Saving Witch Children in Nigeria from Tihomir Kukolja on Vimeo.
To raise the awareness among our friends about the Dare to Make a Difference On-line TV broadcast we are sharing this 13 min highlight from the latest broadcast, that featured a 60 min interview with Leonardo Rocha dos Santos from UK, a volunteer with CRARN and Stepping Stones Nigeria, a co-founder of the Brazilian NGO Ways to the Nations. Leo talks about his work and the work of his friends in Nigeria involved in saving children falsely accused of witchcraft. Photos are provided by Leonardo Lepsch. In Nigeria innocent and beautiful children, as young as two years of age, are being abused, tortured, abandoned and killed - all of it in the name of Jesus. Self-styled evangelical pastors, prophets and prophetesses, thirsty for cash in a land stricken by poverty and superstition have over the past several years denounced thousands of children as witches and wizards. Denounced children are subjected to brainwashing and costly deliverance séances, with the outcomes that require more cash, and which most of the time lead to physical and emotional crippling of the children, their abandonment, and frequent violent death induced by parents, relatives or neighbors. These children, stigmatized as witches and wizards, are blamed for all troubles visiting their families, villages and country - from sickness, death, joblessness, financial misfortunes and poverty in the family, to bad harvests and disastrous fishing seasons due to pollution and merciless exploitation of natural resources. For the entire interview visit ustream.tv/ recorded/ 10187414
Make a PACT – Prevent Abuse of Children Today in Nigeria
ReplyDeletePACT (Prevent Abuse of Children Today) is a global campaign established by the UK-based child rights charity, Stepping Stones Nigeria and their Nigerian partner organisations. The aim of PACT is to bring long-term positive social change to vulnerable children in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, particularly those at risk of witchcraft accusations, abuse and trafficking.
With high levels of malnutrition, poverty, persistent violent conflicts and disease, increasing numbers of children in the Niger Delta are being forced to the streets putting them at risk of abuse, rape and trafficking.
Witchcraft is often seen as the source of problems within Nigerian society with vulnerable children being the group most at risk of witchcraft accusations. Children stigmatised as witches face abandonment by their families and communities, torture, public humiliation, disgrace and even murder.
To help end this terrible abuse we urge you to stand with us to Prevent Abuse of Children Today. There are lots of ways for you to get involved with the campaign, in particular signing our PACT, holding events and writing letters. Visit our website www.makeapact.org to sign the PACT and help us spread the word.
Together, we are fighting for a time when all children in the Niger Delta are free from physical, sexual, emotional and spiritual abuse and their rights are fully upheld. With your help, we can make this vision a reality.
For more information about the PACT campaign please visit www.makeapact.org
To find out more about Stepping Stones Nigeria, please visit www.steppingstonesnigeria.org
Please stand up for the rights of children by taking part in our Blog Day, Wednesday December 14th, in support of the Prevent Abuse of Children Today (PACT) campaign.
ReplyDeleteWe know that you have already blogged in support of child rights and Stepping Stones Nigeria. We’re so grateful for this and hope that you will support us again by joining in with our Blog Day.
Prevent Abuse of Children Today (PACT) is a global campaign set up by the UK-based child rights charity Stepping Stones Nigeria and our Nigerian partner organisations. PACT aims to bring long-term positive social change to vulnerable children in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, particularly those at risk of witchcraft accusations, abuse and trafficking.
To help spread the word about the PACT campaign we wanted to invite some of our favourite bloggers to blog about your happiest childhood memory or best experience with children. We’d love for you to blog about this specifically in response to the following statement:
‘Every child has the right to happiness’
We want to celebrate children by focusing on our positive experiences of being a child or being around children. After all, every child deserves to have those happy experiences and that is what we’re fighting for through PACT.
If you are interested we would love you to take part in our Blog Day. To do so please do the following:
1. Write your blog post on December 14th
2. At the end of your post please add this statement:
“This post is part of a series inspired by the Prevent Abuse of Children Today (PACT) campaign, hosted by Stepping Stones Nigeria. Please add your name to the PACT petition to prevent abuse of innocent children in the Niger Delta and visit the site to find out more: www.makeapact.org
3. If you want to take part please leave a comment on this blog post or drop us an email.
4. Please ask others to get involved!
The Blog Day badge is available to add to your post today. Please email me to receive this.
Let us know when you post and we’ll feature it on the PACT site and facebook.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about PACT and happy blogging!
Kind Regards,
Carmel