Building the Kingdom of God: World Vision partnering with churches in protecting children in Latin America and the Caribbean

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Close to 220 children and adolescents under 18 years of age die every day of domestic violence – that means 80 thousand children a year.

In term of abuse, adolescent boys are most at risk for beatings in the home and at school, while adolescent girls are most at risk for sexual harassment and abuse from adult men in the family, school, or workplace.

Two new types of violence are emerging in Latin America and the Caribbean - gang and drug-related violence and school-based violence. Gang and drugrelated violence is on the increase Young people are the most visible culprits but far more often they are the victims. There are approximately 25,000 to 125,000 active gang members in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Countries in Central America face high levels of violence (Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala), but beyond any statistics are the youth that have to face this situation every day. It becomes even more complicated when violence is inside the houses of thousands of children.

If you are in the middle of a war or an armed conflict, you might be able run, hide, or avoid that area, but where do you go when the threat is inside your house? Domestic violence is tearing the dreams apart of many children and youth in Latin America; close to 220 lives are lost every day because of this and scars remain for a lifetime.

World Vision’s response

World Vision in Latin America is focused on the well-being of children, which includes protection from all types of violence, including domestic violence. The church is the natural and strategic partner to achieve this goal in fostering a culture of peace and healthy relations with oneself, the family and community.

“The Church plays a key role in building the kingdom of God, lifting their voices up on behalf of the poor and the oppressed, and promoting justice; being instrumental in the spiritual and social transformation of individuals, communities and nations,” said Michele Gonzalez, World Vision U.S Senior Regional Advisor to Latin America and the Caribbean region.

“We recognize the importance of associating, strengthening relations and making work strategies of joined cooperation with the church in Latin America. We believe in a region free of violence and the church does too, [that’s the] reason why it’s a great partner to prevent and to attend [to], more specifically, domestic violence and to protect the lives of all children,” mentioned Harold Segura, Regional Director of Church Relations and Christian Identity for World Vision LAC.

Building the kingdom of God

With this goal in mind, World Vision in LAC is carrying out many joint efforts in partnership with local churches to provide spiritual nurture for children, families and communities; World Vision continues working on strengthening church ministers’ abilities that will help them to carry out the church’s holistic mission; using methodologies especially designed for churches, such as Channels of Hope, in areas of HIV/AIDS, child protection, and the prevention gender-based violence.

As an example of such efforts, it can be mentioned the recent agreement for collaboration signed between World Vision and the Episcopal Church in Honduras that aims to strengthen the capacity of church leaders to provide pastoral care to children. In Nicaragua, churches are joining efforts with World Vision programs, helping parents to raise children with love and decreasing the incidence of domestic violence. In Peru, churches are joining efforts in providing safe places for children to grow, receiving spiritual nurture and loving care by their parents and church leaders.

Another example is from El Salvador. As part of the movement “Together with Children and Youth,” World Vision is facilitating workshops that gather parents and church leaders to learn about the theological and biblical foundation for raising children with loving, caring relationships and the importance of a home that is a safe place for children to grow. “The movement -Together with the Children and Youth- it’s a coalition of churches in Central America and Mexico that are united with World Vision to raise awareness amongst the populations of the effects of violence, but furthermore, the importance of relations that are based in love and caring relations, especially towards children,” added Mr. Segura.