Tragically, all the CCTV cameras and safe touch sessions did not prevent a Grade 7 student from taking her own life because she could not take the humiliation of her science teacher any more. Self-harm is the biggest cause of death of 13 to 17-year-olds in India. Mental health awareness in our country is abysmally …
Finding local solutions for local challenges in countries like Nepal. Before the pandemic, seven-year-old Samir was receiving after-school support at a Learning Space run by Viva’s partner network in Nepal. During those early days, the staff described him as a shy boy with irregular attendance who was at risk of dropping out of school altogether. …
How a Child Learning Centre in Nepal is helping disadvantaged children to thrive despite their circumstances. Alisha is eight years old, and lives with her mother and sister in Nuwakot in central Nepal, a region near the capital, Kathmandu. Like most other children of her age, she was at school and loved playing with her …
BY BECCA MARTIN It’s the school holidays, but from one classroom not far from Kampala a song by Sia blasts out through the windows. “I put my armour on, show you how strong I am. I’ll put my armour on, I’ll show you that I am, I’m unstoppable.” Inside, a group of girls decide on …
BY ANNAH MARY TUSIIME Rachel’s is a story of a life that was forever changed. She was raised by a single mother who farmed other people’s gardens for a living and, with the little she had, she supported Rachel until Senior 4 (aged 15 years). Unable to find any lasting work within her community, Rachel’s …
Syrian refugee children in Lebanon are vulnerable to being exploited and forced to work. However, as Kezia M’Clelland writes, Viva and its local partner are prioritising the need for child protection and supporting them in getting an education. Refugees comprise a quarter of Lebanon’s population. This brings pressure on resources and opportunities, and Syrian families …
BY BRIAN WILKINSON Brian Wilkinson describes why a network in Bolivia proved to be an answer to prayer for an authority leader. Visiting the smallest network that partners with Viva, high up in Llallagua, Bolivia last month, I was so impressed that they had excellent relationships with the authorities. I attended the launch of the …
BY ANDREW DUBOCK Following on from our four-year girls’ catch-up education programme in Kampala, Viva and its Uganda-based partner network CRANE have secured a new seven-year contract with the British government’s Department for International Development (DFID) to continue to build on and increase this crucial work. By 2024, it will directly benefit almost 10,000 girls, …
BY JANET GAUKROGER Janet Gaukroger has been working with our partner network CRANE in Uganda for over 10 years. On her most recent visit last month, she helped lead a learning retreat for ten young women who are training to be early childhood teachers. She tells of her experience meeting the group of soon-to-be teachers …
A school within CRANE, Viva’s partner network in Uganda, is preventing violence in the classroom and in the wider community – and so changing the culture in a country where many schoolchildren continue to face physical and sexual abuse. Mim Friday reports on how big a problem violence in schools is and the way forward …