UNDERSTANDING A NATION IN CHANGE - KG GROWING AND DEVELOPING

"Bride Kidnapping - Illegal in Kyrgyzstan"

WHEN LAWS CHANGE

PEOPLE SOMETIMES 

FOLLOW 

ALONG

SLOWLY

LAMb's Response to Bride Kidnapping in Central Asia?

EDUCATION

We are committed to education and training to help those serving vulnerable, exploited and abused children and youth.  Trauma-informed training is a major focus at this time in the journey of LAMb International.  Our team members globally are all working tirelessly to make a difference. 

In Kyrgyzstan -  we started with bringing little girls who were rescued from abuse, abandonment and more - to our Dayspring program - now continuing with them through adulthood as permanence and family take root.  We added a transition program.

We have our older youth program - the transition program - now serving orphans who graduate from the orphanage system and need help with Life Skills, Education and Emotional and Physical support and care. We offer Life Skill training to three different orphanages, Education opportunities and housing.  Our mentoring program continues to evolve and develop in Kyrgyzstan.  

We are small in comparison to some ministry outreach programs - yet we still work in 32 different countries and have trainers equipped and serving across the globe.

IN KYRGYZSTAN - OUR PRIMARY FOCUS - we are dedicated to the issues that have caused such grief to many of the young women we work with - BRIDE KIDNAPPING.  

Ruby's sister, Sondra, has dedicated herself to helping educate youth about this illegal practice in Kyrgystan - teaching youth respect of persons both male and female, love for their country, how to be safe and how to help others be safe.

As mindsets change - so does a Nation.  Kyrygzstan is developing beyond past harms and is moving to be a nation that respects women and children.  Change is difficult - but change can be good.  This change is good.  No one person can do it all - but together we can be a loud voice for positive change.  All children and youth deserve Safety, Permanency and Well-Being - and the END TO BRIDE KIDNAPPING.

THE REALITY.... 

Bride kidnapping, also known as bridenapping, marriage by abduction or marriage by capture, is a practice in which a man abducts the woman he wishes to marry. Bride kidnapping has been practiced around the world and throughout history. It continues to occur in countries in Central Asia. 

Despite the illegality, in many primarily rural areas, bride kidnapping, known as ala kachuu (to take and flee), is an accepted and common way of taking a wife. A recent victimization survey in Kyrgyzstan (2015) included the crime of kidnapping of young women for marriage.

Fourteen percent of married women answered that they were kidnapped at the time and that two-thirds of these cases were said to be consensual, the woman knew the man and had agreed with it upfront. This means that about five percent of the current marriages in Kyrgyzstan are cases of 'Ala Kachuu' – although there is much controversy to this data.

There is another source that mentions much higher numbers. Approximately half of all Kyrgyz marriages include bride kidnapping; of those kidnappings, two-thirds are non-consensual. Research by non-governmental organizations give estimates from a low of 40% to between 68 and 75 percent of all marriages in Kyrgyzstan involved bride kidnapping.  Most significantly is the impact these marriages have on the culture and young women being forced into the marriage.

Bride kidnappings that involve rape do so to psychologically force the would-be bride to accept her kidnapper and his family’s pressure to marry him, since if she then refuses she would never be considered marriageable again.

Reports say there are nearly 12,000 bride kidnappings in Kyrgyzstan yearly.  Although the practice is illegal in Kyrgyzstan, bride kidnappers are rarely prosecuted. In most nations, bride kidnapping is considered a sex crime rather than a valid form of marriage. 

HIS CHILDREN - HIS HEART - OUR CALL - OUR PASSION

HIS CHILDREN - HIS HEART

OUR CALL - OUR PASSION

PLEASE READ

AND 

RESPOND

GREETINGS FRIENDS,  We are excited to share with you our next steps and updates from Kyrgyzstan!  We have not let the grass grow under our feet.  We are committed to serving and being available to the call to find families for vulnerable children.  In addition, we are seeing amazing success in the different transfer of learning work from our trainers we have been developing across the globe.  

(At the end of this blog, we have added a breakdown of some of the work being done by just a couple of new trainers from India - REJOICE WITH US!) 

TRANSFER OF LEARNING FROM INDIA INTERVENTIONS

TRAINERS WE HAVE TRAINED AND WHAT THEY HAVE RECENTLY COMPLETED

TRAINER #1:

1.  Conducted a half day awareness training on TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE for the Chairpersons of the Child Welfare Committee and District Child Protection Officers from Tamilnadu at NIPCCD – ( National Institute of Public Co-Operation and Child Development), Bangalore.

Used information from Modules 1-12 of the PreService and prepared a PowerPoint Presentation in English and Tamil Language. 

8^th March, 2019

40 Participants

2.  Details and numbers involved:

Selected as Resource Person for the Training of Social Workers Central Adoption Resource Authority ( CARA) New Delhi.

The first ever social worker training in our country, on ‘Trauma Informed Care’,  happened in the month of March. The participants were social workers of CCIs, DCPOs and Social Work students from New Delhi State. The one and a half hours session was appreciated and adjudged the best.

Used information from all the Modules and also part of the PowerPoint Presentation, of the PreService.

14-16 MARCH, 2019

36 Participants

3.  A Child Care Institution in Bangalore expressed the need to address single parents and parents to be, on bringing home an older child and anticipated issues.

Used information from all the Modules and also part of the PowerPoint Presentation, of the PreService. 

May 4, 2019

20 Participants

4.  A half a day session for Parents to be and adoptive parents on Adoption Regulation 2017 was initiated at Bangalore. Addressed the parents by giving them a  gist of ‘Identifying Trauma in a child’ .

Used information from all the Modules  of the PreService, in the form of a PowerPoint Presentation,. 

May 11, 2019

20 Participants

5.  The second social worker training  on ‘Trauma Informed Care’,  happened in the month of May. The participants were social workers of CCIs, DCPOs and from Chhattisgarh State. The one and a half hours session was appreciated and adjudged the best.

The training was in the Hindi language, the participants were divided into 3 groups and the sessions were taken back to back.

Used information from Modules 1-12 of the PreService and prepared a PowerPoint Presentation in English and Hindi Language. 

May 15-18, 2019

110 Participants

TRAINERS #2 AND #3:

1.  Given two days training to existing and potential foster parents and government stakeholder in Udaipur on modules 3 and 8 of the pre-service

#of participants were 25

2.  Given two days training to existing foster parents and government stakeholders including CWC members and CCI social workers in Udaipur on modules 6 and 10 of pre service

#of participants were 27

TRAINER #4:

Conducted training terms with the own organization members on the awareness of foster care and Adoption

TRAINER #5:

1.  Pre-adoption training was given to  prospective adoptive parents – one on one session about attachment, trauma, etc

Total 8 Participants in 4 different sessions of 1 to 2 hours

2 to 3 hours of training was given to the caregivers and staff in the orphanage about separation & 2.  trauma etc

6 participants

3.  2 to 3 hours raining was given to the caregivers and staff in the orphanage about trauma, early intervention, development, attachment etc.

6 participants

4.  On couple of occasions I have counseled one adoptive parent with a teenager regards to causes of behavioral issues, brain development, learning issues in adopted children etc – Short session

AND THIS IS ONLY A FEW OF OUR NEW TRAINERS IN INDIA IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS

ADD JUST ZIMBABWE, AFRICA AND THEY ARE CONDUCTING TRAINING EVERY MONTH 

100'S HAVE BEEN TRAINED

COLLECT, CONNECT AND THEN CORRECT

YES

COLLECT THE EYES

CONNECT TO THE HEART

THEN 

OFFER CORRECTION

"Children don't care what you know until they know that you care."

The last many months we have been quiet - but not still.  We have been serving across the globe 

• training hundreds of trainers, 
• preparing for the new youth in our Jeremiah 29:11 program - those joining us this summer,
• conducting humanitarian activities in Kyrgyzstan, Africa and India, 
• supporting our youth and team in Kyrgyzstan, 
• developing our new staff person from South Africa, 
• bringing joy into the pre-school we have helped start in Khwai, Africa, 
• bringing new ideas and program strategies to our work at Jeremiah 29:11 in Kyrgyzstan,
• writing new training material, doing "tent making, 
• sharing at a conference, training our new staff member, 
• developing a strategy to meet Capacity Building Needs in 21 different African countries,
• helping think through and consider the growth of an all India Capacity Building Initiative, 
• planning an intervention with Nicaragua - that will be a major Capacity Building Initiative with our partners there,
• coaching new trainers from afar,
• conducting a trauma training in Ontario
• conducting a trauma training in Ohio
• working with a great team to bring together key leaders in October for a WORLD WITHOUT ORPHAN EVENT - IN THAILAND.

I cannot begin to tell you how many children will be touched by the hundreds of trainers we have trained.  These trainers - work to bring children into families!  They work with orphanage staff and youth who have aged out of the orphanages.  The work of our trainees spreads far and wide.  Thousands have potentially been impacted by the trainers and trainees we have met and instructed over the last months.  

NO WE HAVE NOT BEEN IDLE

WE HAVE BEEN BASKING IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING OF KINGS 

REACHING OUT TO THE 

LOST, LEAST, MARGINALIZED, HURTING AND BROKEN. 

 BUT NEVER TO DESPAIR BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN...

BROKENNESS TURNED TO BEAUTY AND YES, IT IS WELL.... 

(JOIN US - INVEST TODAY IN THE LIFE OF SOMEONE WAITING FOR YOU!)

TAKE A LOOK...

IT IS ALWAYS SPRING FOR A CHILD - UNLESS THEY ARE EXPLOITED

VULNERABLE, EXPLOITED

ORPHANED

(robs a child of their springtime)

WE HAVE WATCHED AS HER SPRING HAS RETURNED
SHE IS LOVED, CHERISHED AND PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT

We have been serving children and families for most all our lives in one way or another.  Yet for the past years, as part of the LAMb International team, we have focused on training and equipping those working directly with vulnerable and exploited children – as well as with families who are in crisis. We have been active in:

¨ Training Trainers

¨ Equipping Practitioners

¨ Encouraging Champions

¨ Finding Advocates

¨ And doing direct services where emergencies surface for help and more. 

We have seen amazing returns where children have been able to stay in their families, returned to birth families, been adopted and where workers have changed their old practices to ensure quality care for children who have been ROBBED OF THEIR SPRING due to neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.

Yet the problem is so big –so many things are needed to prevent children from being ROBBED OF THEIR SPRING and sometimes it feels overwhelming.  

Then out of the blue something wonderful happens to remind us that it is all about that ONE!  

• The one robbed that is now successful, 
• the one robbed that is about to get out of prison and has hope once again and a commitment to do things differently, 
• the one that was robbed and walks forever with a limp – but can walk and mother her child, 
• the one that was robbed of his nine family members (murdered) and still sees hope in his future, 
• the one that was robbed when no one believed the horrific abuse she was experiencing by her uncle and today is married and happy, 
• the one that was robbed of her spring when she was abandoned at a garbage dump and is now doing well in University, 
• the one that was robbed ….
• .yes the stories continue in our minds – forever burned deep into our hearts. 

We have seen the pain, sorrow, hopelessness.  AND we have witnessed the return from the frozenness to the hope and acknowledgment that a child has had their SPRING RETURNED..... when they come to know their HEAVENLY FATHER and to know and understand that they are a precious son or daughter of the King of Kings.  Yes, we have seen both sides – the Spring and the Fall.  

The most important is the Spring that is returned in a way that only He Can Return.  A SPRING ETERNAL… A HOPE ETERNAL.

Why do we do what we do?  Why do we train tirelessly to help others carry forth new knowledge and skills to work with vulnerable, orphaned and exploited children? 

BECAUSE WE BELIEVE AND WE HAVE SEEN!  

THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING WITH US.

We are heading to Kyrygzstan tomorrow morning – pouring into many youth whom we have watched their SPRING RETURN.  What a blessing.

JOIN US IN PRAYING FOR MORE SPRING TO RETURN!

KYRGYZSTAN - PROTECTING VULNERABLE CHILDREN FROM TRAFFICKING

MANY KYRGYZSTAN CHILDREN

 ARE VULNERABLE

AND ALL TOO 

OFTEN 

EXPLOITED by TRAFFICKERS

We are pleased to see so many youth interested in knowing more about trafficking.  Children in institutions are often targets for traffickers.  This week our team was able to conduct a comprehensive training event for two different groups - one group of girls and another with boys.  

LIFE SKILL TRAINING IN ACTION 

"How to Keep Safe From Traffickers" 

being taught by Sondra Adams (Ruby's sister who is serving and learning in Kyrgyzstan!)

Boys group

Girls Group

Sondra conducted the events

Keep praying for our youth in the Jeremiah 29:11 program and beyond - those in residence and those we come in contact with through our education teams and leaders we are training.

We will be conducting trauma training for leaders in two weeks in Bishkek.  We started with these leaders back in 2018 at the end of the year with Kathy Hallick there to serve our leaders.  

Lynn and Ruby will be working with them again - continuing to build their skills.

In addition, we will be restructuring our Jeremiah 29:11 outreach programs to better serve youth who are transitioning.  Excited to see how it is all moving forward and serving youth across the region and beyond.  Also will be doing a full revisit of all the youth who have been part of our Jeremiah/Dayspring program - update to follow in April.

WAR is BEING WAGED IN BOTSWANA

WAR

WOMEN AGAINST RAPE

No matter where we work, we see the violation of children.  Child sexual abuse is a serious issue.  Having just been in the village here in Botswana, we were once again reminded of how abuse can become a norm when there are few to no resources to help.

When children are not valued -  they are subject to become victims again and again.  The stories just break our hearts.  We have heard many while here.  As we come behind our different partners and colleagues here that are serving, we ask you to join the fight.  

Watch this video and if you feel inclined - step into the battle and WAR with us.  This team, we have worked with for several years and they are making a difference.  

Join us in Botswana in late November - early December.  GO TO WAR WITH US!