This week is Child Protection Week. So often when these significant weeks come up, we may hear about them and the most I have done in the past is perhaps put a few coins into a tin that someone is holding at the side of the pavement.
In order for more to be done, I need to GIVE more. So today, I am going to give R192. I am hoping 999 others will do the same. Who am I giving it to?
Living Hope.
This is Linsey’s story from the Living Hope Facebook Page:
“Linsey attends our afternoon clubs and is the eldest of 4 children. Her mom is an alcoholic, while her father passed away a few years ago. Linsey was the victim of most of the abuse in her family since she was the eldest. She had to look after her younger siblings, protect them when mom was under the influence, and at times look for something to eat for them. She became very aggressive and acted out in club. So we started doing home visits and the neighbours told us about their concerns. She would get beaten up, and would be locked up in the house. She was aged between 7 & 8 at the time and she was too scared to tell us, as she did not want her mom to get into trouble.
As much as she wanted to be out of the situation, she did not want her family to break up. Wee decided to support both the mother and children. We started to support the mom and tried to find out the reason behind the abuse. The mom said that she was unable to take care of her children and that she needed us to help. We helped her practically as far as we could in terms of stationery and a food parcel here and there. We supported her emotionally and one day she came to the decision that she would rather sign her kids off. She said it must be in the community as she would still like to see her children around at times. We had a long discussion about this and got the required social workers involved.
All three children were placed in the care of close friends of the family. Two of the kids were placed with one caring family. Linsey is with another lady who is also seeing to her needs. Linsey is happy because she is out of the cycle of abuse, and she is still able to see her mom and siblings as they all stay in the same community. She is doing very well at school and is currently in grade 3. We get feedback from the teachers as to her performance. She is still at our kids clubs and things are really looking up for her. There is a lot of positive change in her behaviour and she is a happier child than she ever used to be. She is growing a lot spiritually and is very inter-active in club. We do regular checks to see how she is doing and everything is going very well with her. We get a thank you from mom every now and again for the support that we gave and are still giving!”
Living Hope actively engages in the lives of the children they serve. In order to continue to bring hope, they need your support! Their lifeskills programmes run across various communities in Cape Town and cost R192000 a month to run. This week they are looking for 1000 donations of R192.
I did! Won’t you join in giving R192 to Living Hope today.
I give to Living Hope because I know where the money is going and that it is used wisely. Not only does it support the poor, but it also spreads the Gospel. Win-Win!
Visit their website www.livinghope.co.za to find out more or pledge here. (tiny.cc/LivingHopeChild)
Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂