Keeping Children Safe Online

There have been some terrible reports of children who have taken their lives as a result of cyber-bullying, others who have trusted online stalkers and many who just get themselves into trouble because they were not being smart on-line, and many parents have no idea how to monitor and help.

In 2009, when a mother noticed that while her six-year old son was playing computer games an inappropriate advertisement appeared on the screen the Keeping Children Safe Online (KCSO) Project was born.

I have the privilege of managing this regional project which is being implemented in 4 countries, (Armenia, Georgia, Lebanon and Palestine). KCSO has been a very successful 3 year pilot that has introduced some very basic, but surprisingly simple safety tips and protocols for parents and children. It’s mission is to help make the online world safer for children, while providing youth and children with skills to protect themselves and others from online abuse and sexual exploitation. It is a two-tier initiative which focuses both on good practices, guidelines and tools for children and their caregivers around online safety as well as creating a complaint mechanism to provide a forum to raise concerns around incidents of child pornography, racism, trafficking, fraud and consumer protection.

Assessments carried out in Jerusalem-West Bank-Gaza, reported that while 83% of children use the Internet and more than 60% of homes have access to the Internet, only 1% of children and 4.5% of parents are aware of the risks of using the Internet and social media.

Through KCSO children are being trained on how to stay safe online and in turn, how to train others. The training targets children from 7 to 12 and 13 to 18 years old. In addition, the training aims to provide caregivers with tips on how to keep their children and students safe online. Training sessions on the Internet and its evolution are also provided to adults who are Internet-illiterate to encourage them to go online.

SAFER INTERNET DAY – FEBRUARY 5, 2013

For the upcoming Safer Internet Day (SID), our team is planning a variety of activities with the aim of promoting and raising the profile of the project and the importance of staying safe online on a national level. These activities will include sending informative text messages and holding a talk show with cyber police. Press releases, newspaper advertisements on online rights and responsibilities as well as news articles will be shared. In addition, Facebook page advertisement banners, a project website, SID posters and a video with children talking about their online rights and responsibilities are planned.

"Children of today are very dependent on the Internet; they find it everywhere,” says our project coordinator “We shouldn't try to ban them from using the Internet. Instead we should encourage channels of communication for them to trust us and come to us when they face online problems."

With the use of advanced technology and smart devices, use of mobile technology has expanded from 90% in April 2009 to 240% in April 2010 and with it, online risks.

A staff member at the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs explains, "I try to have my use of Internet to be something useful, but we do also use other networks like Facebook and social media. You do sometimes enter a different world and controlling this world is difficult. Without a doubt, the use of Internet is growing every day, and our protection while using it has to grow. Having resources to protect children online is very important, but I think that it is vital for parents, who spend the most time with their children, to know how to monitor their children’s use of the Internet and how to discover what the children are using the Internet for.”

Overseas Aid: An Australian View

A quick look at what Australian people know and think about Overseas Aid.

Sabra goes to School Now

“Every morning when my brother used to get ready for school and walk out of home with books, I used to cry over my fate. I asked myself, ’Why am I a girl?’ I used to think that if I had been a boy then I would have been blessed with the most precious gift in the world – education.” (Sabra, 14  years old)

Sabra’s village has a primary school that is located less than 10 kilometres from one of the largest universities in the province. Despite that, Sabra’s story is the same as that of most girls and women in Pakistan who are still bound by traditions which limit their access to an education: because they are girls.

In Sabra’s village women have had little to do with anything outside the home. It is assumed that every girl will be a housewife and that they will look after the home; so girls don’t need to go to school. Across the country, girls’ enrolment in both primary and secondary school still lag behind those of boys.

But things were to change for Sabra: we would never wish for disasters, but sometimes these events can create opportunities. When Sabra’s village was badly affected by flood, a Child Friendly Space (CFS), or ‘tent classroom’, was erected. (These ‘tents’ aim to help children regain a sense of normality and stability after losing their homes and routines during emergencies. They provide both formal and informal learning, including life skills and child rights.)

Paradoxically whilst the flood wreaked havoc, it opened the door to education for Sabra. Villagers saw our female staff visiting regularly and teaching women and girls about health and hygiene. For many girls and women this was their first contact with formal education and it marked the beginning of many changes in the community’s thinking, including challenging some of the barriers to women’s access to education.

People began to appreciate that education for girls is as important as it is for boys. They realized that women are not born to remain at home. But, perhaps even more importantly, they learned that even if they preferred to stay home, education could raise their awareness of things which could help in daily life, such as self-protection and health.

“I used to force my mother to talk to my father about my education, but she couldn’t manage to talk to him on this. I was burning from the inside every day. I wanted to gain an education but my age was passing and it was creating more barriers for me to convince my parents,” Sabra remembers.

Sabra’s Mum, Bakhtawar says: “I knew my Sabra’s passion for education. But, as she was getting elder day by day, it became hard for me to ask for her to be enrolled in school. It was next to impossible when you [face] thinking like: ‘if girls and women go into school then who will take care of the house and the cattle?’ But thanks to God. You arrived in our village and talked about the gender equality which gave us confidence to talk to our men and they also realized that there is no difference between men and women. All these things lead us towards the new beginning and took us on the path of enlightenment”.

When parents saw that their children were happy about attending the ‘tent classes’ and noticed dramatic changes in their behaviour - such as improved personal hygiene - they were convinced.

The project is finished now, our staff have left the village, but almost every girl in the village is going to school and instead of reverting back to how things were before the flood, the village is running their own child protection centre.

Over 300 children, including 134 girls, have been registered in the child friendly space and most girls who are now of school age, including Sabra, are enrolled in local government schools.

“I want to become a doctor and it’s my dream to serve my community,” says Sabra. Her Mum couldn’t be prouder: “I don’t know how far Sabra will go to pursue her dream, but I am happy that a ray of brightness has been lit, which has put an end to a darkness we’ve been facing for centuries.”

Some Pakistan Statistics:

• Literacy –Males: 69%, Females: 46% (Rural - 63% & 35%)
• Primary School Enrolment (age 5-9) –Boys: 69%, Girls: 56% (Rural - 76% & 59%)
• Secondary School Enrolment (age 6-16) – 80%. Boys: 64%, Girls: 36%
• Out of school (age 3-5) – 57%
• Illiterate Mothers – 66%

 (Edited from a story by: Jatoi Attaullah)

25 Years and Counting

I was reminded yesterday (9 January) that 25 years ago I was ordained and commissioned as a Salvation Army Officer.

A lot has happened in those 25 years. As an officer and with my family I lived and worked in 3 countries. I was a Pastor in 6 Churches; led Youth and Children’s, Education, Public Relations and Overseas Development ministries; lectured at Salvo Training Colleges; headed up Emergency Response and development work in 12 countries. I learnt to fly airplanes and obtained 3 degrees. And, I think at last count, Sandy and I have lived in 14 houses!

25 years full of variety, challenge and change. Over these years I have been changed and along the way I have learnt who the Creator made me to be and through the opportunities given me by the Salvos, [and some hard work :) ], today I am equipped to fulfil that design.

Whilst the past 25 years are characterised by change there are some things that do not change. This morning as I spent time in quietness I was pointed to these words of Jesus: “God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the burdened and battered free, to announce, "This is God’s year to act!"” (Luke 4:14-22)

Over 25 years ago I took these words as my life script and the Author’s example as my motivation. Even if my life and ministry vehicle have changed, some things will never change.

[My congratulations to all the Messengers of Peace who yesterday marked 25 years of service and ministry - especially to my wife Sandra who continues to transform lives through unconditional love and acceptance – even when it hurts.]

Helping Hurts

There’s a story about a New York Times reporter who interviewed Mother Teresa. He followed her for a day as background for a story. After a few hours, they had walked only two blocks, stopping repeatedly as she knelt to pray and hug the poor living on the streets. He finally blurted out, “How do you ever expect to be successful when the need here is so overwhelming?” After a few moments of silence, she responded, “It never occurred to me to be successful. I’m just trying to be obedient.”

By all accounts, Mother Teresa was an exceptional humanitarian worker. She was someone you would be proud to know. Since her death in 1997, she has been nominated for formal sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. Few would doubt her deep faith, sincere motives, and far-reaching effectiveness. Yet, many were shocked when her private diaries revealed that she was tortured by a growing sense of unworthiness and nagging questions about whether God had abandoned her.

Rather than the result of a lack of faith, I suspect Mother Teresa may have been the victim of vicarious trauma resulting from decades of work with victims of poverty, famine, and disease. Perhaps she was eventually exhausted and overcome by the human suffering that surrounded her. She took on the emotional wounds of others, leading to her own mental and spiritual depletion.

I suspect she's not alone! Research and clinical experience demonstrate that this is a common experience for many who work in caring ministries. More than 25% of us have struggled with emotional problems caused or made worse by the work we do. The things you’ve done, seen, and heard have changed you deeply and permanently. You may be stronger and wiser than ever, but you may also feel sadder, less optimistic, or even numb. Helping hurts!

We all know this, Yes? That's why it is important to be aware and sensitive of one another - that's why team works so well. Sure, we need to build our own resilience - know why we do what we do, know our values, understand our beliefs and recognise our attitudes. We need to recognise how we will respond and react - allow ourselves to be, don't pretend to be superhuman and invincible. But perhaps most of all we need to support one another - and, when necessary, do that thing that comes hard to most of us - ask for help.

This work we do, can (has and will) take its toll, but as we look for ways to travel one another's journey, to share each other’s load, we build much more than individual resilience - we build a sustainable and transformative team – and we build and hold on to hope!

“There is a saying in Tibetan;

'Tragedy should be utilised as a source of strength.'

No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is,

if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster.”

(Dalai Lama XIV)

Ireli:

As I sat at the board room table of the Ireli Youth NGO in Baku's Old City (Icherisheher) I was reminded  of why it is so energising to work with young, passionate, creative people, (don't I sound old, and don't I know it!) and why it can simultaneously be a challenge. A colleague made the comment that it was like trying to herd the stray cats of Baku (of which there are many).

Ireli, a youth led and focused NGO has been in operation since 2006. During that time these 18-29 year olds have racked up an impressive number of donors and projects and they have created a very influential reputation in the country.

So when we were looking for a partner to create, build and deliver a public awareness campaign that would educate the people of Azerbaijan on the importance of the social inclusion of people, especially children, living with disabilities, we chose Ireli to help us.

The Chairman, 26 year old Rauf, sits opposite me telling me about the initiatives - he taps out the facebook pages, the twitter accounts, the web.tv and the NGO's URL on his iPad - as he explains to me how they will upload the public service TV spot onto their YouTube channel and it will automatically populate to all their Internet sites. He shows me the 55,000 "Likes" on one of the facebook pages and tells me that all their web sites combined will attract about 100,000 friends.

He then explains that today they will publicly launch the Disability Coalition's (another of our projects initiatives) web site [www.supportcoalition.az : coming soon in  English] and officially release the short video that will feature on TV spots over the next months in an effort to increase the visibility of disability inclusion. Combining with other initiatives to lobby government to enact policy on disability (inclusive education and health), this TV and social media campaign is one of the pillars of the initiative. And, of course as the special guest I will be speaking and launching the video...

These are an excited, and exciting group of people. With over 26,000 members in Azerbaijan they carry some weight, and when they support an initiative, apparently people take note. Within hours of the release the reports began to make the news. News.Az reported on the afternoon.

But the important thing is that the message about the social inclusion of people (especially children) living with disabilities is getting out there, and after the presentation one young woman, a student, approached our project coordinator and asked how she can get involved. That's what we need, people getting involved, and people caring!

Behind More Walls

Meet Nuray. She was born 7 years ago with Cerebral Palsy, but when her father didn't want to know her, Nuray's Mum went back to her Mother's house. Soon after she met another man, who told her to choose between him and Nuray - she chose him. So, today Nuray is cared for by her Grandma.

After climbing up the stairs of the grey concrete, post-Soviet apartment block we were welcomed into the tiny two room apartment, by grandma who had obviously spent some time preparing for our visit. Nuray was lying on the floor near her blocks, she was clean, her hair done and her clothes obviously just pressed.

As I walked into the room she hid her face in her arms, and as kids do, she peeked out every now and then to see if she was the centre of attention - which of course she was. It didn't take too long, playing the universally accepted ice breaker of "now you see me, now you don't" to get a smile out of her. She is a gorgeous little girl.

But (as I have mentioned already) she cannot go to school and her grandma has not received any government support for her. But, through a friend of a friend, Nuray and her grandma were referred to our Community Welfare team, and today we are here to confirm that Nuray has an assessment date. Her level of disability will be assessed and as a result she will go on the "Commission of Minors" list. That means that she and her grandma will receive a government pension and as of 2013 she will be registered on the Home School list.

As we left, Nuray was just getting to the "over this stage", the small tower of blocks she had built came tumbling down, and she lay down on the floor and hid her face in her arms. But just as I said goodbye in my accented, lousy Azeri, she smiled - one of those smiles that start with the mouth and end in the eyes - that's Christmas!

_____________

Just across the road from our office in Baku there is one of those nice walls I've mentioned before. I've walked alongside it numerous times on my way to the office. But the other day, I went behind it... I had no idea that right here in front of our office, in a section of concrete about 15m2, there are 8 homes. 10 families, 51 people live here.

Meters away, on the  the busy main road, on the sandstone clad side of the wall, international brand shops (like Guess, Tiffany, Gucci and Pierre Cardin) attract people in BMWs and a Bentley.

Irina (right) lives in one of the 'houses' smaller than my hotel room, with her Mum, a 19 year old sister, an 8 year old brother and a 2 year old sister. I take two steps through the door and I am at the door to the main room, in the back right corner there are four mattresses piled one on top of the other. In the left corner, hard up against the mattresses there is a cupboard. Just to my right, is a small table stacked with some cooking equipment and plates - five steps gets me from the front to the back of the room.

Surprisingly, as I look out the only wondow, I see a WiFi modem hanging on the wall. The 19 year old sister is in University, studying - the internet is an essential luxury.

Irina shows us around, shy she is not; but despite this 'minimalist style' of living, the family, and those around them welcome us with tea, and share their stories. They smile, they laugh, they share - and thanks to the Community Welfare workers this family are now on the social benefits list and getting some support.

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan

Since my visit to Afghanistan in February this year we have been working with an IDP community to establish a community based education program. The current school is an old clinic with 7 rooms, (each about 15m2). There is an enrolment of 3,000 lucky children, (there’s no room for the other 3,000) and an average class size of 90; the boys in the morning and the girls in the afternoon.

Many of the children from 8 years old up work on the streets in the city, or make adobe bricks to help their families survive. Most of the men and teenage boys go into the city looking for day work. But the parents would give up the extra, child generated, income for an education for their kids.

Simplistically: our goal is to bring community based schooling to the kids that are currently missing out. It's been a long process and I am hoping that by the end of this year, that thanks to the work of the Afghan team we will have an agreed project. But a significant stepping stone was achieved yesterday...

Nothing (worthwhile and sustainable) is possible in an Afghan community without the agreement of the local shura leader (community management). For the last few months the team have been talking, explaining, amending and drinking tea with the Maslakh shura leader, and yesterday finally we (literally) got the thumbs up. This is exciting news and means that next year we can begin work towards refurbishing, equipping and expanding the existing school, whilst at the same time working to introduce some home based schooling. Boys and girls will get to go to school!

Thalassemia Major

Sixteen years ago Gunel was born with the disease thalassemia major. Children born with the disease are normal at birth, but develop severe anemia during the first year of life, and have a life expectancy of 20-30 years. That is if they can get regular blood transfusions, and treatment.

When Gunel comes into the room, I know she's not well, but I didn't know any of this. She looks maybe 12, and is not much bigger than her 6 year old brother, Samir. It is obvious that she has not grown as normal, that she is jaundiced and has some facial deformities, but her mum tells me that she is also constantly fatigued - pretty much all the symptoms of thalassemia major.

For a child to be born with the 'major' form of the disease, both parents must be carriers of the defective gene. This knowledge, which came in hindsight, has resulted in the divorce of Gunel's parents; and mum blaming herself.

Because she's sick no school will accept her, and when she was referred to our team of Community Workers by a neighbour, her mum was having trouble accessing blood transfusions and treatment. There are no health benefits here; there is a public hospital system, but that doesn't mean it is free or affordable and as for blood - well, get in line and be prepared to pay.

Not to be beaten, the case worker turned to social media; she put Gunel's story on Facebook and asked her 'friends' to volunteer to give blood. So far, it has worked, each time Gunel needs a transfusion they are able to find a volunteer. But despite the treatment school is still out of the question, so Gunel attends the day centre managed by our partners (UAFA) and she loves it. She has attended dance and drama classes and recently participated in her first stage production. But most of all she loves art, and in particular bead work.

As we leave the neat, clean 2 room (50m2) house with no bathroom, Mum comes with us to talk in private with the case worker. Making sure Gunel and Samir are still inside, she tears up; she has recently discovered that thalassemia major children in this country do not usually live until they are 16.

Behind the Walls

Last year when I visited Baku, one of my most vivid observations was the beautiful walls. Today, I had the chance to venture behind the walls.

In the shadow (literally) of the Kempinski Hotel, Badambar, "Your 5 Star Luxury Hotel", there is a very poor IDP community. The families have been here for almost 20 years now, before the Hotel was built, and in that time they have received no government support for the development of their community. The roads up to and past the Hotel are sealed, but behind and beyond, it's 4 wheel drive territory.

I am here with a team of our project's Community Social Services workers; 3 women from among the national complement of 20-25 qualified social workers who are charged with case managing families and children that are referred by neighbours, doctors or schools - and primarily disabled children. We have come to meet two beautiful little kids, Emin and Asiman and their grandparents.

Asiman, now 9 years old, was born with epilepsy, but she had been attending school for two years before having her first fit at school. The school immediately "expelled" her - they did not know how, and were unwilling to deal with a child with epilepsy. At about the same time, Emin, now 7 years old, had his first fit.

Both children are now ineligible for school and because they are not officially diagnosed with epilepsy, they and their family do not receive medical or any other government support. But they knew no one to ask about the process, and they were frightened to go to the hospital. They knew of too many cases in their own community where people had presented for public (free) hospital or medical support only to leave empty handed when they were informed of "the cost". So they managed.

Today, thanks to the team's contacts and advocacy, Grandma was told that the children had an appointment next week with the hospital and that there would be no "costs". This means that the children will be officially listed on the Government system; they will be able to receive subsidised medications, their family will receive a government benefit and Emin and Asiman will be eligible to receive home schooling in 2013 onwards. (There is a way to go, with some other advocacy work happening, to enforce a policy for inclusive education.)

Emin and Asiman's case worker will follow them up once a week for the next three months and then if things are going alright, they will visit once a month for a further three months, and then once every three months, and after twelve months, if there is no more that we can do to assist, their case will be closed. (But once invested in the lives of kids, it is hard not to remain involved - and who can force that.)

Emin and Asiman are just two of an estimated 60,000 "disabled" children in the country who are "shut away at home". In the past an acceptable and government facilitated option was to institutionalise these children - but with a government policy of de-institutionalisation, today there is a desperate need for Gatekeeping initiatives like ours. The journey to close all institutions (with about 14,000 children still in institutional care) is a long way from over, and it needs a lot of support.

Thank you to the Aussies that are financially supporting this project - trust me, your donations are making a difference.

Pride & Joy; Nothing much Beats it!

At a village school in the Imereti region teenagers dreamt of having an indoor gymnasium. But with limited funds being prioritised for things like a new toilet block, the reality of this happening was nonexistent.

Eight seniors from the school got together and, as a result of the leadership training they had recently received, they did some research and wrote a proposal. They live in an agricultural region where they worked the farms with their parents, but they had noticed that the greenhouses were not standing up to the snows, and the wear and tear of bad weather.

From their research and discussions with local farmers they designed a new style of greenhouse. It would be made with a metal frame, because the wood rots and breaks; it would have a thicker plastic skin, because the traditional ‘cellophane’ tore too easily; and a half-round roof, because the A-frame roofs broke under the weight of collecting snow, whilst the round roof allowed the snow to fall away.

Farmers had not seen the style before and many criticised. But the proposal was accepted, the green-house built and after a bumper crop of tomatoes the students are laughing as they plant a winter crop of herbs.

They haven’t got their gym yet, and at the rate they can grow crops it will be a long way off, but you should see the pride in their eyes and the smiles on their faces as they tell me their story. One of the girls tells me that; “other school’s teenagers laughed at them, and told them they were fools, but now they don’t”.

As one of the boys shows me around and explains the differences and benefits of this construction he compares it to the green house his dad has, and announces that he is going to help other people in the community transfer to this better, more efficient, more productive model.

When you see that look of pride and joy in people’s eyes, then you know you’re onto a good thing.

Empowering Youth in Imereti

If you are going to eat khachapuri, then if it is the real deal it will be made with cheese from the Imereti region of Georgia. (It's a flatish bread stuffed with melting cheese.) But that's not what I was in Imereit for, although I had been treated to khachapuri within 12 hours of being in the country.

About three hours west of Tbilisi near the city of Kutaisi, (in the Imereti region) the schools were built years ago in the Soviet era, and the world has forgotten them. Veyr recently one of them received permission to build a toilet block, and despite the fact that it is a concrete box, it is the flashest building in town.

One of the most urgent needs in these communities, as identified by the people, is that the youth have nothing to do, and very few of them have any hope of improvement. These are farming communities, most have small family plots that only just scrape by. But the parents, like any parents, want their kids to have the opportunity to do something different - to be better than them.

For the past 7 months our team has been working with the kids in eight of these schools; officially to build their capacity - but actually what has happened is that they have become self aware, confident and socially responsible.

Together with the schools our team has built Youth Councils in the schools. About 10-15 teenagers have elected a Leader, a PR, Finance and Social Networking lead. Once this group was established they each elected, from the School staff, a Mentor that would work with them; mediate for, and advocate on their behalf.

All eight schools went away to summer camps were they learnt debating skills (and competed against each other), they completed a first aid certificate, and they learnt local level advocacy skills. At the end of the camp each of the Youth Councils were required to identify at least one project that they would undertake to improve their community.

All of the Councils chose to address the garbage problem in their school and community: today after advocating for change the school has large bins, the community has public bins and the councils have agreed to add these bins to the council collection and to pay the costs.

Three schools also chose to address the issue of disability exclusion in their schools. They recognised that the disabled kids in their communities were excluded from school and community life. Through their Mentor they asked for training on disability inclusion, and inclsive education. Then they went to work on the Ministry of Education, the School Director and the community. They held their own awareness campaign, and spread the message they had come to understand, that "we should not ignore the disabled kids because we think it is too hard, it isn't, they are brave and can do things we can't".

I had the opportunity to visit a new classroom that has been repaired and painted (pink) by the kids. A teacher has been employed and, the school I visited, had five disabled kids enrolled, (and a ramp built for access). There was a large tree painted on the wall, with branches that held the dreams of these kids. It's a small beginning - but a huge step for the young people.

With confidence they reported their involvement in the project and a few of them outlined their dreams for the future. Most of them will go to University: we will have a few teachers, a couple of lawyers, one or two journalists, a few IT experts and one or two agricultural scientists who want to research farming methods to improve crop yields in their community.

This project is transforming the lives of young people in Imereti and they in turn are reforming society. That's exciting to be (a very small) part of.