“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” — Jeremiah 33:3, NIV

One night, alone in a field, our president and CEO cried out on behalf of children around the world, and God answered.

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Fancy is a beautiful Ugandan girl. Looking at her, you might think that her life has been as beautiful. But behind that beautiful face is a childhood she would rather forget. Fancy was born in a home of more than 14 children. And the number kept increasing as the father brought new siblings home.

Beautiful Fancy grew up with no mother because her parents had separated. It was tough growing up with just her father because he did not understand what it meant to love and care for a child.

At a very early age, Fancy and her stepsister were sent to boarding school. As a preschooler, she had to wash her own clothes and did not have someone to lean on.

Then for a time, her father took them to a day school and they lived with their Aunt Jane (not her real name). Both children dreaded Jane because she had a bad temper.

One day Fancy was sick and vomiting. Jane was furious. She pinched Fancy hard. Fancy also did not like porridge mixed with milk and every time she ate it, she vomited. But every time she vomited, she received a beating. These beatings occurred on a daily basis because they ate that kind of porridge every day.

Fancy says that she did not understand why her aunt treated her badly and this mistreatment planted pain and anger in her heart.

The girls used to hire a motorcycle to go to their school. One day, Fancy’s sister accidentally put her leg in the pedals of the motorcycle and was injured. Jane was furious. Aunt Jane took Fancy’s sister to the hospital and later gave her a beating.

That night, Jane decided that the children would start walking the 8 kilometers [about 5 miles] to school instead of using a motorcycle.

After one term at the day school, Fancy and her stepsister were taken to a boarding school where their other five siblings studied. Life at the boarding school was better than life at Jane’s home, but the children hardly had enough to eat at school.

For a term lasting four months, all seven children would share one box of biscuits (150 small packets), and 2kgs of sugar. Holidays were not any better.

One day while the children were home from boarding school, some snacks went missing in the house and one of Fancy’s brothers was accused of eating them. Fancy’s father was very angry. Instead of buying food for the children, her father bought a packet of candles. He then tied Fancy’s brother under the bed leaving only his hands exposed. He then lit the candles one by one and burned Fancy’s brother with the dripping wax.

Fancy says that that is the day she started hating her father.

Fancy developed so much anger within herself. All she saw in her father was a man who was harsh and treated his children like they were not his own. She felt unloved and useless, and she hated all men. She believed that they were all cruel like her father.

As a result of the beatings she had received and seen her siblings receive, she decided to always protect herself whenever she could. Fancy was lonely and desperate.

One day Fancy even slapped her own mother when she to visit her children. When Fancy’s brother disturbed her during the visit, Fancy beat him up. When he ran to their mother, Fancy’s mother rebuked her and slapped her. In uncontrollable anger, Fancy slapped her back and ran out of the house to be alone.

“I did not feel guilt for what I had done. All I knew was that I had to protect myself from such people who wanted to hurt me. I felt like it was my right to protect myself.”

The Lord rescued Fancy just in time to remind her how precious and beautiful she was. When Fancy was 9 years old, she was registered at the Compassion child development center at their church.

During holidays she would go to the center, where she made her very first friends. There she also learned about Jesus Christ and His love. One year later, Fancy received Jesus as her personal Savior.

After meeting Jesus, Fancy started working on her anger and lack of forgiveness. Even though Fancy says she has not yet completely overcome these attitudes, she has made tremendous improvement. The Child Sponsorship Program gave her hope and helped her appreciate herself the way God appreciates her. It also gave her sponsors who really cared for her.

Fancy eventually joined the Leadership Development Program where she received sponsorship for a university education. When she joined the program she was very excited and grateful to God because not everybody qualifies. She also remained with the same sponsors.

Fancy says that she is grateful to her sponsors who love her so much.

“If I had a choice to choose the one person I want to meet, it would be my sponsors. They love me so much. Every time they write they tell me that they love me and that they are praying for me. I love them too. Whenever I receive a letter from them, I get so excited. It is not easy to love someone you do not know but they love me so much.

Among the things that changed Fancy’s life in the Leadership Development Program are the students who were so loving and the program specialists who showed her a different side of adults. Fancy says the specialists loved and respected her and the other students and it humbled her.

“Even if they were late for a meeting, they would apologize for being late. When you did something small for them, they would say ‘thank you’. This was not something I was used to while growing up.

As Fancy spent more time with the program students and specialists, her life changed. She began to dream and work on herself. She experienced so much love and acceptance from them that her attitude towards her family changed. She learned to love her family as it was and became the light in that dark home. She has since forgiven her father.

Fancy is currently pursuing her degree in social sciences at Kampala’s Makerere University. She also has a part time job at Top Television where she hosts a program for university students called “Campus Flavor.” The money she earns helps to support the education of one of her brothers. On Saturdays she volunteers at one of the child development centers near her university.

In the future Fancy hopes to pursue a masters degree in mass communication, with a specialty in radio. One of the things she would like to do is to have a talk show where she teaches people how to survive. Her passion is to help those that are vulnerable.

Fancy also hopes to open up a school for music and drama. She hopes that children who are not able to manage formal education can go to her school and gain life skills to survive.

Twenty-two year-old Fancy, a beautiful girl who once felt lonely, desperate and hated all men, is now in love with a young man at her church. Despite what she went through she has learned to love and live her life as Christ wants her to.

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The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) states that over the last four decades, 1.3 million refugees have emigrated from Burma to Thailand.

Thailand has been willing to help refugees by providing shelter, schooling and basic survival needs (e.g., food, shelter and medical care) via nine refugee camps along the border. Currently, Thailand hosts 112,000 registered refugees, of which an estimated 50,000 are not in a border camp.

According to the humanitarian group Free Burma Rangers, “The Regime’s army has built roads and camps in ethnic homelands forcing people to relocate or flee into the jungle. There is documented forced labor and the use of rape as a weapon … The Regime’s army lays land mines down to keep villagers from returning home and supporting resistance. They aim to dominate the population, assimilate them and exploit them.”

The Burmese refugees are mainly ethnic Karen and Kareeni. They’ve been in exile longer than many other groups in the world. Returning home seems unlikely.

Compassion Thailand has 13 child development centers located along the Thai-Burma border, where Karen children are receiving support through child sponsorship. But among these children, there have been many issues of non-citizenship and child rights.

We equip the center staff with knowledge and understanding about child protection, but one form of child protection training is offered by IJM. Every staff member from our 201 child development centers in Thailand attended IJM’s training last year. The training taught the center staff how to provide a safe environment for children, discussed forms of abuse, and addressed ways to educate both parents and children on how to treat one another.

The staff also learned how to recognize the physical and behavioral signs of child abuse, along with how to respond properly.

For the center staff working along the Burmese border, citizenship was another training topic conducted. Many of the refugees have not received Thai citizenship because they don’t know how to apply. The staff learned the proper procedures from the town baliff and a citizen specialist.

IJM is also helping Compassion Thailand through the legal process of obtaining citizenship for refugees. The centers along the Thai-Burma border are in the process of surveying and collecting the documents to prove that the children were born in Thailand and have a right to Thai citizenship. After the staff collect the documents, they send a report to the Compassion Thailand office and IJM assists our office staff with the next steps.

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The houseparent had marched me to the school’s dining hall, dragged a metal chair across the concrete floor, and slammed it down in front of my schoolmates. He threw me up on the chair and jammed the candle in my hand.

“Children,” he said, “you cannot serve both God and Satan. Wesley has tried. You cannot burn a candle at both ends without getting burned. Watch what happens when you try.”

Read the entire article at Christianity Today.

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We are committed to protecting children from all forms of abuse and exploitation. Our board policy communicates this clearly by stating that:

“Concern for children is the cornerstone upon which Compassion International has been built. We are opposed to all forms of abuse and exploitation and will do everything within our power to ensure that no harm comes to any child registered in our program due to his or her involvement in the ministry of Compassion International.”

By protecting children, we are responding to Christ’s mandate to care for and protect His little ones. Each of our country offices and church partners are required to designate one staff member as having child protection responsibilities within his or her role.

The Child Protection Officer is responsible for activities pertaining to training, advocacy, prevention and handling of child abuse allegations. For Compassion Ecuador, Mario Cobo has been given this key responsibility.

Why do you think the role of Child Protection Officer is important?

The Bible isn’t silent about the children; on the contrary, what it says about them is a clear example of God’s will on behalf of the kids. We need to take all the children and teenagers seriously because God does!

The thing that may wake God’s anger the most is those who make children “stumble.” Our Heavenly Father sends angels to protect the little children and guarantee them special access to the Kingdom and His presence.

Millions of children face harsh circumstances all over the world. But the most important point is that we find children from our own ecclesiastic communities, who live under conditions of extreme poverty. The Church has the unconditional obligation to serve the most vulnerable members of our societies, to speak up for them, to raise its voice for those who cannot defend themselves. All of us, the people who follow Jesus’ steps, are called to show God’s love to the children.

This is why we believe that the important role of a Child Protection Officer must be reflected by every single church partner working day by day with the children from our country. This is the reason why we developed a program for all the partners to protect the children; we are responsible.

What are the major responsibilities of the Child Protection Officer?

• To manage the strategy for child protection countrywide with a training program and an educational package for 100 percent of our church partners.
• To follow up on cases of abuse with the help of each facilitator in the field.
• To train the health tutors at the child development centers on how to handle the delicate topic of child abuse.
• To promote strategic dialogue with institutions that have proven experience and expertise on this topic in order to improve our work in the field.

Can you briefly explain how child protection is facilitated through the country office for the child development centers?

As a country office, we have developed an educational package about protection for our boys, girls and adolescents. The name of this package is “Children, God’s image.”

Our training team has already worked on this topic with 100 percent of our Partnership Facilitators and 100 percent of our church partners and their personnel. Each participant received a certificate as a children’s advocate. It’s important to mention that this educational package also has material for the parents.

The church staff, especially the health tutors, have been trained to teach the children to protect and take care of themselves and identify cases of potential abuse (legal, health, psychological and spiritual).

We are currently talking with different institutions working in the field of child protection to create strategic alliances that enable us to support the churches in the field with more training.

From the country office and through our team of facilitators, all specific cases of mistreated or abused children are followed up on. We have worked in the legal area with lawyers, reported cases to the respective institutions, provided health care and psychological follow-ups, worked on spiritually strengthening the child and his/her family, and supported the church’s actions on anything related to following up these cases.

What is your interest or passion for child protection?

To protect children from abuse is a very important issue for our society, our family, our church and most of all, for the main subjects of the kingdom of God: our boys and girls.

From my perspective as a son of God who works at an institution that advocates for all children in Jesus’ name, we look for all the members of our church partners and Compassion International offices to share and support our organization’s values, especially when it comes to showing respect and providing protection to our boys, girls and adolescents.

We must be aware of the needs that our little children have around the world. The rate of child abuse is increasing and becoming more and more alarming. This situation does not exclude the children who are part of our program; these kids’ dignity is what we will never stop fighting for.

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About 500,000 Kenyan children are missing school due to lack of food.

According to the World Food Program, in countries where school attendance is low, the promise of at least one nutritious meal each day boosts enrollment and promotes regular attendance. Where that is not offered, hunger interferes with the children’s concentration in class, affecting class performance. As famine takes its toll across the country, a growing number of students are staying away from school altogether to help their parents look for food (The Standard, Sept. 23, 2009).

Drought and famine have led to an increase in the high school dropout rate primarily in schools in the Njoro and Nakuru areas. While 29 percent of children in Nairobi are malnourished, that number increases to 42 percent in the Eastern Province (Daily Nation, Oct. 7, 2009).

The United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has stated that malnutrition is the major barrier to universal primary education in Kenya.

Famine conditions have also affected livestock in the rural areas of Kenya, undermining the primary source of income for pastoralists, especially the Maasai population.

Malaria continues to be another source of concern, and an increase in cases is predicted because of the El Niño rains expected to pound the country. Malaria is the leading cause of death in Kenya, affecting mostly the rural poor, particularly young children and pregnant women. Most cases affect children under the age of 5 (Daily Nation, Oct. 7, 2009).

While mosquito nets have made a difference in squelching the malaria epidemic, researchers are discovering that mosquitoes are now feeding earlier in the evening, which reduces the effectiveness of the nets. While there has been a dramatic reduction of malaria in children under 5 years, the disease appears to be shifting to older children (Daily Nation, Oct. 30, 2009).

Other threats to Kenya’s children include the H1N1 virus, child abuse and abduction, and neglect. The number of orphans in Kenya has risen to more than 2.4 million. In 2008, 38,325 children were described as neglected and 2,753 were abandoned by their parents (The Standard, Sept. 29, 2009).

The effects of poverty are felt most severely in the country’s rural areas, where half of the population lives on less that Kshs. 1,560, versus the more urban areas where people earn an average of Kshs. 3,000 per month. Of the 40 million people living in Kenya, 16.6 million survive on one meal a day and are most likely to die of disease, hunger or political violence (The Standard, Oct. 29, 2009).

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Disasters often bring immediate attention from governments, such as the recent earthquakes across Java and Sumatra, which resulted in families losing their most basic needs. But the sad truth is that governments are rarely lobbied to defend the daily safety of children — children who are at risk of abuse and neglect.

In Indonesia, the social bureau stated that there were 6,295 cases of children experiencing violence in the year 2008, either at home or in their community. This figure is five times higher than in 2007.

Although the Indonesian government is a signatory to the 1989 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, little has changed for child protections since then. This ambivalence toward the law, both on the part of the government and the individual, means that the number of children neglected or mistreated in Indonesia is increasing day by day.

Compassion Indonesia understands the urgent need to address this issue that often remains silent.

Starting in June 2009, Compassion Indonesia made a number of advances in this area through its Complementary Interventions programs, endorsing training in child protection for child development center workers.

Approximately 329 social workers from child development centers across Indonesia will be trained and enabled to become change agents in their centers, learning how to prevent and respond to violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination against children, including children with special needs.

Since June, we have conducted child protection training at almost all of our Java and eastern Indonesia island child development centers. The Sumatra area will receive training beginning in February 2010. Once trained, participants will carry out child protection campaigns in their respective areas.

Ririn, age 27, is one of the participants selected from her church as a representative to join this training. She is a development center mentor and was willing to have additional responsibility to promote child protection in her church area.

Mentors, defined as trusted counselors or guides, have long been considered critical for success in this training because they must first of all be experienced adults, both in terms of knowing our ministry and the job, but also in knowing the nuances of how the ministry operates on a day-to-day basis.

In addition, mentors must be able to understand and interpret the local culture and have good interpersonal skills.

Ririn was sent by the church to join a weeklong training in Yogyakarta for the Central Java region. She plans to transfer her knowledge by training staff, volunteers and parents in her local child development center.

“I have already co-facilitated a workshop on why we need to protect children and how to ensure they get protection. And I assessed the development center to try and improve the standards of care we offer.”

Recently the church and center staff agreed to make several changes to create a safer environment for children. For instance, they renovated the computer activities room and other classes, providing windows for accountability and a higher level of child protection.

Ririn now works at the center as an advisor for children affected by family conflict. She ensures that all activities are well documented, acts as a liaison between the church and the families, and ensures that center operations are carried out effectively and in accordance with Compassion’s policies, values and principles.

She also trains the child protection team to deliver existing program objectives.

In many ways, Ririn’s role as a mentor at her church and the support from Compassion have been the perfect launch into her role as an implementer for child protection in her hometown, too.

For many parents in Indonesia, beating a child is socially acceptable, so the parents must be educated against this. But the Indonesian education system does not accommodate a child’s potential and need for protection.

For that reason they have to be protected by the community or church, which can pay attention to what is going on around them and reduce the incidence of child abuse.

Her community was very cooperative, but unresolved issues for some families in another area meant that it was difficult for the people there to see each other as a “community.”

In her efforts in the fight child abuse, Ririn established networks with other child development centers and churches in her town. She hopes through these networks that people’s awareness will be raised and then a positive action will be taken.

There is great hope and a future for children when we prevent abuse and neglect and protect them as well.

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Of these children, 65 percent are girls between age 6 and 14. They are forced to work long hours under harsh conditions, and are subject to mistreatment, including sexual abuse.

The restavèk child is the first person to wake up in the morning and the last one to go to bed, sometimes after 14 hours of work that consists of, among other chores, carrying water, washing clothes, taking the owner’s children to school, doing errands, and cleaning the home.

The restavèk child is often beaten for the simplest mistakes. Laws against child abuse exist in Haiti, but unfortunately they are seldom enforced as children’s rights don’t have a high a priority.

The number of restavèk children reported nationally is between 250,000 and 300,000, and this domestic phenomenon is due to several reasons.

The main reason is parents’ low income. A lack of economic resources forces parents from remote areas to place their children with families in urban areas with the hope that the child will have a better future.

A restavèk child can also be the product of parents’ broken relationships.

Another reason for a child to leave home is mistreatment by parents or relatives.

If the restavèk doesn’t find a better future by age 17, the child often takes his or her independence from the owner to join a street gang or to become a prostitute. The owner will then look for a younger child, and the infernal circle continues.

In the past, restavèk children used to be placed in middle-class or upper-class families. But most current reports on restavèk children show the opposite, as the restavèks are largely owned by urban families who cannot even provide for their own children.

The restavèk child has to suffer not just because the owner does not want to meet the child’s needs, but because even if the owner wants to, he cannot.

The restavèk owners are usually people who cannot read or write. The ones who can read or write have very little education, and often do not care about children’s rights.

The restavèk’s owner is always reluctant to let other people talk to the child, so as not to be alerted to the child’s situation.

Fighting the Restavèk Curse in Haiti

Jean Klebert Excéus, a former child development center director, is a Haitian leader who stands against restavèk children in Haiti.

Klebert now works as a school administrator serving restavèk children. His job consists of evaluating the school program curriculum, hiring new teachers, evaluating teachers, providing new orientation to the school when needed, and providing reports to the church for assistance money provided by Compassion.

“In a battle there are different roles that a soldier can play. Some soldiers give alert, some give orders, and others launch the attacks; I am in the front line against it.”

Klebert originally shared his vision for fighting the trafficking of children into servitude with his church board. The church is located in the heart of the Solino slum, one of the largest slums in the Port-au-Prince area, which used to be a no-go area due to violence, kidnapping and gang activity.

As a member of the church board, Klebert knew about the challenges, but was determined to do something. Because, he says, “Where there is will, there is also a way.”

Klebert believed that if he helped the restavèk children, he would reduce the number of street gangs since many street children used to be restavèk.

Starting a school for domestic children was not without difficulty. The fact that the restavèk children are often older than 9 makes it hard for them to be part of Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program, which registers younger children.

Klebert initially decided to meet the restavèk children every Sunday afternoon since they had less to do that day and their owners are also more flexible about releasing them for just a few hours.

One year later, in 1996, a school that operated in the afternoon five days a week was opened. Since then, the school has grown to 400 students, and it operates in two sessions.

The difficulties of sustaining the program increased as more children came, and the local church could not meet all the needs.

That’s when Compassion began to assist the local church with the special project through tuition fees, books, uniforms and nonformal education.

The church actually has two schools. One is a regular school and the other one is for over-age children — restavèk. The schools are located in the same slum but in different locations.

It is impossible for restavèk children to be accepted in the regular school because they are always over age when they owner decides to send them to school. They start school usually when they are 10 or 12 years old. In Haiti, children normally start school at 3, and complete elementary school at age 12.

Currently, the elementary school for the restavek children is one of the best schools in the Solino area. Children are receiving classical education plus vocational training such as plumbing, cooking and pastry, cosmetology and floral art.

Klebert hopes to add courses such as computer training, carpentry, help nurse and cabinet maker, as those skills would equip the children for a better future.

He dreams of having more children and more activities for them at the school. His dream is that one day, one of the restavèk children comes to replace him, as he had been replaced by a former sponsored child as the child development center director.

Stories of Restavèk Children

Michelet, a 15-year-old boy, is a restavèk child like thousands of others in Haiti. Unlike the others, however, he dreams of becoming the best plumber in Port-au-Prince.

Michelet did not know his mother very well, and does not know if she is still alive or not. He was born in Cayes, in southern Haiti. His father separated from his mother and took him from her at age  5.

Michelet was brought to Port-au-Prince, to Solino, and placed in a family that his father did not know.

His father could not find a job, so he decided to join a gang in order to help Michelet. Michelet remembers that his father sometimes used to bring food for him. But Michelet learned his father was killed during a police operation. So Michelet grew up as a restavèk.

His main job consists of taking care of his owner, a blind man. Michlet takes his “uncle” to church or any other place he needs to go. He calls his owners “uncle and aunt,” even though there is no blood relationship between them.

Unlike many other restavèk, Michelet had the chance to attend school for the first time when he was 10. Currently, he is in grade five, and he will take the official exams next June that will give him access to secondary school next year.

Michelet is also learning plumbing at the center. His passion for plumbing is evident in that he always wants to be the first to start the practice session.

Unlike other restavèk who hate their owners after being freed, Michelet intends to help his “uncle and aunt” because they are getting older and have nobody to rely on.

“When I am making money, I will help my uncle and my aunt, as they were allowing me to go to school.”

Michelet was not always treated well, though. Sometimes he went for an entire day without eating. His owners did not buy him good, clean clothes like they do for their own child. He was forced to stay with his “uncle” most of the time, with no time to play as a child. But the values and good manners he learned in the school make him feel that he must treat them well. 

Acnise is an orphan. She lost both her mother and father when she was 8 years old.

After her parents died, Acnise’s life was torn apart when a neighbor decided to take charge of her. Acnise was forced to wake up at 5 every morning to wash dishes, clean the home, carry water and cook when she was 9. Sometimes, she was not allowed to eat the food she made.

“I was beaten at least two times a day with an electric cable for any little mistake. Sometimes I don’t even know what is good and what is wrong, as I was beaten for almost everything.”

Because Acnise lived near the school, she used to see children her age wearing uniforms to school when she was walking home, carrying a bucket full of water on her head. 

One night after being severely beaten, Acnise decided to leave home, even though she did not know where she was going. Acnise wanted to take shelter at the school, but at 9 p.m. the gate was already closed. She decided to go to Klebert’s home.

After Acnise explained to Klebert why she was there, Klebert allowed her to spend one week at his home in order to better understand her problems and also to see how he could make her life better.

The fact that Acnise was 9 and had never attended school made it difficult for her to register into Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program. However, she was admitted to the school for restavèks.

Acnise was placed in a family that belongs to the local church. Currently, she is in grade five and is taking cooking,  pastry-making and floral art at the school. As a result, Acnise accepted Christ as her Savior and she is active at church. She is the only child the church has placed in a home so far.

The young couple who accepted Acnise at their home has only one little boy. Acnise feels comfortable looking after the boy, as she is not forced to do that.

Acnise now can play with other children in school and at home. She cleans the home, washes the dishes and sets the bed after school. After that, she is free to study her lesson or do her homework.

The family where Acnise was placed sometimes cannot provide her  everything she needs. But at least she is free in mind and in spirit.

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The problem is that it was a convenient excuse for some to do exactly the opposite. Delaying funding or putting issues affecting children on the back burner was, consciously or otherwise, an opportunity to focus on ‘more pressing’ needs – justified because children are our future, ‘the leaders of tomorrow’.

Perhaps it is such thinking that has caused children to be the greatest victims of poverty throughout the history of humankind. The gross and most debased forms of abuse happen, more often than not, to our littlest citizens – our world’s largest population group.

Of the 2.2 billion children in our world today, nearly half live in desperate conditions, and yet it is the children who hold the potential to break the cycle of deprivation for future generations.

The Bible says that children are ‘a gift from God’ and He is their greatest defender. Time and again, the Bible describes God as a defender and protector of the poor, the oppressed, abused, impoverished and the fatherless.

All children are precious in God’s sight. His heart is most definitely endeared towards them and His ear inclines to their worship (Psalm 8:2). We are told that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these (Matthew 19:14).

But what of the 1.1 billion children who are homeless because of armed conflict, or who have been orphaned because of the scourge of AIDS, or malnourished and can’t remember when they last had a bite of food, or the ones that are continually ill because they can’t afford malaria medication? They don’t shout the loudest; indeed, many seem to have no voice at all, but it doesn’t mean that their cry should not be heard and this is where we step in.

Compassion exists for the one. The one child who is left on the side of the dusty road to beg each day because their family can’t feed them; the one child who has to walk many miles every day for water and cares for siblings because her parents have died from AIDS; the one child who dreams of being a doctor but has no access to an education.

Compassion is unashamedly and singularly focused on the child. We place value on children simply because God does. Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) says, “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Investing into children’s lives at an early age enables them to grow up with a sense of value, worth and confidence – essential if they are to grow up knowing that they can fulfill the dreams that God has placed in their hearts.

The intervention of a local church-based Compassion child development center and your invaluable support can literally shape a child’s future, causing him or her to be a change-maker in the family, community, perhaps even the nation.

That’s why we believe that one-to-one child sponsorship is so important and imperative to releasing children from poverty.

It all begins with valuing the one.

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The woman drove to the house and greeted the young girl who was sitting at the front of the house alone. She asked the young girl questions that are typically asked among the people in this area.

“Do you want a new cell phone?” “Do you want to live in a bigger and nicer house?”

The young girl was surprised by the lady’s questions and remained silent.

“If you are interested in these things, I can give them all to you. All you have to do is come work with me. You will earn a lot of money so that you can have pretty clothes to wear and you will have a nice car to drive. It is a very easy job. C’mon. Trust me and come with me.”

“No, thank you,” replied the young girl, Supattra, a 14-year-old Compassion-assisted child. This situation is repeated over and over.

Nongki is a town in northeastern Thailand. It is very close to some of the major cities in Thailand including the capital city of Bangkok and Pattaya. It is no surprise that Nongki has quickly transformed from an agriculture town to one that increasingly resembles surrounding nearby cities like Bangkok and Pattaya.

“One of the significant issues in Nongki is prostitution,” says Ratchaya, director of the Thai Children Development Center.

“Prostitution has crept up silently in our community and has become a very significant source of income over the past three years. There are so many nightclubs, pubs and restaurants that have opened up here, and it is increasing. These places are targeted toward and service the local men who work at the factories or as daily workers in this area.”

“Marriages between Thai women and Westerners working in Bangkok and Pattaya have become increasingly common. It is becoming a major problem, and our center is deeply concerned.

“There are too many cases of poor, working Thai women becoming rich suddenly. They ride in nice cars and build big houses over their small former shelters. These women’s rapid rise to wealth has resulted in influencing young girls from this area to follow these women in their professional footsteps to pursue material wealth.”

A common problem is older Western men moving to Thailand and taking young women as wives. They move to Thailand in their retirement because of the low cost of living, and meet young Thai girls in a club, who become their companion or wife. The Westerner gets a companion, and the girl gets money.

Another problem is the gangs that seek to lure girls into prostitution. It is very easy for gangs to seduce and persuade young girls to drop out of school to work at night in local bars or pubs.

The gangs approach poor, young girls from the early age of 12 or 13, who do not live with their parents. They lure these young girls by talking about the significant amount of money they will earn so that they can buy the luxuries they desire.

Being born and raised in a poor family often makes young children feel they are unworthy, and frequently causes their self-confidence to diminish. They respond to their feelings of worthlessness by turning to material things to reaffirm their identities and self-worth in society.

About half of the young girls from the Thai Children Development Center do not live with their parents, who work in factories in big cities. Often they stay with an extended relative such as an aunt or grandmother. This creates a gap or distance between the young children and their caregivers. Ratchaya says,

“It’s the center’s duty to vaccinate our children and warn them about the seduction and danger of prostitution. We cannot stay calm while these issues are corrupting and ruining our community. It is harming our children. We have to take action.”

The child development center has always emphasized the importance of social awareness both locally and nationally. The center leaders read the news to the children, updating them on what is going on in Thailand every Saturday before the children attend their activities. It helps the children gain a wider perspective of what is going on and what steps they need to take to be prepared to protect themselves and make better choices for their lives.

“We know that many of our children struggle with low self-esteem, so we encourage and teach them that the value of their life does not depend upon how much they have or the amount of money they earn. Rather, we encourage the children to stay grounded in dignity and to do what is right.”

Chonticha, a sponsored child, says,

“A lot of my friends want to have pretty clothes or nice shoes from the latest fashions they see in magazines. They ask money from their parents to buy those things or work in restaurants at night in order to earn more money, which causes them to drop out of school.

“I feel really sorry for them. Before they decide to quit school, I tell them to think twice about their decision and try to stop them. I have learned from the center that when young girls ended up working in a restaurant and neglecting their education, it often leads them into a life of prostitution.

“I want them to come back to study. I asked a friend of mine who quit her school if she was happy and she said no. She has many things she wanted but they mean nothing to her now.”

And Supattra agrees.

“I will not let myself get involved in a risky situation like prostitution because I don’t want to degrade myself. I know that my body is worth more than material things. It is not worth it to trade myself in order to get the latest cell phone or a big house. If someday I ever chose the wrong path, I know I would lose everything, including my pride.”

Compassion Thailand realizes that child trafficking is a crucial issue that needs to be resolved immediately. We’ve worked with International Justice Mission, and they conducted training sessions and workshops on “Child Rights and Child Protection” for all 220 child development centers in Thailand in 2008.

The training taught the staff who work directly with children how to prevent children from being abused and how to protect them from being taken advantage of.

At the workshops, they discussed the common problems of children at risk, abuse, exploitation, trafficking, sexual abuse, domestic violence and lack of citizenship.

They wanted to reinforce the knowledge and skills of the staff to help uphold children’s rights. The workshops were a success. Those who attended gained a deeper understanding about these issues and were able to use the information to write plans on how to protect registered children at their centers.

They created a Child Abuse Protection Network for every center, linking with organizations that can provide help in child protection and child abuse situations. Most important, they now know what to do and who to contact if something happens to any of the children.

Sai Tan Rak Child Development Center is located in the city of Phitsanulok, in an area with a high rate of prostitution. Often, groups look for young girls who hang around an area in the park at night. They persuade and take these young girls into the evil prostitution cycle.

After the center staff attended a training workshop, they brought back useful materials and information to regularly conduct activities for young girls to fight the prostitution. Valia, the center director, says,

“The center teaches young women about sexuality, virginity and how to protect themselves from a risky situation.

“Whenever we learn that our children are in a risky situation, we personally talk to them and do everything to help them from making unwise choices.

“I see changes in them after we train and talk to them. Groups of registered young girls who used to hang around the park at night are decreasing. Girls who are who are at risk of being exploited come and tell me that they will not go to the park at night again because they are scared and they don’t want to be victims.”

Jenjira, a sponsored child, says,

“My village is in a danger zone for prostitution. I see too many young girls being lured into prostitution because they desire more money, but they go into it without knowing the consequences.

“Attending the center has been very good and helpful for me because the center teaches me, and now I know how to protect myself from this prostitution.

“If someone were ever to try and persuade me to become a prostitute, I would tell my family or the center staff at the church because they always have good advice and would help me out.”

Parents also play an important role in a child’s life.

At Sai Tan Rak, parents often do not have time to educate or teach their children. They are busy working to earn money day and night. Some parents are not even aware of the prevalence of prostitution in their area. It is the center’s responsibility to inform the parents of the children about relevant issues such as prostitution that could affect their child or children, so that even busy parents can keep an eye on their offspring.

The center staff members regularly visit the children’s homes to raise awareness and have personal time with the parents. If the center knows that a child is in high risk, they will visit quite often.

Unlike the parents of children in Sai Tan Rak, some parents of children in the Thai Children Development Center actually encourage their children to work at a restaurant in Bangkok or Pattaya because working there earns them a lot of money.

“We cannot talk openly to parents about this issue. We made the mistake of doing so in the past and do not want this to happen again. Instead we teach, talk, play videos and give materials for the children to address this issue,” explains Ratchaya.

In the past, if the center learned that a young girl was involved in prostitution, the staff would make several attempts to visit and talk to the parents at home to try and explain the devastating effects prostitution can have on the life of a young girl, and help the child get out of the situation.

Then a few weeks later, the child’s mother would come and ask to take her child from the center. Unfortunately, this would result in the child dropping out of school and working at night.

Some parents work in Bangkok or Pattaya and request that their child stay with them during the summer, when the children are out of school. Even though it may only be two or three months, it can change a child’s life if they are exposed to the world of prostitution.

“If they are ever confronted with having to make difficult choices in their future, I hope that in attending the center it will help them make the right choices for their future,” says Ratchaya.

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