ChildVoice Blog
A team from Lutheran Church of Hope in Des Moines, Iowa, visited the Lukome Center in Uganda in September. While there, they were able to get a glimpse of what life at the center is like for our students, including how they are healing and learning during their 20-month programs as well as how great the need is for our programs.
We’ve only just begun working with our partners in Ukraine to bring hope and healing to young people affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine and we are already beginning to hear encouraging words from some of them who have participated in volunteer-led House of Youth (HofY) summer camps designed to bring relief from the painful and traumatizing challenges they continue to face.
In response some of our Class 16 and Class 17 students wanted to offer messages of support for those here in the US who have been affected by Helene.
We are truly touched by the empathy and loving kindness these adolescent girls who have lost everything have chosen to express.
This past week has brought heartbreaking news from Nigeria and Ukraine, as violent conflict continues to rock civilian populations in both countries.
On September 1, approximately 150 militants belonging to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP, a Boko Haram splinter group) attacked the village of Mafa in Yobe State in northeastern Nigeria. Riding motorcycles and armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, they killed as many as 170 people and burned the village to the ground, although our sources on the ground say the number may be over 300.
The Labondo Local Integration Pilot Project is a community development initiative established by UNHCR in collaboration with the Adamawa State government. The idea is to create a safe environment for Nigerian IDPs that is free of the dangers of further violence or ongoing displacement. The challenge now is to give new residents the vital counseling and trade skills training services they need.
During his trip to Nigeria in June, ChildVoice CEO Nathan Mandsager took the opportunity to sit down with our Nigeria County Co-Directors Rebecca Malgwi and David Jomusu to talk about their work and the importance of engaging students in community service. The theme of giving back to their communities figured heavily in the conversation. Below is a transcript of the interview.
I had the honor and privilege of joining Mr. Nathan Mandsager, CEO of ChildVoice International, on a seven-day visit to the ChildVoice ministry sights in Yola and Mubi of Adamawa state Nigeria from the 1st to the 7th of June 2024. After the trip, as I reflected on all that I witnessed and experienced, I have decided to put down a few thoughts from my reflection as to the impact of the work Child Voices’ ministry is having in the lives of these young children who have been both displaced and silenced by war.
Apeya is an 18-year-old South Sudanese mother. She was 11 years old when rebels came to her family’s home and brutally killed her father. Along with her mother and siblings, she fled to Imvepi Refugee Settlement in Uganda. Her five-day trek on foot through incredibly dangerous wartime conditions was just the beginning of a journey of loss, heartbreak and despair.