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Tag: Children and Youth Development

Ethiopian Child Sponsorship Programme – Graduates Passing on the Love

Every year in Ethiopia, there are a few beneficiaries “graduating” from the Child Sponsorship Programme* supported by CEDAR. Generally, beneficiaries are no longer supported by the programme once they reached 18 years old, however, we believe that the criterion to “graduate” from the programme shall not be limited to their age. We, instead, take the holistic development of the beneficiaries into account. For this reason, even as they turn 18 years old, we continue to subsidise them in occupational training for 1 to 3 years in hope of a higher chance for them to be employed with a certain qualification. For those that were admitted to university, our subsidy will apply until the completion of their degrees. From

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Let the Community Be Responsible for Their Children’s Education

Education is a very important part of eradicating poverty. Yet, many children living in low-income countries do not have the opportunity to receive proper education. Their parents are usually occupied by work to earn a living to put food on the table, thus they seldom think about the future of their children, who they thought would likely share similar fate like them. Because in their eyes, earning income to support their families is more important than getting an educational access for their children. We understand that if parents do not see the importance of education, they will not send their children to schools. Therefore, CEDAR has worked with World Concern Bangladesh and churches in the country to start

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Julie who Does Not Give In to Circumstances

Every individuals should be entitled to basic human rights, no matter adults or children. However, in reality, millions of children are far from having their rights secured. Children’s rights is not just an ideology, but are about children’s survival, children being free from any form of abuse and exploitation, children’s entitlement to education, children’s freedom of expression and their rights to enjoy social and cultural lives. “Trust Our Children” is the theme of this year’s Barefoot Walk event. The theme responds to the spirit of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the other hand it is to call on adults to pay attention to the dire situations faced by children in developing regions. Children

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The Letter from CEDAR | September 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Hope you had a blessed summer. My wife and I were invited to share on the handling of conflict in parenting at a fellowship group in our church few days ago. We shared about the struggle parents are facing. In Hong Kong, we do all we can to prepare our children for a successful life. This often means completion of higher education, successful career, better living environment, etc. However, less attention is paid to prepare the little ones for transforming the world. In June and July, other than the World Cup, the world’s attention was captured by the Tham Luang cave rescue. We were thankful that all 12 boys and their coach

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Growing Up in the City’s Forgotten Place

Situated in southern India, Chennai is the sixth biggest city in the country. It is the cultural, economic, and academic hub of South India. Many travel websites named Chennai as “hottest city for travellers” and one of the “best cosmopolitan city”, attracting numerous tourists and expats. However, behind the prosperity are families in slums struggling with everyday living. Stricken by poverty, children and teenagers from slum communities face the threats of dropping out of schools, being physically and psychologically abused, and being malnourished. Through local partner Christian Missions Charitable Trust, we sponsored 240 children and teenagers in eight slums. We support four areas of their growth and development: cognitive, socio-emotional, spiritual, and physical. At the same time, we

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Me as An Ordinary Person

Amongst the children ministries of CEDAR and its partners, post-war children ministry in Myanmar must be the most well-known one. You may ask, “Why do we still support this particular children ministry after two decades?” The answer is simple: Because it is worth it. We saw how God worked amazingly on these children, and we hope that they will become ambassadors for reconciliation. “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies.”(Luke 6:27a) This verse can well describe our Burmese partner, Full Moon. Some thought they are just a children’s home, taking care of children separated from families due to internal conflicts, but Full Moon’s core ministry is to repair relationships and heal wounds. The children’s home

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Bringing Light to the Youths Living in Darkness

“Left-behind Children”, a term describing over 60 million children in China who stayed behind with their grandparents in rural areas while their parents are working in the cities. While not all left-behind children suffer from poverty as their parents work far away from home, they all suffer the lack of parental care and love, and bear emotional burdens due to this long-term void. CEDAR’s partner in Sichuan, Chengdu Fuyi Community Services Centre, began supporting youths in quake-affected communities through caring and training programmes after the 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan. Two more earthquakes happened in Ya’an, Sichuan and Zhaotong, Yunnan in 2013 and 2014 respectively, leading to the expansion of our partner’s service to the youths in those

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TV Programmes That Could Benefit Children across the Middle East

Christianity was born in the Middle East, a region rich in culture, history, yet also, full of turbulence and persecution. SAT-7 is a Christian media network, making God’s love visible across the Middle East and North Africa through uncensored satellite television programme. Satellite television effectively break the barriers of religions, literacy, and censorship, making SAT-7’s programmes available to be broadcast across the Middle East and North Africa and accessible online internationally. CEDAR is supporting SAT-7’s new channel – SAT-7 Academy (launched in September). The channel produces holistic programmes, covering topics like education, health, and social development, for 6 million refugee and internally displaced children, and 15 million people who did not have access to proper education in the

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Child Rights for ALL Children

Banner image: As a peer educator, Taslima (middle) often catch up with other girls in the community to learn about issues they are facing Every individual has their rights despite their social status, age, gender, and education level. According to the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child should have the rights to survive and thrive, to be protected, to participate and make their voices heard. In Bangladesh, where 90% of its population are Muslims and 10% are Hindus, the caste system plays a significant part in the lives of Bangladeshis. People are categorised into different castes, and people who belong to the lowest social status group in the caste system are the Dalits,

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Children Are Priceless

Barla (obscured), 12, was a student in Pastor Thomas’ tutorial class. She missed classes a few times, and Pastor Thomas started searching for her to no avail. He feared for the worst that she might be caught by traffickers, so he filed a case at the police station. The investigators soon found out that Barla’s parents had sold her to a pimp at the price of less than HK$16. This is the story of one of the trafficked children told by CEDAR’s partner, EFIC@R, located in northern India where human trafficking is prevalent. EFIC@R started serving in the Jharkhand State, Orissa State, and West Bengal in 2012, establishing support networks with local churches to protect vulnerable children and

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