Nations of Children

by Phileena Heuertz, The Cry

In the early morning, Felipe gathers his assortment of candies and hits the streets in the hope of finding one open-handed customer.

Today, Manoj is shining shoes instead of sitting in a classroom.

At night, Valentino’s bed is the pavement.

Sarah was torn from her family during civil conflict and is now completely alone. She doesn’t know where her family is located – or even if they are still alive.

As you read, Priya is locked in a filthy room, deprived of food and raped repeatedly until her will is broken.

Gabrielle awakes each morning wondering if there will be any food for her.

Ahmad carries an AK-47 and prays that today he will not be forced to kill.

Sylvia watches her mother slowly waste away; she is dying of AIDS. Her family cannot afford doctors or medicine.

These are our children. In the 2005 State of the World’s Children report, UNICEF identifies that poverty, conflict and HIV/AIDS are the three primary issues threatening the health and safety of half the world’s children (more than 1 billion). This means one out of every two children in our world today is being denied childhood! In the developing/majority world alone, more than half of the children live in poverty without access to basic goods and services.
• One in six children is severely hungry.
• One in seven has no access to health care.
• One in five has no safe water.
• One in three has no toilet or sanitation facilities at home (2004, Associated Press).

Also in UNICEF’s 2005 report, they declared that the world has the capacity to reduce poverty, war and HIV/AIDS, and improve the condition of our children. Further, UNICEF noted that human development could be achieved at an annual cost of $40-$70 billion. By contrast, in 2003 the world spent $956 billion on military expenses alone.

Four years ago, we introduced you to Nations of Children, an article that demonstrated the magnitude of children in crisis around the world (Phileena Heuertz, The Cry, Vol.6 No.1).
The statistical data describing the harm occurring can be staggering. When those numbers are compared with populations of countries we see that numbers of children – on the scale of nations – are facing poverty, disease, war, injustice and exploitation.

Sadly, little has changed in the statistics over the years, but Word Made Flesh has been advancing in the fight for the lives of these children.

Many children’s lives are now filled with hope and opportunity because of WMF staff serving among them. Though the numbers seem overwhelming, the individual children we’ve come to know compel us to be faithful. Nations are being changed one child at a time.

The WMF community takes a prophetic, rather than a strategic stance. We believe that by living with and among those who suffer, we encounter Jesus and the Kingdom of God advances, transforming people and nations – both poor and rich. Though it may not seem like the few we are touching make a difference in this ocean of need, Mother Teresa reminded us that it makes a difference to the one who is helped.

Jesus demonstrated this by His life on earth. Though at times He met the needs of the masses, His love was expressed by touching one life at a time. And 2000 years later, His love is still changing lives and nations. His unconditional love for the individual and His passion for justice are what transform and endure.

However, the staggering statistics cannot be overlooked. The dreadful numbers remind us that the battle for our children is far from over. Countless cries are yet to be answered. These numbers remind us why we cannot live for ourselves. The Scriptures tell us that there is no greater love than laying down our lives (I John 3:16). And because the Father first loved us, we gladly give our lives in love to Him.
So together, united with you and supported by you, WMF staff members are giving up their lives of abundance, luxury and ‘success’ to share life with the poorest of the poor. We do this in the hope that one more child will be liberated from the shackles of poverty, war and disease – an enduring sign that the King of Heaven reigns.

Children in Distress (worldwide figures) / Comparative Populations /Cities Where WMF is Addressing the Need
11 million children die each year before reaching their fifth birthday (mostly from preventable causes) / Cuba: 11.4 million /Chennai, Kolkata, El Alto, Rio, Kathmandu, Galaţi, Freetown, Lima
182,000 children go blind every year because they lack sufficient Vitamin A intake / French Guiana: 186,000 / Chennai, Kathmandu, Kolkata
250 million children work as day laborers (ages 5-14) /Approximately 60 million of these children work under “horrific circumstances,” such as forced labor and prostitution / United States: 276 million / Lima, Kolkata
140 million children are growing up without access to education / Pakistan: 141 million / Chennai, Kolkata, Kathmandu, Galaţi, Freetown, Lima, Rio
100 million children work and/or live on the streets worldwide / Mexico: 100 million /
Kathmandu, Galaţi, Rio, Freetown, Lima, Kolkata
25 million children are refugees – that’s more than half of all refugees worldwide / Afghanistan: 25 million /Freetown
10 million children are enslaved in the sex industry: child prostitution, sex tourism and pornography / Portugal: 10 million /Kolkata
300,000 children under the age of 18 serve as soldiers in government forces or armed rebel groups. Some are as young as eight years old / Bahamas: 305,000 /Freetown
3 million children and young people are infected with HIV/AIDS every year / Liberia: 3.5 million / Chennai, Galaţi, Rio
25 million children around the world will have lost one or both parents to AIDS by 2010 /
Uganda: 25.6 million / Chennai, Galaţi, Kathmandu
5 million children have died from AIDS, since the beginning of the pandemic / Nicaragua: 5.1 million /Chennai, Galaţi

Source: http://www.wordmadeflesh.org, The Cry: An Advocacy Journal of WMF, vol. 11, no. 1 (Spring 2005)