Article provided by: ChitraKovoor, Education Manager,Hope’s Place, Bristol, ENGLANDWebsite: www.hopesplace.org.uk

Happy children, Antsiranana.

Article provided by: The Rt Rev Roger Chung Po Chuen F.H.,B i s h o p o f A n t s i r a n a n a ,MADAGASCAR

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The Anglican Church on Anguilla hasbeen involved in the education of theyoung for centuries. This was in the formof Sunday School, Catechetical classes,and primary education for boys in themainly populated area of the island. Evenafter the government began to manageand administer schools, the Churchallowed its property to be used foreducational purposes.

During the mid 1980s, the Church,recognising the dramatic increase inopportunities for people to work andfurther their education, established twopre-schools – St. Mary’s and St.Augustine’s. Thus, three-to five-year-oldchildren were and are being given the pre-school experience. The properties areowned and managed by the Church’sVestry who along with the School Board,the Principal and Staff, raise funds toprovide resources. Income to pay salariesis derived from school fees and thegovernment’s monetary contribution topre-school education.

The schools’ curriculum focuses on theneeds of each child. Its organisation andmanagement allow each child to developcognitive and social skills. Along withDevotions, the pre-schoolers are engaged

My Father´s House Wallace looks up and down the dark,dirty, dirt-track street to make sure thecoast is clear. He has a sawn-off shotgunin one hand and two security guards withhim – a perk of being high-up in the gang.He crosses the street and goes throughthe church’s front gate, he has come totalk to some people he remembershelping him in the past. He talks to one ofthe Pastors until he sees someonewalking past who he is sure hasrecognised him; he needs to leave andquickly runs off with his security. Tenminutes later a group from a rival gangturns up at the entrance to the churchlooking for Wallace.

Wallace is a 14-year-old boy who lives inone of the most dangerous favelas (shantytowns) in Recife NE Brazil. His two‘security guards’ who were with him thatday were only around 11 years old. InBrazil, there are around 25 million otherchildren just like Wallace, who live inextremely deprived conditions, who haveto battle daily with the temptations ofgang life or with families who abuse anddo not care for them. My Father’s Houseproject exists to help these boys whoselives are in danger of being destroyed bydrugs and try to reintegrate them backinto their families. We have a nice house

in activities relating to language, arts,mathematics, science and social studies.Music, drawing, painting, craft andtechnology are integrated in each area oflearning. Opportunities to choose andplan activities are given to the children.Field trips, discussions, reporting andsharing experiences form part of theirweekly activities. It is always a joy towitness their enthusiasm and eagernessto ask questions.

As teachers’ professional developmentand parental training impact positively onchildren’s achievement, the Churchinvests in the training of its teachers athome and abroad, and supports parentingprogrammes. All are required to attendlocal training sessions and educationalactivities.

With the assistance of the Department ofEducation, which monitors the work atthe school, the principal and staff knowwhat their children are doing, can do, andwhat they need to do to progress. Basedon the last report from the Departmentof Education, both schools havemaintained a high standard.

Additionally, the Church has beeninvolved in nurturing the spiritual well-

being of the children and youth. That isdone mainly through the Sunday Schoolheld every Sunday morning, the weeklyconfirmation classes, youth meetings,children and youth choirs and theservers. Along with Bible study, thechildren and youth interact with oneanother and their teachers on topics suchas the liturgy, history, culture and socialissues. Presentations and field trips alsoform part of their activities. Sessions aremainly interactive. In addition to theknowledge and skills, attention is given tothe emotional intelligence of the children.In sum, every effort is made to educatethe whole child.

The Church continues to invest in theGirl Guiding and Scout movements. Eachweek, scouts, cubs, guides and browniesattend meetings on the grounds of thechurch and the Scouts and GuidesHeadquarters, located on Churchproperty. The Bishop, who is also theParish Priest, and his assistant priest aremembers of both associations.

Boys and team at My Father's House Photo: Andy Roberts.

WEST INDIES

Article provided by: RosenaBrooks, Diocese of North EasternCaribbean & Aruba, WESTINDIES

BRAZIL

in the city away from the favela whichhouses up to 12 boys at a time. Ouryoungest boy is seven and the oldest isabout to turn 16. In the project theyreceive the love and the attention thatthey have been missing, attend the localschool and find out about a God who can

and wants to save and change them. Onthe streets there is little hope for thechild and they are very unlikely to make itto 18. Just on the favela where we work,statistics show that an average of fourpeople under the age of 18 are killed eachweek. The situation is serious.

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Training teachers, transforminglivesParaguay, a beautiful country in the heartof South America, is also one of itspoorest. In Paraguay 40% live on less than50p ($1) a day and 32% of children whostart school do not finish primary. Thegreatest need and challenge, however, isamong the country’s indigenouspopulation:

● On average each child receives onlythree years schooling.

● Only 58% of teachers in thesecommunities are indigenous andmost of these have little or noteacher training.

● 91% of teachers do not havematerials in their pupils’ nativelanguage.

● Illiteracy is eight times above thenational average.

The harsh consequences of this are thatcommunities are losing their language andcultural identity and that children are not

receiving the quality of education theyneed to prepare them for their future.

FEISA is an Anglican early years teacher-training college with a vision to providehigh quality Christian teacher training inorder to develop in children their fullpotential and so provide them with hopeand a more secure future.

After a plea for help from an indigenouscommunity in 2005, FEISA began a pre-school teacher training programme withan emphasis on learning through play – arevolutionary concept for indigenousteachers who tend to use traditionalrote-learning methods. We soon realisedthat what these communities most lack istraining and resources, as the Paraguayangovernment provides little of either toindigenous teachers. We made sure thatall resources were appropriate to theindigenous context and producedworksheets to develop pre-writing skills,mathematics and literacy, all in theirnative language, Enxet. The aim of the

programme is to provide a holisticeducation to enable children to grow inall aspects of their development. At therequest of the community, who asked usto provide Christian education, we alsoproduced the first ever Bible materials forchildren in Enxet, based on the Creationstory.

This year we extended the programme tothe Enxet community of El Estriboworking with nine indigenous schoolstraining pre-school teachers andvolunteer mothers – 15 people in total.Along with the training, the schools areprovided with all the resources and alsofurniture they need – many children weresitting on planks of wood for lack oftables and chairs.

The response of the teachers andchildren has been encouraging andheartwarming. They say that this isexactly the training and resources theyhave needed for years, but no-one hasshown any interest in them before. Thechildren now rush to school in themorning, excited to play and learn, and donot want to leave when school finishes!The programme is enabling schools tostrengthen their native language andculture which is particularly important inschools that have non-indigenousteachers who cannot speak Enxet andrely on mothers to help and reinforce thelanguage.

We thank God for the generosity of manydonors that have made this projectpossible and continue to trust Him forthe funds we need to continue theproject next year. Over 200 indigenouschildren have benefited and many moreyoung lives can be transformed if we areable to extend this work to othercommunities.

PARAGUAY

In class with new resources. Photo:FEISA.

Article provided by: AndyRoberts, My Father’s House Project,Olinde, BRAZIL

Article provided by: SamanthaParsons, FEISA Teacher TrainingCollege, Asunción, PARAGUAY

My Father’s House is linked to the AnglicanChurch Living Waters which is situated onthe favela by the city rubbish dump.Growing up on the favela is difficult: if youhave a family they will probably send youto work picking through rubbish on theopen-air dump and the chances are you’llend up in the gangs taking and sellingdrugs.

The Bible says that the Devil comes tosteal, kill and destroy, and that is exactlywhat he is doing to these children’s livesand they in turn steal, kill and destroy.But there is hope. In John’s Gospel Jesus

says that ‘I have come so that you mighthave life’. It is only through the life-transforming power of the gospel ofChrist that will change these boys’ lives.My Father’s House project exists to doexactly that.

Your experiences during childhood shapeand mould the adult that you willbecome. It is imperative that we try andsave these children, both physically andspiritually before it’s too late. Wallacespent a year in our project; unfortunatelyit didn’t work out and he returned to thegangs of the favela. This has shown us

once more that providing a bed, food and

even love will not necessarily change a

child’s ways. It is the Lord and only He

who has the power to do that. This is our

continuing prayer to the 250 plus children

we have contact with daily through My

Father’s House project and Living Waters

Church.

9

opened to God’s awesome creation. ‘ElArca’ also provides a very naturalopportunity to share our Creator God’sStory with the children and parents.When the children have tidied theactivities away, a Bible story, prayer andenergetic worship rounds off the session.The children have the chance to learnthrough playing with toys that would nototherwise be available to them. With theaverage wage being $4-$6 a day, afterhousehold costs have been met, schooluniforms and all school resources havebeen bought, toys and books are anunaffordable luxury. Another goal of ‘El Arca’ is to buildchildren’s self-esteem. Many have low self-esteem as they are often told by teachersand classmates that their work is nogood. It is not unusual for family membersto refer to a child as ‘el burro’ (thedonkey). At ‘El Arca’ we encouragechildren in whatever they do, be it inbuilding a model car with Lego or inpainting a picture of a parrot. Everyone’scontribution is valued. Just as the animalsin Noah’s ark were each different andspecial, so each child is unique. Ariel is five years old. Although often in

trouble in the classroom for badbehaviour linked to his shortconcentration span, when he comes to ‘ElArca’ he enjoys painting. Ariel designedthe logo for the project and wasspeechless with joy the day he showedthe banner with his design on to hisparents. ‘El Arca’ is also blessing mothers,many of whom also have very low self-esteem. Through training them to leaddifferent activities in ‘El Arca’, giving themresponsibilities, praying together and lotsof praise, they too flourish. The project is currently running in theDiocesan school, Colegio SantísimaTrinidad and at a church mission, SanPatricio, on a sandy hillside on thenorthern tip of the city. 90-Our hope isthat through training volunteers ‘El Arca’will set sail to many more of the Church’smissions and that more children willcome to realise that they are loved asunique children of God.

PERU

‘El Arca’What do a paint brush, a model cow anda lego brick have in common? They canall be found at ‘El Arca’ (‘The Ark’), Lima,Peru. ‘El Arca’ is a mobile play scheme,run by the Diocese of Peru, taking ‘play’to some of Lima’s poorest children. The project works with children andvolunteers to help enrich both thechildren’s Christian and school education.Peru has a good record of primary schoolattendance (97% according to UNICEF),but unfortunately one of the worststandards of teaching in South America.A piece of work is considered good if ithas been copied correctly from theblackboard. The emphasis is on copying,repetition and presentation whilstcomprehension and analytical thinking arerarely developed. Through ‘El Arca’s’ different zones (art,reading, roleplay, miniature world, boardgames and jigsaws) we seek to givechildren a holistic education. “Mira,mira!” (Look, look!) shouts Miguelexcitedly to his sister as he looks at aphotograph of a crocodile opening itsenormous jaw. Through books andphotographs the children’s eyes are

Child's play at El Arca.

Article provided by: Sarah Tester,SAMS Mission Partner, IglesiaAnglicana Episcopal del Perú, Lima, PERU

10

CAIF “Los Granjeritos”We are a Centre for Holistic Service toChildren and Families (CAIF in Spanish),located in Canelones in Villa Felicidad.The Centre is run by the San PabloMission of the Anglican Church ofUruguay in an accord with the UruguayanState Institute for Children and YoungTeenagers (INAU in Spanish). We have120 children and their families on ourbooks.

The Centre grew out of a need and arequest from the community. From this,the San Pablo Mission undertook a studyto determine the needs of the communityand the services offered to it by the state,as a result of which the accord was signedin February 2008 as the first step towardsfulfilling the dream.

Our mission is to improve the conditionsfor development and social integration offamilies at risk, helping develop thepotential of the children and removingthe social limitations which militateagainst their future. We are one moretool of the Anglican Church of Uruguay,seeking promotion of human beings inevery way.

We endeavour to develop the skills of thecommunity through play, music andcreativity, looking to CAIF as a point ofcommunity reference and part of anetwork of social support. We want toimprove the coverage and quality of thesocial programmes for the poor bydeveloping innovative strategies and

methodologies to help children, womenand families. Our team includes fiveeducators, a psychomotor skills specialist,psychologist, social worker, cook andassistant.

The work is carried out via twoprogrammes: Opportunity forStimulation and Early YearsEducation. In the former, children undertwo years old gather once a weekaccompanied by their families. We workwith them using psychomotorstimulation, play and participation, toensure good motor, cognitive andemotional development. We also help theparents to realise their own position inthe family, develop their abilities and buildup confidence and self-esteem, so thatthey know their children better,understand child development and bringthem up more effectively. We create afavourable atmosphere for helping oneanother and broadening the socialsupport network.

Early Years Education is for childrenfrom two to three years old who attendfrom Monday to Friday. There are fourgroups and the aim is to build up theiridentity and self-esteem, thus promotingindependence alongside the formation ofattitudes and values to help them mixwith others. By stimulating language andcommunication skills as well asunderstanding of their own body, wedevelop and encourage early interactionwith the world around.

The Sower ProjectThis works to set up organic gardens onpeople’s own property, providing themwith seed, tools and technical advice. Weaim to create community associationswhich help in personal developmentthrough group processes. The primaryaim is for people to re-acquire the habitof producing in their gardens and homessome of the food they consume. Wehave been doing this now for two years,but in this past year we have given it freshimpetus, bringing in other practices fromwhich some of the families havebenefited.

In the Sower Project we’ve been workingwith the local primary school. 3Thanks tothe Church and the ‘Work for Uruguay’programme carried out through anagreement with the Ministry of SocialDevelopment, a vegetable garden hasbeen set up at the school. Here thechildren work with plants and learn torelate them to food and nutrition. Wehave supplied seed and advice, and by sodoing have formed links with familiesthrough the Church’s social partnerswho, as members of the parents’commission, work voluntarily in theschool.

In the school, the Church has heldcookery classes to teach the children thelink between production and feeding aswell as the wisdom of sowing edibleplants. It is also an effective way ofreaching the parents with the SowerProject.

Young disabled people work in the schooland the gardens. They come fromanother Church project, PANAMBÍ,which in agreement with the Montevideocity council and through variousworkshops, helps young people withslight learning difficulties to acquire theskills necessary to allow them to enterthe world of work.

In Villa Felicidad, these youngsters can putinto practice what they have learned.Thus by bringing projects together theycan be helped to realise something oftheir potential, learning through thepractical work they carry out in thegardens and improving these gardens atthe same time.

URUGUAY

Article provided by: AlejandroManzoni, San Pablo Mission,Anglican Church of Uruguay,Montevideo, URUGUAY

Early Years Education. Photo: CAIF.

11

Accelerating Girls’ Education Life is tough for girls in Papua NewGuinea, particularly in the Highlands.They are born into a day-long, life-longrole that includes child and family-care,working the food-garden, marketing,cooking and fetching water. As they growolder, the payment of ‘bride-price’ bytheir husband’s family often confirms theview that they are a paid-for ‘possession’and treated as such. Girls have much less chance of going toschool than their brothers. After all,when money for school fees is scarce,why invest in a child who will leave yourcommunity and join her husband’s? Evenwhen girls do start school, they are muchmore likely to have to drop out duringtheir primary school years. Theconsequences of girls not getting aneducation often means that their qualityof life, and that of their family, will belower than if they had had theopportunity to go to school. As aconsequence, literacy rates for Highlands’women are low (38%), and opportunitiesfor an alternative life or career are rare. Within the Anglican Church of PapuaNew Guinea (ACPNG), the AnglicanEducation Division is responsible for over200 primary schools in remote ruralareas. The Division is strongly promotingthe belief, not just that education for all isa basic human right, but that educatinggirls brings significant benefits to thefamily and the community and, more

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Accelerating Girls’ Education posters made by the girls . Photo: Della Rea.

widely, that educating girls will make amajor contribution to communitydevelopment in Papua New Guinea.In partnership with UNICEF, ACPNG isworking with local communities on anAccelerating Girls’ Education programme,based on its network of primary schools.In the rural areas, this project works withlocal leaders, teachers, parents andadolescent girls, initially involving them inrecognising and understanding theproblem and its consequences, thenseeking local solutions.Workshops for headteachers, parentsand local leaders help identify reasonswhy girls are less likely than theirbrothers to enrol, or stay in school.These include:

● Parents preferring to send boys toschool in the hope that a goodeducation will help them get a paidjob in the future, to provide futuresupport to the family in times ofneed.

● Parents fearing education will makegirls disrespectful of their eldersand fill their heads with ‘modern’ideas.

● Feeling girls’ education is wasted asthey will leave home upon marriage.

● Recognising that girls are morelikely than boys to be harassed andabused, both travelling to schooland sometimes in school, and thatthey can feel discouraged by

practical factors like the lack ofwater or good toilets.

● Long distances to school anddomestic demands make it hard forgirls to start or complete theireducation.

The workshops also help leaders,teachers and parents understand themany positive benefits of girls’ educationfor their local community including: pre-and post-natal care; educational supportat home for children; family health,hygiene and diet; HIV & AIDS protectionand care; reduced vulnerability todomestic abuse and violence; income-generation and a greater contribution tocommunity development. In turn, thisrecognition underpins an increased localcommitment to support and sustain girls’education and overcome local obstaclesto their inclusion.

The fruits of Accelerating Girls’ Education,augmented by women’s literacyprogrammes for those that missed out oneducation, are already apparent. Thisincludes the mould-breaking achievementof the three girls graduating from SimbaiVocational Training Centre with joineryand construction skills that are welcomedand valued in their local communities.

Contact Person: DennisKabekabe, Provincial EducationSecretary, Boroko, NCD, PAPUANEW GUINEA

The views of individual contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the International Anglican Family Network.

Vis it the Family Network website: www.iafn.net

PRAYER

Lord of nurture, help us to invest in children through

guidance and example in life and faith.

Lord of encouragement,help us to invest in children through

family love, protection andaffirmation.

Lord of growth,help us to invest in children through

food, rest, exercise and care ofhealth.

Lord of friendship,help us to invest in children through

time for meeting, sharing andrecreation.

Lord of the future,help us to invest in children through

schooling, trust and preparation.

In the name of the Child of Nazareth,

Jesus Christ: the Lord of all.

Amen

Revd John Bradford

THE NEXT FAMILY NETWORK

NEWSLETTER is to be on the theme of

Valuing our Elders

IAFN ADDRESSC/o Anglican Communion Office,

St Andrew’s House, 16 Tavistock Crescent,

Westbourne Park, London W11 1AP, ENGLAND

email: mail@iafn.netTel: +44 (0)7948 332697

International Anglican Family NetworkIAFN

In response to the terrible Sichuanearthquake, Hong Kong Sheng Kung HuiMing Hua Theological College is workingon a project to help children affected bysuch disasters. A workshop was set upfor social workers and mental healthprofessionals, led by a certified playtherapist. It aimed at enhancing theparticipants’ knowledge of children’spost-disaster reactions using first-handexperience from games and exerciseswith young people suffering post-traumatic stress. Research has shownthat children’s reactions to disastersappear to linger and persist and are likelyto cause much misery to them and theirfamilies. Some re-experience the eventsthrough recurrent thoughts or dreamsabout what happened, suffering intensedistress at cues or reminders of thetrauma. Others make great efforts toavoid thoughts or conversations aboutthe event; they can have diminishedinterest in normal activities and feeldetached or removed from other people.Difficulty sleeping or concentrating, aswell as depressive reactions, arecommon. Increased fears – in youngchildren fear of separation from parentsor loved ones – or fears of loud voices,

rocks and rainstorms, can also bemanifestations of natural disasters such asearthquakes and the aftershocks whichoften follow.For many of the Sichuan earthquakesurvivors, the psychological help and re-building of confidence has only just begun.Initially, efforts to restore children’s senseof personal safety and security areparamount. It is suggested that parents,teachers and mental health professionalsshould encourage children to expresstheir feelings. This can be done throughdiscussion, drawings and story telling.The workshop tells of school-basedtreatment in classroom groups andindividually. Play-therapy techniques areused and the leader demonstrated to theadults attending the workshop somegames and exercises which can helpchildren express their feelings and rebuildself-esteem. Her tools include playingcards, puppets, balls, empty margarinetubs, lotion samples and poker chips.One of the ‘lotion-games’ is called handmassage. The workshop participantswere asked to massage each other’s handby their thumbs rolling back and forthtowards the wrist, and simultaneouslypass the blessing to one another. A further game is to draw snow pictures(by blowing a small cup of rubber foam onthe table) and tell their freely-associatedstory. Then there is the ‘feeling wheelboard game’ which is played in a groupand encourages the expression of positiveand negative feelings. We were alsotaught to ‘draw a big tree’ by gentlyrubbing on each other’s back from thelower spine to shoulder. Such exerciseresembled the experience of burping atnursery stage. “You’re involving all the

child’s five senses,” says the workshopleader, “You create games or activitiesthat have a therapeutic purpose, andsuddenly you find them start weeping andtelling their feelings of loss.”

All the participants of the workshop hada wonderful and enjoyable learningexperience. The session was videotapedand the DVD will be donated to Non-Governmental Organisations or socialservice agencies which offer training ordirect help to the survivors of the Sichuanearthquake. Our hope and prayer is thatit will help many traumatised childrenrecover their childhood.

Feeling wheel board game.

HONG KONG

Article provided by: Tracy Yip,Director, Good Shepherd PastoralEducation Centre, Hong KongSheng Kung Hui Ming HuaTheological College, HONGKONG