Viva 2009 Review

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Viva Review 2009

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1.1 millionchildren reached through Viva

4,800 workers trained by Viva

226 projects received Viva’s QIS training 89 43 networks partnered with Viva

Jo Mitchell

Donor Relations Manager

Viva International Centre

In my jewellery box, amongst the string and milk bottle-top necklaces made by my children, and the anniversary necklace from my husband, is a faded friendship bracelet. It is a treasure to me, just like the other pieces.

I remember the day I was given it. I was a 21 year old student, and was listening to a lecture about the treatment of street children in the cities of Latin America. We were shown a slide of the very simple gravestone of a boy called Nahaman, which read ‘I wanted to be a child, but they wouldn’t let me’. Then we were given friendship bracelets made by former street children in a project in Brazil. That day I knew I wanted to do whatever I could to help ensure that other children in Nahaman’s position had a chance to experience the childhood that was stolen from him.

I haven’t been to Brazil. I haven’t met a street child or visited a project. I work in Viva’s Oxford office, writing materials for supporters and responding to gifts and enquiries – not really front line stuff. But that’s exactly the reason I’m writing this introduction: because all of us have a role to play.

There are two worlds of experience – one where children are healthy and happy, and one where each day is a struggle for survival – and the gap between them is a wide one. But if we stand together we can begin to close it. Some of us may be on the front line, some of us may be further away from it, but all of us are urgently needed. Coming together to make a difference is what Viva is all about, and you can see in the pages of this Review that it really does work!

Alongside the facts and figures you’ll also get a chance to see Viva’s work more intimately through the eyes of people involved in it. From Viva Latin America Director Alfredo Mora Rojas to India Network Consultant Gary Kamaal, there are people on every continent playing their part in the fight for children at risk.

I hope as you read you will be inspired to continue standing with us, or perhaps stand with us for the first time, as together we offer children the chance of a happier, healthier and brighter future.

Viva Review 2009

Children

Workers

Projects

Churches

Decision-makers

Families

Networks

Groups our networks were targeting:

Issues our Regional Centres were addressing:

In 2008/2009

countries involved in Viva prayer events

20%

25%

12%

2% 2% 3%

36%

0Africa Asia

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Latin America

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Viva Review 2009

Simon Laver

Chair of Viva Board of Trustees

Founder of Perrett-Laver

In the world of business it’s important to beat the competition. You’ve got to have the latest technology, the sharpest publicity, the strongest programmes, and the biggest events, making sure that people perceive your organisation as the best in the sector.

Viva are going against the grain. We not only openly acknowledge the good work of others in the NGO sector; we actively pursue relationships with them. In fact the very strength of what Viva are doing lies in the fact that it is not just us: there are many remarkable people working to help children at risk, and it is when we work together that we are strongest.

Viva have built working relationships with some of the world’s largest children’s charities and many of the smallest local children’s projects, bringing both ends of the spectrum together in more than 150 networks around the globe. Although we are now focussing our efforts on building stronger connections with 43 specific Partnership Networks, the fruit of which you will see throughout this Review, we still continue to support many others. By linking these amazing, but often invisible, local people with the world’s biggest agencies, Viva have found a unique model of intervention. It is no surprise, therefore, to hear global sector leaders express acute interest in this model which so powerfully unites those with a common aspiration of effectively engaging society, regardless of the size, scale, or financial position of their work.

Looking back over 2008/09 it is clear that Viva has seen real growth: our programmes are thriving, our publicity is engaging, the new website is excellent, and our events have drawn the crowds. However this yardstick of the competitive business world may not be the one by which Viva’s achievements are best measured. As I look forward I am convinced that it is Viva’s passion for partnership, and unwavering commitment to unity, that will drive our work for children at risk successfully into the future.

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Viva Review 2009

Patrick McDonald

Chief Executive

Viva

We can do so much more when we work together like this! It’s not just a tagline for Viva, it’s not just a nice theory: it really works. It could seem complicated, and it could seem like a long chain of organisations - the local church, the network, Viva, Global Angels. But to me it’s exciting that so many people have played a part in giving those 800 children a new lease of life. No one of those organisations could achieve as much without the input of the others.

I must confess that when I was seventeen I found myself quite overwhelmed by the scale of the need. There were people helping, of course, but it seemed so vast a problem, so impossible a task. Now, as I see those local people working together, combining their compassion, creativity, and tireless commitment, I no longer feel the bewilderment I felt as a teenager: now I feel excited about what is becoming possible.

I was only seventeen when I first witnessed the poverty and deprivation that plagues so much of Latin America. Earlier this year I was back there again, stepping off a plane into the warm Costa Rican breeze. Even though eighteen years have passed, I still saw the same thing: the amazing dedication of local people to the struggling children around them.

When parents from some of the poorest local communities were asked what they most needed, the reply was this: they simply longed for their children not to be hungry. It’s not a big request. It’s just about meeting the most basic of human needs. In Costa Rica our network is working to do just that. Four local churches have been running feeding centres, and through the network they have come together as ‘Project Maná’. In partnership with Viva, and with some funding from the Bedingfield family’s Global Angels charity, they are making it possible for 800 children to receive nutritious meals three times a week.

As I walked through these churches it was amazing to see so many smiling faces, so many children who have gone from being weak and malnourished to being lively, noisy, normal children. It was also fantastic to see such trust between the church and the community, as parents were seeing for themselves the tangible impact the network can make. One mother

said to me “I cannot even say how thankful I am! These people do more than just talk – this food is the difference between life and death for my children.”

But great though it is, Project Maná is actually trying hard to put itself out of business! Its real goal is to help get these children to a point where they don’t need the feeding centres. Why do children come to the feeding centres? Because they are hungry. So what can we do to prevent that hunger at the source? Project Maná offers a simple solution: as the children frequent the feeding centres it soon becomes

clear who is really struggling, and a staff member can then walk them home, learning more about their background and meeting their parents. As they get to know the family the staff can then connect them to other network members who can offer help with housing, medical care, debt counselling, or micro-finance opportunities.

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Nattakarn Noree

SANJAI Network Co-ordinator

Viva Asia

Training can be such a lifeless word. It makes us think of stuffy classrooms and boring manuals. It seems so far removed from the daily struggles of a vulnerable child. But the Viva Equip People training provides us with the knowledge and the skills to help put an end to those struggles, and what is more life-giving than that?

As a co-ordinator of the Sanjai network in Thailand I am so pleased to be running this Viva Equip People course. It has been run in more than 10 different networks around the world, and now we are able to learn from it also. Working with children can be so rewarding – watching a child who was hurt and damaged and lonely become free and happy is a great privilege. But it takes a lot of work to help that happen, and so much energy, understanding, and skill. Viva’s training is designed to help restore your energy, give you new understanding, and grow your skills – it makes that transformation of a child possible. So please let me share with you some of what we are learning from Viva with this course, and I know you will soon love training just as much as we do.

Module 1: Understanding the child in contextThis class gave us an overview of the course topics, reminding us that everything we were learning was best applied with an understanding of children in their individual contexts. Every child comes from different circumstances, and has different fears, hurts, and hopes, and every child will develop and grow in different ways. It was our job to take the principles we would learn in our training and use them in a personal way to love and care for each child.

Module 2: Key issues in listening to childrenThis was an amazing week- it was such a breakthrough for the class. In Thailand there is not much societal value placed on children, and adults do not tend to respect or even really consider their views. But this module fought against that, teaching us the importance of listening to children with love and respect. For some people this was the first time they truly realised that a child has just as much worth as an adult.

Module 3: Risk and resilienceThis session introduced us to the different ways a child might be ‘at risk’. It was eye-opening to see that it is not just things like poverty, abuse, hunger, or family breakdown, but actually there are very destructive emotional, psychological, and spiritual risks that children can be vulnerable to. However, it was also wonderful to learn about the natural resources that children have and the ways in which we can strengthen their inherent resilience to cope with difficult circumstances.

Module 4: Holistic work with childrenThere are many deep-rooted religious beliefs in Thailand about suffering, and a kind of cultural fatalism. Many people are apathetic towards children at risk, believing that their suffering is simply their fate and so it is pointless to try and help. This module really challenged those ideas, and reminded us that as Christians we must prioritise the needs of the most vulnerable - we cannot say we believe in God and then do nothing for the children He loves so deeply.

There are 20 staff and workers taking the classes, and although we are only halfway through the 8 modules it is clear to me that amazing changes are taking place in these wonderful and caring people. The children we work with have so many different needs, and now we are finally beginning to feel like we have the right skills to support them. All of the training work that Viva does may seem distant from the real action of helping children, but in fact it is the very thing which can help them the most.

Viva Equip People modules:1. Understanding the child in context2. Key issues in listening to

children3. Risk and resilience4. Holistic work with children5. Practical issues in working with children6. Child Protection and helping

traumatised children7. Development, evaluation, and monitoring of programmes

8. Self-development and staff development

SANJAI ThailandBased: BangkokWorks in: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and PattayaMember projects: 90

Viva Review 2009

Viva Review 2009

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At the meeting we talk about what their project is doing, and I get them to fill out a Contact Profile

form so we can see what needs they are targeting and which children they are reaching. These meetings are not always successful, but if the project is interested

in getting involved with us then they will come and

meet with other network members and we will go forward from there.

People often think that research is a boring job, but I love it! How can you connect people if you don’t

know where they are? This year the Viva Locate research has made great partnerships possible. Let me explain how...

Once I have a list of approximately 15 people or projects I will start to get in touch with them. This often takes a lot of time, and to begin with people can be suspicious of what I want. I have to explain to them exactly what a network is, and the ways in which we can benefit from working together. Then if they are interested I tell them I will come and meet with them in person.

This network meeting is my favourite part. All of the information so far is useful, but a simple directory by itself will not do the work. Now I have to envision people about the purpose of the research – working together. This meeting is the point at which the projects get inspired about the new knowledge and connections gained from Viva Locate, and what we can now accomplish together.

The Blossom Network, our partner in Hyderabad, began using the Viva Locate programme fairly recently. As they were doing their research they began to realise that although there was great work with children and families dealing with HIV/AIDS there was little provision for the many children who were orphaned as a result of the disease. This realisation led the network to focus their efforts on developing projects that could house and care for these orphans, and also on providing counselling for those left feeling traumatised and alone. This is why mapping is so important - the Blossom Network were capable of addressing the problem, especially with support from Viva, but if it had not been for the Locate programme then they never would have known that they needed to address it. It’s such a basic thing, but hundreds of children’s lives are changed every year because people have the right knowledge about where the needs and the responses really are.

The first part of Viva Locate is all about finding people. We need to know who is working with children at risk in a given area, what they are doing, and how. This can

take me anywhere between 10 days and a month, and it is as simple as searching the Internet, visiting

churches and other community bases, and talking to local contacts.

Gary Kamaal

Network Consultant

Viva India

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2

3

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Viva Review 2009

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Viva Locate has been used in 20 different cities around the world, meaning that hundreds of organisations who were previously unaware of one another are now able to work together.

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Viva Review 2009Viva Review 2009

Alfredo Mora Rojas

Regional Director

Viva Latin America

There are more than 40 million children like my Carolina in Latin America: children who have been orphaned, abandoned, or born to families who simply cannot provide for their needs. So we have to say to ourselves: what can the Church do? We cannot just sit by and watch this problem as if it has nothing to do with us. So what is our part? And for us in Latin America, the answer to this question is Casa Viva!

Casa Viva is a fostering programme which works with local churches to find and support families who can take a child into their home. Casa Viva provides each family with training so they can know how to care for their new child, and, vitally, the whole church commits to help the family and the child. This means that instead of an orphanage where they are just another mouth to feed, children are surrounded by the love and support of the Christian community and are able to truly belong to a family.

So what is my role to play? I too am part of the Church. What is my answer to the problem? Well, for my family we decided it was right to join the Casa Viva programme. So back in 2006 that is what we did. My wife and I and our three children Josè Pablo (23), Daniella (20) and Andrea (13) were all together receiving the training to begin to foster a child, when there was an emergency call. A small baby, just six days old, was in the hospital all alone – her parents could not care for her and a family was needed to take her in. Initially it was supposed to be for just six months, and then it became a year. But soon it was clear that Carolina’s parents would never be able to help her and bring her up, and so we were able to officially adopt her and make her a part of our family forever. God has truly blessed us with this wonderful daughter!

There are still many children who need to be loved like Carolina, who need to know what it is like to belong to somebody. Through Casa Viva they can have this chance. We are currently training 40 new churches to become part of this initiative, and the model has been so successful that it has been given government funding for use in Bolivia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru.

Casa Viva is changing children’s lives in such a permanent way – through offering them the love and stability of a family they have a new freedom to grow emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and physically. Casa Viva is not simply a foster programme: it is an entryway for children to a future filled with possibility.

Carolina was born to a mother struggling desperately with a drug addiction. There seemed to be little hope for her future. But now things are different. Now she is happy, she is healthy, she is loved. Now she is mine.

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“Carolina is laughing every day, she is so

chaotic and so active – she is like some kind

of tropical earthquake! Without Casa Viva

she would not have become this happy and

amazing little girl.”

6665.7656261.361cm60cm

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Viva Review 2009Viva Review 2009Viva Review 2009

Thank you to Sterling Greenaways who have very generously printed this Annual Review at no cost to Viva.

On June 28th 2009 over 80 people took part in Viva’s summer fundraising event ‘It’s A Knockout’. Oxford’s South Park erupted in colourful chaos as teams went head to head on this inflatable adventure and together raised over £15,000 for children at risk in South Africa and the Dominican Republic.

IT’SAKNOCKOUT!

Viva Patron:

In June 2009 Viva appointed Stephen

Gaukroger, Director of Clarion Trust

International and Chairman of the Spring

Harvest Charitable Trust, as

Patron. Stephen

says: “I am committed to seein

g the Church unite

to bring about real and significant change in our

world, and Viva have their finger ri

ght on the pulse

of that call to quality and unity in the efforts fo

r

children at risk.”

QIS: Quality Improvement

SystemViva’s QIS training is currently being

implemented in 11 different networks around

the world. In total there are now 226 projects

that have undergone the training and 13 of

them have received a Viva Quality Mark.

This demonstrates that the quality of care

they offer meets international standards

of best practice, and it also demonstrates

their commitment to ongoing growth and

accountability.

UKViva’s International Centre

(Oxford, England) supports the

Regional Centres by raising

awareness and resources,

developing programmes,

brokering partnerships, and co-

ordinating international events

(see page 18). 21 staff members

work in the IC.

Denmark

As of June 2009 the

Danish team have been

more officially recognised with the

formal launch of Viva Denmark. Their

focus is on sending volunteers out to

the networks and projects, running

awareness events, and fundraising. 8

people work in the Danish office

Africa4 Viva staff8 Partnership NetworksMain focus:*Quality improvement (QIS, see page 22 )

*Advocacy (Hear the Child, see page 23)

*HIV/AIDS awareness (Let Your Light

Shine)

Latin America17 Viva staff

26 Partnership Networks

Main focus:

*Street children (Early Encounter)

*Church-based foster care (Casa

Viva, see page 12)

*Feeding centres (Project Mana, see

page 6)

North America

Viva has had a presence in North

America for several years through

our US Board of Trustees, but we now

have our first full-time staff member.

The North America office (Seattle,

Washington) is now run by Paul

Kennel, and together w

ith the Board

he raises awareness and resources

and facilitates intern

ational

events. (See page 20)

Viva has had an

online makeover

- check out our

new website at

www.viva.org

India5 Viva staff

2 Partnership Networks

Main focus:

*Network building (Viva Connect)

*Mapping (Viva Locate, see page 10)

*Combating exploitation (Girl

Child)

Asia2 Viva staff7 Partnership NetworksMain focus:*Preventing trafficking (Daughter

Project, see page 16)*Training workers (Viva Equip

People, see page 8) * Combating exploitation (Girl

Child)

Although our Regional Centre in India

is relatively new the work there is

developing rapidly. In recognition of

this our Regional Director of Viva India,

Shantanu Dutta, was presented with the

India Mission

Association’s award for

Innovative Entrepreneur of 2009.

Viva Review 2009

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Dhan Raj Ghimire

CAR-NET Network Co-ordinator

Viva Asia

Two heads are better than one – I remember being taught this as a child. It is just simple logic. We know that success is found in relationship, in partnership, in the sharing of skills and responsibilities. But now I have been able to actually see this logic come to life, and watch what it can accomplish with my own eyes.

Child sexual exploitation is a growing issue in Nepal, but in 2007 we could find only five churches engaging with this problem. Now there are over 70. Through our network here a group of churches have come together as the Daughter Project, and committed themselves to raising awareness of child trafficking issues and training people to stop exploitation in their own communities.

Nepal has a lot of unprotected border areas, particularly in the south on the open border with India. This is a prime area for traffickers to take children across and put them to work in brothels and bars. Some of the most impoverished areas are also along the borders, meaning that there is a much greater risk of children being sold in order to help provide for their families. So as a network we identified the nine areas of highest risk along the Nepalese-Indian border and began to focus our efforts on engaging the churches there. Now, nearly three years on, those churches have grasped hold of the vision with both hands and the Daughter Project is growing all the time.

Viva has been a great support to us as we have worked with the churches to develop the Daughter Project resources: they introduced us to the relevant training materials and helped us compile our Daughter Tool Kit, and they were also able to offer some financial assistance. But actually the vital part that Viva has played is much more subtle than any of these things. It is the gift of networking that we thank them for the most.

Viva Review 2009

CAR-NET NepalBased: KathmanduWorks in: Kathmandu Valley, 9 Indian border regionsMember projects: 15

Working together is contagious! Viva gave us the networking bug, and we are now passing it on to others. And just as they have supported us and helped us to see what working together can really do, so we now support and train others in this way. Just like a ripple in a pond, unity grows and moves and reaches out to children all over the world.

The Daughter Project has been successful in large part because there is a whole group of people all committed to working together on the same issue. There are so many weak points across the borders, and so many channels through which children can be bought and sold, that one organisation alone would struggle to make a real impact. But over 5,000 different adults and children spread out across 70 churches in 9 communities – that’s a different story. And the Daughter Project has not only educated those people, but it has given them the tools to begin educating others.

So now we have Viva, we have our network here, and we have this second small network of churches – see how it is growing? Just think about the knowledge, the resources, and the contacts that are shared within all of those groups. The idea that two heads are better than one is not just logical – it’s exciting, it’s powerful, and it’s changing children’s lives across Nepal.

Weekend of Prayer event in June “the kids were amazing. They prayed for God to provide shelter for all the homeless children around the world. And then guess what? Only a day later we got a call from a military colonel offering us a gift of 8 plots of land for our orphanage in Kaduna! We had just been renting a small shelter, and now we can grow our work so much. The children they are so happy and thankful to God for this answer to their prayers, and now they see that God does care about their lives and their futures.”

Improving impact: Solomon’s story is not the only one of its kind – all over the world prayers are being answered and we are seeing lives changed. I recently received an e-mail from Julia Santos, a member of Viva’s partner network in El Salvador, who said “Some of the local leaders had been so difficult and did not want joint events for children because they think that we are just looking for money. But when they saw the prayer events that we held, and saw that so many children and adults were coming together not to get something but in fact to think of others and pray for them, it changed their minds completely! Now we have some very strong relationships with the local authorities. This opens up such a new world of opportunities for what we can do for the children of our area.”

Many people have prayed with Viva over the course of the year, and whether they got involved through our prayer diary, World Weekend of Prayer events, the Abundant Life booklet, prayer e-mails, or the prayer pages on our website, one thing is clear: prayer and action go hand in hand. Prayer is one of the most universal, unifying, and powerful parts of Viva’s work, and it has been a privilege this year to see it continuing to influence and bring transformation to the communities where children live.

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I believe that prayer is as vital to the changing of children’s lives as any feeding centres, foster programmes, or training courses. I believe that prayer is powerful. I believe that we pray to a God who listens, who cares, and who answers. This is why I get out of bed in the morning and look forward to doing my job.

When we talk about Viva’s work we say that we are an international charity focused on developing the quality, unity, and ultimately the impact of organisations and projects as they serve children at risk. Our prayers are no different. In fact prayer has played an amazing part in helping to fulfil those goals this year.

Operating internationally: Our World Weekend of Prayer involves more than 3 million people across 89 countries, with growing numbers every year: that makes it one of the biggest children at risk events in the world. All those people, separated though they are by distance, language, and custom, are prepared to unite to change the lives of vulnerable children. Semiyanti Adik, a local church pastor in Indonesia, spoke to me enthusiastically about the weekend: “Knowing that there were all those others praying, some of them at the exact same moment as us, was so encouraging. And you [Viva] have given us these ideas and prayer resources in our own Bahasa, and I know you have translated them also into Swahili, Bengali, German, Chinese, French, and so now many of us around the world can really pray together – each in our own language, in our own country, in our own way, but each to the same powerful God.”

Serving children: Our reports show that over 1.6 million children were involved with various Viva prayer events this year, praying for their own situations and countries and also for other children across the globe. Solomon Tarfa, from the Du Merci Children’s Development Ministry in Nigeria, told us that when they held their World

Chrissie Wilkinson

Prayer Mobiliser

Viva International Centre

Viva Review 2009

Cutting Edge really is exactly what the name suggests: it’s on the pulse of our changing world. It’s a chance for key leaders, and others with decision-making power, to come together and spark off new ideas, devise fresh strategies, and inspire innovative solutions to fight the problems that are faced by children at risk.

When it comes to working with developing communities we can only move forward if we learn how to empower people to care for children in their own circumstances. The Cutting Edge conference gave us an opportunity to hear from those who are out there doing just that. It ran for five days, with both whole group meetings and smaller workshops, and also some time allocated to simply networking and building relationships and contacts. The leaders who conducted the workshops and seminars are experts in their field, not simply from years of study but from years of hard experience. Hearing their stories, and knowing they were living out what they were sharing, really brought the sessions alive.

I’ve been working with vulnerable children and youth for 12 years now, most recently in a very poor immigrant community in California. There are people who care for the kids, but there is such a lack of resources, and a lack of power to effect change. When we talked to local families about what they felt was needed, the overwhelming response was that people felt the real power lay in partnership – bringing schools and churches and youth projects together to make a difference for the whole community. A few years ago we wouldn’t have known how to even begin this task. Now thanks to Viva we have a clear framework to make it happen, and events like Cutting Edge allow that knowledge to be passed straight to us by the people who have actually lived and worked it out.

However, it’s not just a passive thing – Cutting Edge helps to bring together the worldwide community of people caring for children at risk in a mutually beneficial way. It’s an amazing meeting of minds, and of hearts, as some of the most influential, essential, and passionate people on the global development scene join forces to see transformation brought to the lives of vulnerable children around the world.

There were over 350 delegates at the conference, representing 160 global organisations, and yet still there was an incredible unity of purpose - like an enormous invisible network undergirding all the sessions. Out of all the things I have taken away from Cutting Edge it is the sense of real community amongst those leaders, and their combined determination to radically change children’s lives, that has stayed with me the most.

The group that met at Cutting Edge 2008 are all Christians, and it was - and still is - exciting to see that faith leading to action in people’s work with children at risk. However, we recognised a clear need for quality in that work, a need for us to be both faithful and professional.

So together we drew up a pledge and a quality charter which organisations, churches, projects, and individuals could sign up to. To

see the Pledge and the Quality Charter please visit www.viva.org/cuttingedge.aspx

Event: International Cutting Edge ConferenceAttendees: Leaders and decision-makers working with children at riskDate:12th - 17th July 2008Location: Wheaton College, Illinois, USA

Toni Walker

Assistant Dean at Fuller

Theological Seminary

Viva US Trustee

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Viva Review 2009

Enoch Kitenda

IT Manager

Viva Africa

As you might expect, my job involves spending a lot of time in front of the computer. What you might not expect is that it’s actually one of the most inspiring places to be! Although my corner of the office is very quiet, my computer is alive and buzzing with the voices of thousands of people from all over the nation. If you want to know what Viva is doing for children at risk in Africa, my desk is one of the best places to sit.

We work with 8 Partnership Networks across the continent, supporting approximately 400 projects, and in spite of the difficult financial situations some wonderful programmes are being developed. Not a day goes by when I don’t get an e-mail, a Facebook message, a photograph, or a phone call updating me on the successes and challenges of those new initiatives.

One of the people I hear from the most is Dee Moskoff, the co-ordinator of our South Africa network Connect. I get a Skype message from her almost every week at the moment, as they are just about to start a cycle of Viva’s Quality Improvement System training. This training helps projects improve the quality of their care, educating and assessing them in areas such as child protection, staff care, and financial accountability. Dee is very positive about the way the training will underpin the activities of the network: “Connect is really growing, and the programmes we’re working on with the projects have incredible potential. But in order for us to be truly successful together, we must also be strong individually. When we rescue children from life on the streets, or from abuse, or orphan hood, we are trying to offer them a better life. But the sad truth is that, despite best intentions, sometimes the care in the projects can fall short of this - the needs are just so immense. If people’s love for and commitment to the children is one side of the coin, then QIS is the other side. It takes both passion and practicality to give children a genuine hope for the future.”

The internet and phone lines in Zimbabwe are not very reliable, so I sometimes go awhile without hearing from the network there. But when I do the e-mails are usually brimming over with stories and news, and the most recent update is no different.

Amongst other things, it tells the story of a 14 year old girl called Grace. The economic situation in Zimbabwe means that Grace, like other kids

her age, has been missing out on her education due to teacher strikes and school closures. But in Harare the network has been providing bridging schools, run through 9 different churches, to fill in the gaps for more than 900 children whose education has been disrupted. Grace is one of these children, and she says: “School is very important to me - I know that it will help me so much in my life. I was worried because of so much trouble here that I could not take my examinations. But now I am so happy! Thank you to the network for these schools, for now I have done my examinations and I have passed them! This helps me, and my family, so much.”

Alongside my work at Viva I also provide IT support for CRANE, one of our networks in Uganda, and so I communicate regularly with them also. Recently I had a phone call from Faith Kembabazi, a partnership staff member who works for both Viva and CRANE, and she was so enthusiastic about their new advocacy initiative Hear the Child. “Children

do not have a voice here” she said to me, “We must make sure that they are better protected and better heard, and that is not the job of one project alone but the job of many projects together. This is where the strength of the network is seen – there is power in numbers, and there is strength in many voices. We have real potential here to change our country!” Through Hear the Child, local projects will be able to jointly campaign for changes in the law, helping to keep children safe and make

sure that their rights are properly upheld. The programme is also focused on helping some of the most marginalised groups

of children, usually those who are disabled or HIV+, to gain access to education and health care.

In many of these programmes, and others that I have not had time to mention, Viva’s work is behind the scenes - we provide the ongoing

support, training, and guidance that enables the networks to carry out these initiatives. It could be easy for me to lose sight of the big

picture, and to question the importance of my role in it all. But just because something isn’t visible, doesn’t mean that it

isn’t valuable. Each person’s part to play is different, but every part is important. And that’s the good thing

about sitting behind my computer: every day I am reminded of the amazing things we can

do when we work together, and every day I see and hear how our united

action is changing children’s lives.

Viva’s relationship with Toybox remains strong, and throughout this last year they have continued to partner with our Latin American networks to transform the lives of street children across the continent. The Early Encounter initiative – a preventative programme which encounters children freshly arrived to the street and provides them

with care options before they become long-term street dwellers – is growing from strength to strength. The model has been much acclaimed by academics, government officials, and leading practitioners, and it looks likely to scale even further throughout the next twelve months. Toybox’s Chief Executive, Andy Stockbridge, says: “We believe collective action is one of the most effective and efficient ways of meeting the needs of street children. Working in the urban centres where so many children are forced to grow up requires a broad range of skills which no one organisation can easily develop, which is precisely why we value our relationship with Viva. We are inspired by their professionalism and their unswerving commitment to working together. We believe that the partnership is God-given, and that it holds real potential for helping the many children that find themselves forced to live in desperate situations.”

Partnership can involve many different things: sharing skills and expertise, utilising mutual contacts and communication channels, or pooling resources and offering funding. Viva work with more than 8,000 indigenous projects and international organisations, and here are a few examples of how we have partnered with some of those people this year.

For almost 60 years World Vision has worked with vulnerable children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. “That journey has inevitably meant constant exploration of the best ways to engage in each local context” says World

Vision’s Urban and Civil Society Specialist David Kupp. “Our passion is to make the best contribution we can to the well-being of children within families and communities, and we understand that this means working effectively with local partners. For this to happen we need to equip our local staff to focus more on facilitating and building those partnerships, and to help us with this shift we wanted input from other organisations with networking experience. That led us to Viva.”

Staff from Viva’s International Centre spent two weeks training relevant World Vision workers in both Asia and Turkey, with a series of sessions called ‘Learning for Partnering’.

“There are few organisations that have Viva’s breadth of experience in local-level partnering or their ability to draw community organisations together. I know that their expertise will continue to be of great value to World Vision as we press forward in our work.”

United Christian Broadcasters reach thousands of people every week through their radio and television channels, websites, Facebook pages, podcasts, txt messages, and e-mails. One of their most recent initiatives is UCB Aid, a platform

from which to organise the humanitarian endeavours that UCB itself is involved with and also unite and promote other key aid and development agencies. Viva is one of 12 organisations to be part of UCB Aid, and it is an amazing opportunity to raise awareness of Viva’s work. It is also a partnership that helps to fulfil the wider goals of UCB, as Carl Brettle, Executive Director of UCB Ministry, reflects: “Our mission statement is ‘changing lives for good’, and our partnership with Viva will be helping us to accomplish that goal. The message they bring will change lives not only in the developing world but also in our own nation, as people are encouraged towards unity and relationship, and towards living in a way that prioritises the needs of others.”

UNITED CHRISTIAN BROADCASTERS

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Viva Review 2009

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Viva Review 2009

Viva Review 2008

Financial year April 2008 to March 2009

Thanks to the generosity of Viva’s supporters and partners, we have again seen a rise in our income. This has enabled us to carry out the breadth of work you have read about in this review. Thank you!

Audited accounts are available on the website www.viva.org or by request at enquiries@viva.org

Income

Designated funds channelled through Viva

£175,065

Total: £3,221,231 2007-08 £1,772,891

Gift Aid £27,035Fees for Viva events and

products £221,934

General donations UK & US £428,763

Grants £521,939

Exchange rate differences £82,842

Income raised by Regions £1,763,653

Expenditure

Total: £3,194,2832007-08 £1,763,015

Raising funds £133,789Building International Partnerships £229,584

Raising prayer and awareness £127,447

Designated funds channelled through Viva £156,047

Regional programme - Africa £282,526

Regional programme - India £74,411

International programme £308,300

Regional programme - Latin America £1,788,778

Regional programme - Asia £93,401

Children are suffering. We all know that.Thousands of people are working to help them. We all know that too.

Yet the problem persists. Children go on suffering. All over the world projects are doing great work, but they are often

working in isolation, struggling to find enough money, people, and time.

But what if people caring for children at risk worked together?What if we shared our skills, our contacts, our knowledge, and our ideas?

We could actively tackle the issues children face, not just reacting to the need but looking for long-term solutions to the problems.

At Viva we are doing just that. We are working with more than 8,000 projects through 43 Christian networks

to develop their quality, unity, and impact, bringing them together to offer the best possible care to over 1 million children around the world.

Together we can give more children the chance of a happier, healthier, and brighter future.

Will you join us?

Viva, Unit 8, The Gallery, 54 Marston Street, Oxford, OX4 1LF, UK t: +44(0)1865 811660 e: enquiries@viva.org w: www.viva.org

We would like to thank Sterling Greenaways for so generously printing this document at no cost to Viva, and we would also like to thank Chris Matthews for the wonderful design work

Viva is an operating name of Viva Network. Viva Network is a company limited by guarantee no. 3162776,registered charity no.1053389, and registered in England at Unit 8, The Gallery, 54 Marston Street, Oxford, OX4 1LF, UK