The Child’s Journey®
Highlights from The Child’s Journey – January 2024
Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how together we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
Click the video above to see Sreyyee read John 1:1-4 in the language of Khmer.
Although each child and their caregiver are provided with Scripture resources in their heart language, growing in knowledge of God’s Word involves more than just receiving Bibles. This is why mentors engage children and their caregivers with Biblical lessons during monthly sessions. In Cambodia, a country with a Christian population of only 2%, children like Sreyyee are being encouraged to read and learn Bible verses in order to bring God’s Word into their hearts. We hope this video of Sreyyee reading from the first chapter of John brings joy to you today!
Children attending a Christmas event open their new gifts.
Christmas can be a particularly difficult time of year for the children of prisoners. Being separated from a loved one is never easy, but it’s particularly felt during times of family celebration. To bring cheer to the children in their program, Prison Fellowship Colombia organized Christmas celebrations for families served by The Child’s Journey. Children were able to gather and participate in activities and receive food support packs to help their families celebrate the holidays without worrying about where their next meal would come from. Additionally, children were gifted new toys. For some, these were their only Christmas gifts this year and their joy to receive them was overwhelming.
A family in Malawi receives a delivery of staple food items.
It’s no surprise that children of prisoners are at a higher risk of poverty and hunger. Having a parent in prison often means that the remaining parent struggles as the sole breadwinner of the family. The unprecedented inflation of Malawian currency in recent months has exacerbated this issue and caused the cost of food staples to rise above what many families in Malawi can afford. The Prison Fellowship Malawi team has distributed life-giving food support to hundreds of children enrolled in the program this year. These food packs include food staples such as cooking oil, rice, milk and grains.
Children in Rwanda hold up their new notebooks.
With a primary provider absent, families face new challenges and daily hardship, leaving many children of prisoners in Rwanda financially unable to afford basic school supplies. Your support ensures that children in Rwanda – and across the program – receive resources, tools and the support needed to thrive in school. Earlier this year, the field teams gathered school supplies to create school kits to be distributed to children at community events and individual home visits. This quarter, the team in Rwanda has been hard at work distributing these school supplies to the hundreds of school-aged children in their program. Receiving an education is one of the essential building blocks to helping children realize a future beyond the cycle of crime.
A mentor in Togo shows her mentees how to properly wash their hands.
Health and safety are crucial for all children, but children of prisoners often find themselves struggling in these areas due to economic and environmental factors. This is why Prison Fellowship Togo developed a health and safety training program that is being delivered in the communities of children enrolled in The Child’s Journey. This training has the dual purpose of allowing caseworkers and mentors to ensure that the child is living in stable, safe conditions, while also giving them the opportunity to provide them with additional mentoring in how to take precautions against illness and harm.
A family in Zambia receives children’s bedding from TCJ.
The Child’s Journey is not a cookie-cutter program. It is designed to assess a child’s greatest need and stand in the gap to address their unique situation until their family be reunited and/or become self-sufficient. While it may not be a need that we would normally think of, many of the children that we serve in Zambia find that necessary items, like bedding and mosquito nets, are out of reach financially. Recently, the team in Zambia procured dozens of blankets, sheets and mosquito nets for families who were in need of such items and have been distributing them during caseworker visits. Such efforts allow vulnerable children to live happier, healthier lives.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.