HOTLINE - week of December 31, 2007

Children often symbolize the promise of the New Year. Church World Service prays for a peaceful, joyous, and just end to 2007 and looks to 2008 with faith and hope. Happy New Year!

Some 4,000 youngsters in four countries are finding hope for the future, with help from Church World Service and local partners: Boys and Girls of the Street Project (Brazil), United Children (Uruguay), Institute for Human Promotion (Nicaragua), and Project Caminante (Dominican Republic).

Children who live in poverty, live or work on the streets, have poor school attendance, or come from abusive or neglectful homes often have little education or job training, do not receive proper health care, are exposed to drugs and violence, are victims of rights violations, or suffer other types of exploitation. Vulnerable children are deprived of opportunities to grow or make decisions about their lives.

Through this CWS-supported project, youngsters are receiving health care, recreational opportunities in sports or the arts, counseling, emergency food assistance (when appropriate), and are taking part in after-school programs. The children's families are taking parenting and life-skills classes, and, when needed, children are placed in a shelter or foster home for protection.

Street children in Tanzania are receiving much-needed housing, education, and outreach through CWS local partner Mkombozi, helping some of the most vulnerable children "grow in mind, body, and spirit," according to Mkombozi staff.

Some 617 children received shelter, food, education, and healthcare over the past year through the CWS-supported program, and another 25 children were reunited with their families. A "transition house" was opened for girls in Arusha, a "mobile school" began operating on the streets of that city, and eleven boys moved to group housing in Moshi as part of their transition to independent living. In addition, 45 children received training in youth entrepreneurship and nineteen received loans to start up their own businesses.

Some 400 at-risk children are learning and growing with help from Church World Service and after-school programming at the Donkoi Children Development Center (DCDC) in Vientiane, Laos.

Laos is one of the least-developed countries in Southeast Asia, and vulnerable children there are at risk of exploitation, trafficking, or child labor, and suffer from illiteracy and a lack of life-skills or job prospects for their future. Combating these dangers, and helping the children become responsible and productive citizens into adulthood, is a goal of the CWS-supported DCDC.

The at-risk children are learning vocational arts such as weaving, gardening, basketmaking, carpentry, pottery, and other income-generating activities. Programming is working to educate, prepare, and sensitize the youngsters to social issues that impact their lives: child’s rights, child labor, trafficking of children, etc. And, the children are being exposed to the creative arts, literacy opportunities, and theatrical productions they might not otherwise have had access to.

Your prayers and support - and your participation in CROP WALKS and the TOOLS & BLANKETS Program - make possible these and other life sustaining programs. For information on how to get involved, please call your Church World Service/CROP Regional Office toll-free at 1-888-CWS-CROP, that's 1-888-297-2767.

For information about free loan videos, please call 1-800-297-1516, ext. 338, or e-mail us at: videos@churchworldservice.org.

Back to top