Kids at Risk

The Fight Against Poverty

Justice, Kids at Risk, Prayer, Thinking About God, Urban Ministry -

October 17th has been declared the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The day was first recognized back in 1987 with the purpose of focusing the world’s attention on issues related to poverty. In El Salvador, poverty is a root cause of many issues that face our friends. Things like human trafficking, homelessness, and the potential to be victimized by violent crime are all perpetuated by poverty. A child born into poverty has a higher chance of being victimized or exploited, and ultimately of ending up living a life on the streets or in unsafe conditions. This is the case for millions of people around the world who struggle to get through each day, and have to work their hardest simply to survive. It is a tragedy that so […]

A Third Too Many

Free the Girls, Human Trafficking, Immigration, Justice, Kids at Risk -

This weekend our newspaper reported a sobering and disturbing statistic about girls in El Salvador. At latest count, thirty percent of all pregnancies in El Salvador are to girls under the age of 15. That is roughly 1 out of every 3. The text under the headline reported that many of the cases are rapes. You can read the report in Spanish here. This is terrible news for girls. The reality is that girls in El Salvador are in crisis. They are vulnerable to rape, abuse, and trafficking. These girls leave school and enter a cycle of poverty that is virtually impossible to break.  A third of all pregnancies to girls under 15 is a third too many. Unfortunately the news isn’t much better for boys. Tori had to do […]

Something to Celebrate

Free the Girls, Human Trafficking, Justice, Kids at Risk -

Yesterday we had a beautiful celebration for our three Quinceañeras (15 year old girls). In this culture, turning 15 is a big deal and communities and churches join together to celebrate the life of the girl turning 15. In many cases, whole communities pitch in to sponsor different parts of the fiesta…a friend may sponsor some of the food, a family member may pay for balloons, a neighbor might provide plates and silverware. When we heard that three of the young survivors we work with would be 15 all in the same timeframe, we knew that we had to celebrate! It was an amazing thing for us to see our donors both in the U.S. and in El Salvador surround these girls with love and form a community of support for them […]

Community Medical Outreach

Kids at Risk, Rural Ministry -

One of our partner organizations, Latin American Children’s Fund (LACF) owns a health clinic outside of Santa Ana. We work in partnership with them to provide weekly healthcare to the community every Thursday, and to do various events to serve the community. This past Saturday, we spent the day at the clinic doing a children’s program and providing medical care and medicine to those in need. Six doctors volunteered their time, and local churches also sent volunteers to work with our staff to serve those who came. Here are some pictures from the day! Getting ready! Clowns are all set for the children’s program! The kids had a great time! Lined up and waiting for the gate to open. Taking a moment to pray for the families coming to receive […]

Party Time!

Free the Girls, Fundraising, Human Trafficking, Kids at Risk -

Part of our work in El Salvador includes offering resources to women and girls who are human trafficking survivors. We have several initiatives to serve them and to help them build a better future. We recently discovered that several of the girls we work with will be turning 15 all within the same timeframe and so we’ve decided that it’s time to party! Turning 15 is a really big deal in El Salvador and a 15th birthday celebration is called a Quinceañera.  For many girls in El Salvador (and throughout Latin America), turning 15 is a much bigger party then even a wedding celebration. These girls who have survived the horror of human trafficking have no family or community to celebrate this important moment in their lives. We want to do […]

The Face of Human Trafficking in El Salvador

Free the Girls, Human Trafficking, Justice, Kids at Risk, Prayer -

On Saturday morning I opened the newspaper and began to read the local stories…immigration, crime, the economy. As I flipped through the paper, it fell open onto a story about the recent arrest of 7 people accused of trafficking underage girls for sex.  Five of them are women, and two of them are men. All of them are young, not much older than their victims. This is the face of human trafficking in El Salvador. These are real traffickers who were selling girls in malls around San Salvador, and on their Facebook pages. A news website reported that one of the men had an album titled “My New Girls” advertising young virgins for sale. The article also reported the disgusting fact that the victims were forced to fake their virginity […]

Immigration…It’s Complicated

Gangs, Guatemala, History of El Salvador, Human Trafficking, Immigration, Kids at Risk -

This morning as I was driving in my car listening to talk radio, I heard about the latest public awareness campaign. This one is called “Dream Versus Nightmare” and is targeted at educating would-be immigrants about the potential perils involved in taking the journey North. I also opened the paper earlier this week to read the latest news from last week’s meeting between Obama and Central American leaders. As I flipped through the paper other stories were reported…the skyrocketing number of Salvadoran students killed so far this year, another double homicide, more Salvadorans abandoning their neighborhoods in the dark of night because gangs caused them to fear for their lives. There are complicated messages out there…it is absolutely true that immigration can take a dream and turn it into a […]

A Generation Lost

Gangs, Justice, Kids at Risk, Prayer -

New statistics have been released regarding homicide rates around the globe. I am saddened to see that El Salvador lands in the top five along with other Central American countries. As a whole Latin America is more violent than any other region on earth, and while the rates of femicide are high, the majority of the victims are males. That means that more people lose their sons, fathers, brothers, nephews, uncles, cousins, boyfriends, and friends to homicide than in any other region. What is more tragic, is that they lose them young. This report shows that the homicide rate among 15-29 year old males is more than four times the global rate. Four times the death, the pain, the loss, and the suffering. Four times the mothers that have to […]

Did You Know?

Gangs, Immigration, Kids at Risk, Ministry Center Project, The Lighthouse Project, Urban Ministry -

In my last post, I highlighted the need for one-on-one connections with our friends on the street. That’s the heart of the Lighthouse Project. The more we get to know our clients, the more we learn just exactly what they are up against. For example, did you know that El Salvador has a higher death rate from alcohol consumption than any other country in the Americas? Did you know that men in El Salvador are 27.8% more likely to die from an alcohol related cause than women? (You can read the full article here). Did you know that this past weekend, the Salvadoran newspaper La Prensa Grafica reported that 40 children have been murdered so far in El Salvador this year? Forty lives 17 and under have been cut short since January […]

Love

Free the Girls, Human Trafficking, Justice, Kids at Risk, Thinking About God -

I spend a few hours each week with women and girls that have survived the horror of being sold, and of being exploited for someone else’s gain. I’m not a psychologist, and I’m not a trauma counselor. Those are not my roles in the lives of these women and girls.  I simply try my best to be a truth-speaker, a supporter, and a friend. Every Thursday I have a small group discussion with some of them on a topic related to God. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so this week, love seemed like the natural thing to discuss. Love. How on earth could I begin to talk to these girls about love? They’ve lived through trauma and pain that I couldn’t find in my darkest nightmares. Life has not brought much […]

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