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Children at Risk
108 million orphaned children worldwide:
Whether as a
result of poverty, war or diseases such as HIV/AIDS, millions of
children every year are left to fend for themselves. In
Afghanistan alone, after years of war, there are estimated to be
1.5 million orphans. Child-headed households arise where a
child, usually the eldest, seeks to provide and care for their
dependent siblings. Such situations are common in parts of
Africa such as Zimbabwe, Malawi and South Africa where HIV/AIDS
is prevalent. In total, 175 million children around the world
have lost one or both parents to HIV.
In societies built around the family unit,
orphans are often the ones who fall through the cracks,
depriving them of many of the opportunities enjoyed by others
and often leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. Although many
countries operate state orphanages, the future of these children
is far from secure. In Russia 650,000 children live in
orphanages and of those leaving, research shows that 40% become
homeless, 20% turn to crime and 10% commit suicide.
Pray that through the ministries of
churches and Christian organisations seeking to help orphans,
these children will come to know the love and comfort of their
heavenly father.
300,000
child soldiers currently serving in armies or militia groups
worldwide: Every year more children are taken from their
families and recruited for use in active combat. Over half of
all child soldiers are in Africa but notably around 70,000 are
in Myanmar. After a period of training in captivity, often
involving a brutal initiation, the children are usually told
that they will be killed if they disobey or try to escape. The
development of lighter weapons means that boys as young as eight
can now be armed. Rehabilitation of child soldiers is a
difficult process. The children have been brutalised and have
carried out killings, while the armies using them have fed,
clothed and given them shelter. More than anything the former
child soldiers want peace and the chance to go to school, but
many are ostracised by their families and fear being hunted down
and killed for the things they have done.
700 million
children of primary age who do not attend school: More
children around the world are going to school than ever before,
but there are still hundreds of millions who either don’t have
the opportunity, or who drop out without mastering even a basic
set of cognitive skills. For example, in around one in three
countries, less than 75 percent of students complete primary
school. This is sometimes due to governments failing to fulfil
their obligation to provide free education for all, but more
commonly, children leave school to work in order to support
their families. Girls in particular are often denied the
opportunity to attend school. An inadequate or incomplete
education leaves the children vulnerable to exploitation by
future employers. |
42 million girls under the age of 18 expected to be married in the
next decade:
Where poverty is acute children are often seen as a economic burden
and the marriage of young girls to an older or even elderly men is
believed to benefit both the child and her family, financially and
socially. A daughter’s marriage is commonly seen as a transaction
and may be used to settle debts or provide stability for the family.
Another important factor in the practice of child marriage is the
notion that it will protect the ‘family honour’ by avoiding the
potential shame of the girl losing her virginity before she marries.
1.2 million - children trafficked each year:
Trafficking is defined as the
recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of
people, by means of threats, force, coercion or deception. Children
can be trafficked for a whole host of reasons including sexual
exploitation or to provide cheap labour for domestic or commercial
purposes.
Child victims of trafficking often come from
poor families and lack economic and educational opportunities.
Children who have been separated from their families, have minimal
education, lack vocational skills or have few job opportunities are
most at risk. These factors, when coupled with gender, racial or
ethnic discrimination, or insecurity caused by, for example, armed
conflict or natural disaster, create the ideal environment for
trafficking networks to thrive. Unless these underlying causes are
addressed, measures to stop child trafficking will have limited
success. (UNICEF)
Pray for protection for those who are
vulnerable to trafficking and for the work of governments and
organisations seeking to address the underlying causes. Pray too for
comfort and restoration for those who have suffered as a result of
exploitation.
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