Protecting our Children

“Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear the fabric of our society and weaken our nation.” Nelson Mandela

“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

Each year since 1997, May 31st to June 7th has been designated as “National Child Protection Week” across South Africa. This is a week dedicated to raising awareness of the rights of children. As an organization that cares for all children, Living Hope encourages everyone to wear a green ribbon all this week to show support for the promotion of the rights, care, and protection of children. The Green Ribbon, which was adopted by National Child Protection Committee in 2004; is a symbol of Child Protection, Life, Growth, Hope, Care, Support, and Commitment.

The colour green signifies life and growth, and wearing the ribbon this week shows your support for the initiative. The Green Ribbon also informs victims and survivors of abuse that we are united in their support. It further emphasises the importance of partnership to address child abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Below are some pictures from this week and some ways you can get involved:

Living Hope hosted a Child Protection Event attended by 34 practitioners and 9 outside stakehold entities specifically from SAPS, Community Cohesion, Imfuneko, Intervisionary, Ukhanyo Primary & EE3. We want to extend a word of thanks to everyone that came and to our speaker Marion Thomas (DOH False Bay Hospital) for such an insightful and engaging presentation into how we can all advocate for children’s rights in every area we interact with them.

Our after-school club in action with an object lesson

Kids receiving their green ribbon yesterday in the Eastern Cape.

Unfortunately, this week also highlights some very sad realities in our area. Each day from October 2022 to December 2022, 3 children per day were murdered in the Western Cape. We hope that this devastating fact doesn’t just depress you, but rather prompts you to action. We want to draw your attention to the HOPE that Living Hope provides every day by networking, promoting coordination and referrals among service providers, improving utilization and access of services to children, and increasing awareness of available resources.

Protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse is not only a basic Christian value but also an obligation of all persons clearly set out in Article 28 of the South African Constitution. Living Hope abides by these Biblical and constitutional principles and seeks to help our community to build protective networks and capabilities through all of the following ways:

• Access to Social Security Services & Grants
• Antenatal Support Groups
• Book sharing
• Early Intervention for Child Drug users
• Family Counselling & Interventions
• Family Support Groups for Substance Abuse
• Grief & Loss Support Groups for children
• Mom & Baby Birth-6 months Support Groups
• Mom & Baby 6-24 months Support Groups
• Parenting Skills program
• Afternoon Children’s Clubs
• Afternoon Teen’s Clubs
• Holiday Clubs
• Life Skills in Primary schools
• Life Skills in Highschools
• Life Skills in Pre-schools

We hope that you are encouraged to do something this week to protect the children in your life. Wear green. Make a donation to a local organization that promotes child well-being. Share your donation on social media and challenge your friends to do the same.

See below for ways you can pray and give towards our children’s programmes: