WHAT’SINSIDE 06 1 1

| ISSUE 4

vivanews

INFO@VIVA.ORGFACEBOOK.COM/VIVATOGETHERFORCHILDREN HK@VIVA.ORG

With support from the British government, discover why Viva and CRANE are helping girls get back to school

Find out how specialist training is protecting children at risk of being trafficked and exploited in Cambodia

04A big thank you to Team Viva who raised an amazing HK$107,000 by running the HK Standard Chartered

08We’re restoring safety to children in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan and rebuilding for the future

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To raise funds, simply set a small entry fee, hold a raffle, ask for donations or set up your own sponsorship page online! We would love to hear from you if you’d like to fundraise for Viva – and you can come to us for tips. Get in touch by emailing hk@viva.org

Additional photography courtesy of Family4th, and Defence images

All the children named in vivanews have had their names and photos changed in accordance with our Child Protection Policy

FUNDRAISING DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HARD! WHY NOT DO SOMETHING FUN WITH YOUR FRIENDS OR FAMILY, AND HELP VULNERABLE CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD AT THE SAME TIME? HERE ARE SOME IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED…

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Have some FUN!Craft night (make it, sell it)

Wine tasting evening (only for adults!)

Karaoke open-mic (solo or group)

Speed-dating (match made in heaven?)

ALL-AGE EventsCommunity treasure hunt (children love it!)

Talent show (pay to enter)

Summer sports day (family day out)

Pledge your birthday (Viva is all about life!)

Up for a CHALLENGE!Rice and beans challenge (google it)

Shave your head (dare to be different)

Extreme sports (rather you than me!)

Sponsored silence (shhhh!)

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Whichever way you look at it, hitting the big six-zero is a landmark. Some people choose to ignore it, collect their bus pass and get on with seeing out the rest of their days. Others choose to celebrate it. I belong to the latter group.

I’ve known Viva as a friend and board member for almost three years now, and love what it does in giving life to vulnerable children around the world. So, this time last year, for my 60th birthday, I decided to organise a life-giving celebration – a party with a purpose – to raise awareness and funds for Viva’s work in the Philippines.

It’s a place that has been close to my heart for over a quarter of a century.

I love the Filipino people, especially the children. They seem to be the happiest people on earth whilst living, in most cases, in desperate conditions. And the tireless work of Viva’s partner network, PCMN, helps protect children in situations of domestic labour, street gang violence and disaster. The party was a huge success – over 350 people turned up to wish me Happy Birthday, both my sons rocked up some groovy 60s tunes, and I was dressed in pink from head to toe! But, what’s more, we raised over HK$320,000 for Viva’s work with children at risk in the Philippines.

Little did I know then that the funds would prove to be even more critically needed than we thought.

In the six months following my birthday, church volunteers were trained to provide trauma counselling to children in emergency situations – something which has proved to be vital in Samar, one of the areas most badly hit when Typhoon Haiyan devastated the country last November. Find out more about PCMN’s disaster response in the article on pages 8 and 9.

And, as you’ll read in this vivanews, this is just one way in which Viva is helping to inspire lasting change in children’s lives across the world – including educating girls in Uganda (pages 6 and 7) and protecting children from sexual abuse in Cambodia (page 11). Thank you for being a part of it.

Blessings, John Snelgrove

LIFE DOES NOT STOP WHEN YOU TURN 60. IN FACT, I AM FORTUNATE TO FEEL MORE ALIVE NOW THAN EVER BEFORE!

EDITORIAL

John Snelgrove

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“My wife was puzzled for a long time why I signed up to run as I am not naturally a great self-motivated runner. But I did it all for the kids that Viva is helping,” said Sam Wong, recalling feeling rather nervous about how much he would have to train for the half-marathon (20.9km).

Months passed, and the day arrived. After running the first kilometre, Sam spotted two fellow Viva runners,

Matt Snelgrove and Christine Lilwall. The trio went on running together, with Sam and Christine finishing neck and neck at two hours 38 minutes.

Matt, a second time Viva runner, said, “It was a crazy week for me. My son was born on Monday, and here I was running on Sunday. I love Viva’s work so of course it was a no brainer that I am running in the half-marathon again.” When passing those who were slowing down, Matt cheered them on to keep going. “I love the atmosphere at the race, and we can bless Hong Kong along the way too!”

Cynthia Chan, who was taking the place in the 10k race of another Viva supporter who picked up an injury, was blown away by the generosity of friends and family. Only starting the

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WITH A CHOICE OF THREE DIFFERENT DISTANCES, 13 MEMBERS OF TEAM VIVA TOOK TO THE STREETS OF HONG KONG IN FEBRUARY FOR THE HK STANDARD CHARTERED RUN – AND RAISED AN AMAZING HK$107,000. HERE’S HOW THEY DID IT.

fundraising after she finished the race, she managed to raise over HK$10,000 in 48 hours. “I am grateful for the opportunity to run for Viva! It made the running more meaningful and it was fun to raise funds on Facebook to spread the word about Viva helping children at risk.”

We would like to thank the rest of the team: Andrew Li, Chris Niem, Joanna Um, Matthew Fredericks, Rebekah Tan, Rob Lilwall, Ron Tse, Roy White and Steve Farrer for their stellar running in support of Viva.

Inspired?Inspired? Want a new challenge? Join the Viva Team for February 2015! Please get in touch at hk@viva.org

Some of the team: Roy, Chris, Christine, Rob, Ron and Matt

Cynthia at the finish line

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What key messages help to protect children from exploitation? Which children are particularly vulnerable to being trafficked?

laws on protecting children from abuse and exploitation.

Pursat Province Governor commented, “Dear Brothers and Sisters; you are helping the government. You are not just about a religion but you are compassionate people, you come to give. I never heard about Christians who requested anything from the government. Please continue your job of caring and protecting children.”

These are just a few of the pressing questions that participants of the Viva Celebrating Children Course (CCC) in Kampong Thom, Cambodia have been grappling with.

After completing five modules, 40 adults including teachers, pastors and parents graduated from CCC, having been envisioned and empowered to better understand the needs of the 2,115 children they serve.

Participant teacher, Lima, commented, “After assignment two, I gave lessons to children and parents especially about child rights.”

Pastor Trin told Viva staff: “I liked the group discussion, research

assignment about children at risk in the community and the presentation, sharing knowledge and skills. I’ve learnt a lot about how to work with children which I’d never done before.”

Post-training, participants helped to organise an ‘International Children’s Day’, attended by children and adults in 39 churches across two provinces, as well as Provincial Governors.

The aim of the event was to share God’s heart for children, nurture unity and promote the government

Viva's partner networks in Cambodia are Kone Kmeng and the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia's Children's Department

We would love to say a big thank you to Viva’s StandOut supporters, who are helping to protect children at risk of being trafficked.

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Andy Dipper | Chief Executive

ONTHE

interaction. This has encouraged the girls to think for themselves, get involved in dialogue and grow in confidence.

Walking into one centre I saw that nearly half of the girls were holding babies.

It has been an exciting time for Viva and our partner network CRANE as together we have launched a landmark education project for 4,000 marginalised girls, supported by the British government’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Twenty Creative Learning Centres (CLCs) aim to get marginalised girls back into school by offering non-formal, innovative education in a wide range of subjects – with an emphasis on numeracy and literacy.

It was a privilege to meet the staff team who are buzzing with enthusiasm and dedication. They are out every day: sourcing materials, preparing teachers and relating to mentors who are supporting families.

Girls’ attitudes seem to have changed very quickly. In the past they were in classes of 100 children, with no resources and a teacher in an impossible position. CLCs have a ratio of one teacher for every ten girls so there is a lot more

These girls are automatically excluded from school the moment they are pregnant. We have to find a route to support girls like this so that they can continue their education, and ultimately provide for their children.

Whilst there is great enthusiasm to get the girls into the CLCs, the real challenge is getting the girls back into mainstream school – and then staying there. There’s also a need to change the attitudes of families and communities. Girls are made to stay at home and look after younger children, do chores and earn an income. We must raise the priority of girls’ education, so that the family isn’t forcing the girls to drop out. It’s about changing the girls’ own

attitude too. Having dropped out of school they’re really looking for a vocational skill that will lead to employment. It’s therefore hard for them to connect with, and believe in, full-time school because they’ve already had the experience of

dropping out once. Getting a balance between education and vocation is vital.

I met with officials from DFID who have a total of six Girls’ Education Challenge projects in Uganda, and asked them to engage directly with the Ministry of Education on our

behalf. The reality is that education isn’t free and that schools aren’t as good as they should be. We want to improve the quality of teaching. We want to demonstrate that more creative approaches and smaller classes are of massive benefit.

Our desire is that this project would just be the start – that by reproducing this model throughout the city and across the country, a generation of girls, and in turn their own children, will be educated, employed and looking forward to a future filled with hope.

‘Pass the bomb’, Scrabble and history quizcards: games are not a common sight in Ugandan classrooms but Brian Wilkinson visited Kampala to discover their value to a project which aims to get vulnerable girls back into school.

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Teachers are trained in candle-making so that they can pass on an income-generating skill to the girls.

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interaction. This has encouraged the girls to think for themselves, get involved in dialogue and grow in confidence.

Walking into one centre I saw that nearly half of the girls were holding babies.

It has been an exciting time for Viva and our partner network CRANE as together we have launched a landmark education project for 4,000 marginalised girls, supported by the British government’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Twenty Creative Learning Centres (CLCs) aim to get marginalised girls back into school by offering non-formal, innovative education in a wide range of subjects – with an emphasis on numeracy and literacy.

It was a privilege to meet the staff team who are buzzing with enthusiasm and dedication. They are out every day: sourcing materials, preparing teachers and relating to mentors who are supporting families.

Girls’ attitudes seem to have changed very quickly. In the past they were in classes of 100 children, with no resources and a teacher in an impossible position. CLCs have a ratio of one teacher for every ten girls so there is a lot more

These girls are automatically excluded from school the moment they are pregnant. We have to find a route to support girls like this so that they can continue their education, and ultimately provide for their children.

Whilst there is great enthusiasm to get the girls into the CLCs, the real challenge is getting the girls back into mainstream school – and then staying there. There’s also a need to change the attitudes of families and communities. Girls are made to stay at home and look after younger children, do chores and earn an income. We must raise the priority of girls’ education, so that the family isn’t forcing the girls to drop out. It’s about changing the girls’ own

attitude too. Having dropped out of school they’re really looking for a vocational skill that will lead to employment. It’s therefore hard for them to connect with, and believe in, full-time school because they’ve already had the experience of

dropping out once. Getting a balance between education and vocation is vital.

I met with officials from DFID who have a total of six Girls’ Education Challenge projects in Uganda, and asked them to engage directly with the Ministry of Education on our

behalf. The reality is that education isn’t free and that schools aren’t as good as they should be. We want to improve the quality of teaching. We want to demonstrate that more creative approaches and smaller classes are of massive benefit.

Our desire is that this project would just be the start – that by reproducing this model throughout the city and across the country, a generation of girls, and in turn their own children, will be educated, employed and looking forward to a future filled with hope.

Our desire is that this project would just be the start

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Restoring lives after

“I am crying seeing what happened to these people. My heart wants to burst. There is not a post of any house left standing. There is no electricity, no public transportation. Families are begging for food.”

A pastor in Samar province in the eastern Philippines described with emotion the immediate aftermath of one of the strongest typhoons in history, which swept across this country last November. Around 15 million people were affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which left 2.5 million people needing food aid, 700,000 homeless and killed over 6,000.

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In the days that followed the disaster on 8 November 2013, a number of large, international relief and aid agencies mobilised themselves to respond. Amongst them was Viva’s partner network, Philippine Children’s Ministries Network (PCMN) – a grassroots network with a strong track record of protecting children in the affected areas. PCMN was immediately invited by the government to assess the state of children in the region, with director Fe Foronda becoming a pivotal figure, linking decision-makers at a national level with local responders on the ground.

The hugely challenging circumstances galvanised local Christians into action. Within a month of the disaster, the three local networks in Samar united and gathered people from 42 local

churches to lead the response. With Viva’s support, a team delivered food, water and other essential supplies to 15,000 people in 2,500 households, plus rice seeds to farmers. A response team was trained to help displaced children, using UNICEF protocols. A locally-appropriate psychosocial support programme called Operation Safe, which promotes self-help, coping and resilience among affected children, was also launched.

PCMN is now active in 100 villages in Eastern Samar, the Philippines’ poorest region, reaching out to help 20,000 children and focusing on five key areas.

Children: providing safety, assisting schools, psychosocial support and individual care

Families: giving food, psychological and spiritual aid, livelihood referral and life-skills training, repairing homes

Schools: supporting teachers in child protection and disaster preparedness

Churches: equipping the Church to be first responders to disasters, strengthening the Church, uniting Christians

Governance: co-ordinating with councils and advocating for quality child protection policies

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prayfor those who

Pray for wisdom for project leaders and church pastors as they make decisions Pray for families to be re-strengthened and given what they need to rebuild again Pray for children to be protected and given hope again

“When everything has cleared and all the NGOs have left Samar, it is the Church and the local networks of believers, whom we want strengthened. They are the ones left behind to continue on the work to protect children. My desire is that the churches with whom we work will be in better shape after the typhoon response is finished.” Fe Foronda, PCMN Director

We’re so grateful to individuals, churches and trusts who gave generously in response the disaster. Your donations are making a tangible difference to PCMN’s work in Samar – thank you.

Thank you!

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Many different caregivers become involved in a child’s life.

On Sundays, for many children in the city of Kisumu in

western Kenya, that person is their children’s church worker.

Restless children and exasperated children’s church workers: a common sight across Kisumu just a few years ago. That was until Viva’s partner network Arise for Children (ARC) offered a fresh vision for children’s work in the city – one focused on envisioning children’s leaders, and helping church pastors to change their ministry priorities. Caregivers are now given the opportunity to go on retreat. This allows time and space to support each other, share creative ideas and new ways of working. As a result, workers have a

greater sense of fulfilment and lower levels of stress and burnout.

Before this change in attitude and action, it was common for all children at a church to be bunched together in one class irrespective of age or ability.

There are many positives from the programme. Parents are marvelling at the level of interaction between their children and the teachers. Caregivers are in a better position to relate to parents’ stressful situations and they have become sources of encouragement for each

A freshvision forcaregivers

other. Plus the whole community is learning about child development and positive parenting.

Before the caregivers training, Angeline used to become frustrated by children’s short attention spans. Her ministry is now focused and age-appropriate, and she says,“Teaching those little ones, who are so curious and spontaneous, is most fulfilling for me!”

Give a monthly donation of HK$220 or more to support Viva’s vital work with caregivers, and, as a small thank you, we will send you a free copy of both of Rob Lilwall's TV series on DVD, plus signed copies of Rob’s two books (Cycling Home From Siberia, and Walking Home From Mongolia). Sign up online at hk.viva.org/whocares

Rob Lilwall books and DVDs bundle offer

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WHOcar�s?

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‘Networking’ is a word that divides opinion. Some are almost evangelistic in their zeal to share its value while others feel jaded from the endless jaw‐jaw and perceived lack of real outcomes.

Viva was founded on a different premise: that by working together we achieve far more than we ever could on our own.

Our model of change encourages partner networks to share their lives and learning, expertise and insights – leveraging a level of collective action and innovation that would never be possible for a project working alone.

MARTIN THOMAS, VIVA’S HEAD OF MOBILISATION, SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ON AN ACTIVITY WHICH IS AT THE HEART OF OUR DNA.

Viva is all about...

As you can read more on pages 8 and 9, this was ably demonstrated in the way PCMN, our partner network in the Philippines, responded to Typhoon Haiyan.

The united response of churches and organisations based across the affected area was only realised through a network platform that has taken years of nurturing to build. The result? An immediate,

well‐coordinated and powerful local response with the capacity to continue for years to come.

Networking is inspiring when it focuses on collective action like this – and has the power to change lives.

1 2 3Be strategic in how, with whom and where you spend your time

Be intentional in your focus on the desired outcomes

Be relational in your approach, balancing the formal with the informal

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Martin’s three quick networking tips

This is an adapted version of an article which appeared in the March/April 2014 issue of Sorted magazine (sorted-magazine.com). Martin is writing a column on the theme of ‘Collective action’ in the magazine every two months, and we’ll be sharing these at blog.viva.org

WHO A breakout session at a Viva HK Child Protection training, where new relationships were formed through networking

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We believe that a network of churches and community organisations, locally focused and united in purpose, is the best possible vehicle for bringing lasting

change for children. Through 35 partner networks we are increasing the unity, quality and impact of work for children at risk, our joint action training 23,000

caregivers and changing the lives of over 987,000 children.

We are inspiring lasting change in children’s lives through the power of collective action because we have a vision to see children safe, well and fulfilling their God-given potential.

Viva, General PO Box 9053, Central, Hong Kong

Viva is an operating name of Viva Network (Hong Kong) Limited. Viva Network (Hong Kong) Limited is a company limited by guarantee and registered charity with company no.1657942, and registered in Hong Kong SAR at 21/F, Sunshine Plaza, 353 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.

Viva is all about life!

t: +852 9860 9766 e: hk@viva.org w: www.viva.org

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