Helping Child “Witches†in Africa
I’m pulling this entry directly off Angela’s www.nineravens.com blog. The kids need counseling and they are considered Pagan… so it’s vaguely on topic I guess, but more importantly it would just be a good thing to help out with:
I keep reading the stories about children in the Congo and Nigeria who are abandoned, beaten, and killed after being accused of being witches. It breaks my heart every time — to the point where I am shaking. I finally found an organization that is specifically working to help these kids. I am going to donate, and I hope you will too. — Angela
Iona (Lady Skydancer) said,
December 10, 2007 @ 7:23 pm
As well as donating to this necessary cause, is there any other way I can help them from the UK?
I am a Psychotherapist and Secondary School Teacher and at the moment I am working as a therapist.
It hurts me to see the mental and physical pain these children are in. – Lady Skydancer
Angela said,
December 10, 2007 @ 8:51 pm
in a culture ripe with poverity, disease, starvation etc…declaring a child a witch is an easy way as it were to get out from the obligation of provideing for when there just isn’t enough. Looking at the big picture one wonders if any single organization can really do enough to help. It’s like putting a band aid on a gaping wound. In a country were work is limited, resources in general are limited, families are broken from AIDS and many of the kids are infected, it truely is tragic. Are there really any answers or simply band-aids to a problem that is overwhelming. When even coutries like the US, which are “rich” countries can’t solve the issue of AID homelessness, discrimination etc…how can we expect the so called 3rd world countries to do any better?
admin said,
December 10, 2007 @ 10:40 pm
Iona — The only thing I can think of is to contact the organization dirrectly and ask them. It’s really hard to find any other ways of helping the kids directly — this is the only one I know of.
Thanks,
Michael
Yvonne said,
December 14, 2007 @ 9:55 am
I have donated some money, and also posted a link to the site on facebook.
I think this issue does need a specific charity, because a lot of aid agencies are run or staffed by evangelicals, who might actually believe the stories that these children are witches and thereby add to their trauma.
Michael_Reeder said,
December 14, 2007 @ 11:59 am
Yvonne has a point. More frequently however, what you find is that Christian charities help the “child witches” in addition to a long laundry list of other concerns. So you have no idea as a donor what percentage of help is going to these children, going to another perhaps worthy project, and going to teach the bible.
Angela (I pulled this issue from her website originally) had a terrible time finding a charity dealing this issue specifically.
— Michael
Yvonne said,
December 14, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
I have started a Facebook group to draw attention to this issue.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9476440119