Mohamed Nabieu, HCW's Assistant Director for Mission Advancement and Partner Church Lead, contributed to a webinar hosted by Significant Matters to discuss how the American church can care for orphans and vulnerable children as they are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tom Bassford, President of Significant Matters and creator of SATtalks, facilitated the conversation between global practitioners on how American Christians can do better in living out their biblical call to care for orphans and vulnerable children in the wake of COVID-19. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, the economic impact, coupled with lack of access to essential social and medical services, will test the capacity of vulnerable families to care for their children. There is a great risk of many more children being placed in a care system that is not able to meet their needs and rights. Ultimately the number of children at risk of separation for their family is likely to increase and the American Church is well suited to respond. ​ Participating organizations: Significant Matters: https://significantmatters.com/ Faith to Action: https://www.faithtoaction.org/ The Better Care Network: https://bettercarenetwork.org/ Helping Children Worldwide: https://helpingchildrenworldwide.org Overlake Christian Church: https://occ.org/
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The Child Reintegration Centre has launched its initiative to rescue street children, collaborating with local organization Street Child UK, which estimates there are as many as 6,500 children living on the streets of Bo. These children may have escaped violence in the home, or they may have been abandoned by parents who are too poor to provide for them. They are in desperate need of shelter, food, education, and a family to love them. This is the case with Momodu and Momoh, brothers identified by Street Child and rescued by the CRC. Momodu, 14 and Momoh, 12, are from a family of 10 children, of whom four died. The family, originally from a village near Bo, began to fall apart when their mother fled the abuse of her alcoholic husband. She took her daughter, but left the five boys to fend for themselves. Momodu soon ran away, landing on the streets of Bo. He survived by begging for empty cartons from shop owners, which he sold to market women for a few cents. Sometimes he sold metal scraps that he gathered from garages. Eventually Momodu tired of the rough street life and returned to his village, but the home situation had not changed. His father gave him and his brother Momoh a little money to travel to their auntie's home in Bo, where two of their brothers had gone to escape the turmoil of their home. Sadly, their aunt also turned them away because she had no room for them. Alone and abandoned, Momodu and Momoh had nowhere to turn but the street. They washed dishes for a woman who sold food at night. In payment, she gave them a little food and money. They slept in market stalls, where they were discovered by Street Child UK, who referred them to the CRC. The CRC staff brought the brothers into the interim home, took them to Mercy Hospital for testing, and began counseling. The CRC is tracing their family to identify a safe home for them. They want to go back to school, but for the time being, they are so happy to be at the CRC. |
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March 2024
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