They're Only Young Once

When parents have to work to survive, kids are left to raise themselves. This is no one’s fault, it’s just a byproduct of poverty—the world has a lot of kids who need help.

A Reflection on Lifting Up Kids

Children depend on us. They cannot take care of all their needs. They haven’t developed the capacity to understand their own emotions, how to make proper nutritional choices, determine what is safe and what is not, or how they should spend their time.

In India where we facilitated a dental hygiene clinic for kids in our area, most of them showed up without parents. Young children take on the responsibility of raising other children, even in environments that make that quite difficult.

A child’s dependence does not rest solely on parents. It is too expansive a responsibility for any parent, or set of parents, to carry on their own. Thus, in the United States, we have schools, youth organizations, sports teams, summer camps, and a myriad of other programs in place to support childhood development. In the developing world, these structures are in short supply, leaving parents (many of whom are in poverty) to choose between being with their kids and supporting their kids financially. In choosing the latter, kids are often left to raise themselves. It's a common scene to see a 6-year-old child carrying a one year old sibling on her back, and watch her take responsibility for the child's cleanliness, food supply, safety and more. And while some may be amazed at the responsibility assumed at such a young age, the responsibility is too much. Kids shouldn't raise kids.

There is a great urgency associated with ensuring children receive the proper resources for a healthy development. That requires adult involvement. Part of the vulnerability of a child is how impressionable they are during those early years of rapid cognitive development. Childhood is the formational stage that contributes so much to the kind of adult that child comes.

In El Salvador, we host regular kids programming, offering kids a space to have fun, play games, eat snacks, get involved in soccer matches, and learn about God’s love for them.

With proper support, children feel safe, love to learn, know they can make mistakes, are excited to make friends, respect adults, and are set up to become healthy, contributing members to the society in which they reside. Without proper support, the transverse of these scenarios is almost guaranteed.

Kids are a central focus of our organization’s work. In the Philippines, volunteers and staff at Tahanan Community Center work regularly in local schools, knowing that what takes place in those walls is vital to what becomes of the children in them. From individual after-school tutoring for children falling behind, to teaching drama classes, to coaching basketball teams, these small opportunities to invest count.

The Bible teaches us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It’s an act of faith to pour energy into children in a third world context where so much is against them. There is so much that is hoped for and yet to be seen, but these small, yet consistent opportunities to love on kids is a faithful step towards ensuring they have a fair shot at whole, healthy lives.

Irish Dagami leads our Tahanan Kids program, a weekly event where kids engage in worship, prayer, crafts, and Bible studies while their mothers simultaneously learn the Word.

Every Sunday evening, a host of children gather on the second floor of our Tahanan Community Center for Tahanan Kidz. They are eagerly engaged by our ministry cooperative Irish Dagami. Meanwhile, downstairs, the mothers of these children gather for a much needed time of fellowship and worship, finding peace in knowing that their children are being given the special attention and investment they all deserve.

Every Sunday evening, a host of children gather on the second floor of our Tahanan Community Center for Tahanan Kidz. They are eagerly engaged by our ministry cooperative Irish Dagami. Meanwhile, downstairs, the mothers of these children gather for a much needed time of fellowship and worship, finding peace in knowing that their children are being given the special attention and investment they all deserve.

It’s Jesus that taught us that God's kingdom belongs to little children (Matthew 19:14). What does that mean? It means that in an environment where people allow God’s will to prevail, children will have a place. Children will feel like they belong. And just as Jesus lifted up the little children into his arms, so we must lift up children to provide them with the attentive care they deserve. That means doing some basic things, like making sure they’ve got clothes on their back and shoes on their feet, that they have the means to go to school, and enough to eat each day. In the Philippines and in every region where G.O.D. works, we’re making sure kids have those basics.

As much as we can’t control the world around us, we owe it to the children in our midst to teach them how to navigate it well. A quality education, one that considers academic, social, emotional and moral needs of students, puts children on a level playing field to responsibly and courageously engage a world that needs help. It is imperative we prioritize the development of children. They are only young once!