Abuse & Protection

This week was taught by Greg Burch, a missionary from California who has been working in Latin America for over 15 years. After a ministry of six years in Caracas, Venezuela among street-living and working children Greg is now dedicating his time to global research and advocacy on behalf of children at risk.  

We explored different kinds of child abuse

• Sexual Abuse
• Physical Abuse
• Spiritual Abuse
• Psychological Abuse
• Neglect 
• Emotional Neglect

He shared about what a Child Protection Policy is, and why it is so important to impliment one while working with kids.  These policies and procedures help create child-safe organizations. A strong policy will guide you in dealing with difficult situations. When there is a crisis it may be harder to think clearly. If you have a reliable policy you can react in an informed way and avoid accusations of a biased response. (positive or negative)  The truth is that people need accountability. I was challenged to make a child protection policy of my own for my time in Jaco. It was really good for me to sit down and think about this.

During his teaching, Greg shared with us a video from the Congo about “child witches.” If you have never heard of this, be forewarned…it is really intense stuff. Some evangelical churches in the congo are claiming that certain children are witches. When this happens, the children are basically thrown out onto the streets and left to die. The parents no longer want them because they are a “witch.” Then, the pastor of the church will have the parents pay for them to “exorcise” their child, which involves brutal beatings and things they could not even mention or show in the videos. After watching this video I felt sick. There is so much corruption in this world, even in the so-called “church.” It’s super overwhelming.

I have to remember that the change starts with me and each individual child and person. These are hard situations, but what I can do is begin with myself, my resources and focus on the people I am meeting here. The reality is that I will not be able to stop all injustice from happening everywhere in the world, but I can help change a few people’s lives in an amazing way. For that, I am insanely thankful.