Cutting Edge

Be inspired and challenged to think about your role as Menchit reminds us that to help vulnerable children all over the world, we need us to work together.

Menchit Wong has dedicated her life to advocating for children. For 30 years, Menchit served with Compassion International as both country director for the Philippines and as the international child advocacy director. She was a catalyst for the Lausanne Children-at-Risk Network, and now serves as co-vice chair of the Lausanne Movement’s international board. She is also part of the leadership team of the relaunched 4:14 Movement. 

The bleak reality is that far too many children are at risk today. Using examples of her work to help children in crisis because of the Ukraine war, Dr Susan Hillis shares how she believes that ‘cutting edge hope’ – innovative collaboration between governments, the church, and academia – is the only way to respond.

Dr. Susan Hillis serves at Oxford University and Imperial College London as senior research officer and co-chair of the Global Reference Group on Children Affected by Crisis. Over a long career that has crossed the non-profit, church and government spheres, she has been a leading voice in public health and ending violence against children, with over 150 publications.

Providing support for parents is an essential part of strengthening families. In this short talk, Cathryn Wood explains the impact positive parenting training can have - and how digital delivery can help many more parents to receive this transformational support.

Cathryn Wood is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Parenting for Lifelong Health, which empowers parents to improve positive parenting capacity, reduce violence against children, and promote mental health and wellbeing. For the past 16 years, Cathryn has focused on scaling evidence-backed initiatives to improve early childhood outcomes, child health and family wellbeing.

Dr Winnie Fung helps us think about the seismic shift that has taken place this year in the global aid and development sector. What has really happened? What is the impact? And how might churches and Christian organisations respond?

Dr. Winnie Fung is the Chief Executive of CEDAR Fund, an independent Christian relief and development organisation in Hong Kong. She is a development economist with a PhD in Business Economics from Harvard University and an MA in Biblical Studies from Wheaton College.

Santa Lamunu shares what we can learn about strengthening families from her work in refugee settlements.

Santa Lamunu is the Director of Women Rising for Humanity and Development, a women-led organisation focused on protecting vulnerable populations in both host and displacement settings. Previously, Santa worked with UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, supporting communities in building their capacities to prevent, mitigate and respond to violence against women and children.

Laurie Markle presents an overview of Parent for Lifelong Health’s blend of in-person and digital evidence-based solutions to help parents by reviewing the functions and successes of tools such as ParentText, ParentApp and a FacilitatorApp.

Laurie Markle joined PLH as the Chief of Solutions from UNICEF, where she served as the global lead and digital engagement advisor for UNICEF’s Internet of Good Things (IoGT) with 15 years’ experience in digital development for improved information sharing.

This session introduces the importance of economic strengthening if we want to help make families stronger. Dr Susan Greener sets the scene, then Carol Talima provides examples from the world of CRANE (Children at Risk Action Network) in Kampala, Uganda.

Find out how ‘Hope Groups’ are making it possible for parents and caregivers to provide better support for children in crisis settings, including those impacted by the war in Ukraine.