Prevention at Rapha
How it Began
At Rapha, we learned early on that children are safest when they live in strong families and well resourced communities. Armed with that knowledge, in 2009 the Rapha launched Kids Club- a program aimed at providing safety for children in vulnerable communities. Within that framework of a one-to-one child sponsorship, Kids Club programs served many thousands of children in vulnerable communities by promoting stability and access to resources, in order to prevent abuse, exploitation, human trafficking, and family separation. The child sponsorship program has unquestionably changed lives, and we are deeply grateful to every child sponsor.
Shifting Perspectives
Here at Rapha there is an oft repeated phrase which is credited to Maya Angelou: “We do the best we can until we know better. Then, when we know better, we do better.” And as a result of working to identify opportunities to do better, Rapha’s approach to prevention in vulnerable communities has expanded. Our vision has grown to include not just individual children, but programs that impact children and families throughout entire neighborhoods and communities. Notably, the shift supports important community level work that brings sustainable change and lasting safety (remember that strong families and well resourced communities equals safety for children).
When one child is sponsored, that individual child is provided with resources and a place to learn and grow. However, every sponsored child has neighbors, friends, and classmates who are without a sponsor. When communities lack resources and experience systemic challenges, even sponsored children suffer. We are convinced that a better way to enable strong families and well resourced communities is to tackle issues that involve the entire community.
Children enrolled in Rapha’s Prevention Program receive family-based services, including education access, social work support, food supplementation, and access to emergency health care. Thanks to the model update, community-based services have been added to the Prevention Program. Our leadership and staff in each Kids Club location have identified fantastic initiatives that will impact families, neighborhoods, and communities! In Cambodia, our Country Director and Prevention staff would like to offer financial literacy courses for adults, to counter predatory and potentially exploitative practices used by lenders in impoverished areas. When parents better understand how to avoid being victimized by these practices, children will be safer from exploitation and trafficking. In Thailand, clean water initiatives and agriculture projects have been identified as measures that will improve the living conditions and economic conditions of migrant families. Other community based services currently identified include education programs focused on language, vocational skills, parenting, as well as more medical clinics and transportation assistance.
Partnership
There have been thousands of Kids Club sponsors over the years who have helped prevent abuse, exploitation, human trafficking, and family separation for children in vulnerable communities. It’s quite possible that you were at one time a Kids Club sponsor, or are currently a Prevention Partner! So many lives have been impacted, but there remains much work to be done. In order for the work to be done, we need Prevention Partners!
Our vision of community impact requires more work to be done, more children to be served, and more families and communities to be strengthened. In order to do that we need more partnerships.
When communities come together to prevent and combat the sexual exploitation of children, real change–sustainable change–takes place. And, children get to live their lives alongside siblings, cousins, and friends, in the God-given model of family and community. Become a Prevention Partner to join us in creating sustainable change and freedom for children. Visit rapha.org/prevention to learn more, or click here to become a Prevention Partner.
