All Posts in Restoration

September 20, 2022 - No Comments!

Trauma-Informed Care

 

Being in Thailand helped me to understand a little bit more about trauma and the importance of trauma-informed care. I’m not a social worker or trained in any of that, but I think I understood for the first time, what trauma really is.

According to Peter Levine, “Trauma is in the nervous system, not in the event.”.

In his work “the body keeps the score”, Bessel van der kolk writes that “being traumatised means continuing to organise your life as if the trauma were still going on–unchanged and immutable–as every new encounter or event is contaminated by the past.”

I was really struck by this when I was in Thailand. Previously I had understood trauma as an event, but rather, it is the imprint of that event living inside the individual, carried within their nervous system.

Brandon, who oversees our vocational training in Thailand shared with me his heart for the young people coming through ZOE. I was moved by the intent behind the training. It provides young people with skills that they can take with them, but there is always this therapeutic aspect underlying the training that really speaks to their trauma.

For many of the kids who come to ZOE, their only experience of business and working is being exploited for someone else’s profit.

Vocational training flips this on its head. Vocational training is all about agency and self-determination… it's built on the knowledge that every child is unique and has different needs, dreams, goals and passions! The aim at the moment is to expose children who come to ZOE to as many skills and opportunities as possible. We run many courses including agricultural studies - so, running our pig farm, woodworking and construction, sewing and fashion design, nail painting, hairdressing, hospitality, cooking and baking, computer skills, multimedia and photography, art, design and even a little bit of electrical and mechanical engineering!

When kids come to ZOE and take part in our vocational training program, our team will ask them all about what they’re interested in and what they want to learn and see what we can offer them. Brandon told me about one girl who came to ZOE recently and discovered that she had an amazing passion and skill for woodworking! She wasn’t going to be staying at ZOE long and was preparing to go back to her family, but she really wanted to make something that she could take home with her. So she made this beautiful high table with stools and she was able to take it back to her family. And this is what many young people want - they want to make something that’s theirs, that they can take back with them, a new skill, or something tangible - something that reminds them of what they’ve learnt and the skills that they have. It reminds them that they’re not a victim of their past, but a survivor, who can go forward to make, create and flourish.

-Hudson

September 2, 2022 - No Comments!

fair go

National Child Protection Week, 2022

“Every Child in Every Community Needs a Fair Go”

National Child Protection Week (4-10 September) is an annual event. This year’s theme ‘Every child, in every community, needs a fair go’ aims to spread the message that to treat all of Australia’s children fairly, we need to make sure every family and community has what kids need to grow up safe and supported. (www.napcan.org.au)

At ZOE we have come up with 8 ways that you can help keep children in your community safe. 

1. Educate yourself about the signs of child abuse, neglect and exploitation.

Ask yourself, would you know the signs of a child experiencing violence, neglect or abuse? Could you recognise behaviours associated with child sexual abuse such as grooming - whether it be online or in person? For anyone who has contact with children, it is important to be able to know the signs in order to recognise any one of these issues, if you see it.

It’s common to think that child abuse or exploitation is only perpetrated by a weird or scary stranger. However, research shows that children are mostly abused by someone they know (a relative, family friend, teacher, coach or community member) and it is often someone they trust. 

Child sexual abuse does not discriminate. It happens in all cultures and in all sorts of families. Both girls and boys, of any age, are at risk.

2. (Parents) Talk with your children. 

Not once. Not twice. All the time! Make it a natural and normal occurrence to chat about staying safe. Just like you are continually reinforcing to them how to stay on the road, near a fire, around water, and on the internet; make ‘staying safe’ from sexual abuse and exploitation just as much a part of your everyday conversations. 

Sadly, these issues are more common than you may think. The ACCCE received more than 36,000 reports of child sexual exploitation in the 2021-22 financial year.  (https://www.accce.gov.au/resources/research-and-statistics

And these are just the ones that were reported!

3. Raise awareness in your community.

We all have a responsibility to look out for the children in our community and speak up when we see behaviour that suggests a child could be unsafe. We must not ignore our concerns or red flags. There are many types of child abuse and neglect, but the six main subtypes are:

  1. physical child abuse
  2. emotional child abuse
  3. neglect
  4. child sexual abuse
  5. exposure to family violence
  6. grooming

Some instances of child abuse will fall across multiple categories. For instance, family violence may involve physical, sexual, and/or emotional child abuse (www.education.vic.gov.au/)

4. Support organisations that help.

There are many Australian organisations that are working towards keeping children safe. By supporting them, you are helping to strengthen their efforts. Support might look like sharing their resources, promoting them on your social media, engaging a speaker to come and share at your school, workplace or sports club, talking to others about the services they provide, or giving to them financially to enable them to continue their services.

5. Monitor your children's internet usage. 

Internet safety is a whole topic in and of itself, but again, just like you make it your job to get to know your children’s friends and community in real life, so too is it essential to know who your children are interacting with online. By being engaged and interested in what they’re doing on social media, in their games and chats, you are in a much better position to notice if something rings an alarm bell. Keep the line of communication open and let them know that nothing is too bad or serious to talk about and that they will not be in trouble by reporting to you if something doesn’t feel right.

6. Recognise the complexities faced by vulnerable children.

One group of children who are considered vulnerable are those in foster care. During 2020–21, more than 178,800 Australian children received child protection services. In June 2021, more than 46,200 children were in out-of-home care. (https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/child-protection/child-protection-australia-2020-21/contents/about)

Children in out-of-home care are already considered a “vulnerable population” who face additional medical, psychological, and social risks. A safe community is necessary to protect them from further harm and support them according to their immediate and future needs. Maybe you don’t feel cut out to be a foster carer yourself but what about offering other support to a family who is already helping a child in care? Sometimes just cooking a meal, delivering groceries, assisting with homework or helping tidy up their yard makes the world of difference! 

7. Share what you learn with others.

We can never raise too much awareness or overly discuss these issues. Do the people in your circle of influence know what you know about the signs of child abuse, neglect and exploitation? If not, how can you start having conversations with them? What about your mother’s group, book club, church friends, sports club or relatives? The more people who are informed, the more our communities can become supportive and safe environments for children to live in.   

8. Report any concerning behaviour to authorities.

“If physical or behavioural indicators lead you to suspect that a child has or is being abused, or is at risk of abuse, regardless of the type of abuse, you must respond as soon as practicable” (www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/health/childprotection)

“There is no information too small or insignificant. Something that may appear small or insignificant could prove vital to a police investigation.”  www.accce.gov.au/report

If you’re a parent seeking to know and understand more about the topics covered in this blog, please reach out to us so that we can help direct you to more resources or plan for a parenting/ community information session to help facilitate questions/concerns as well as further training on these topics. info@gozoe.org.au 

April 15, 2021 - No Comments!

A Taste of ZOE For Kids

Written by Andrea Cross

On a cold Melbourne night in July 2019, my husband and I met Margaret at a ZOE prayer night. She offered to write a curriculum for churches to use in their kid’s ministry programs to encourage them to pray for children in slavery and those who have been rescued.

Since early 2020 when the planning began, the curriculum has been massaged and reviewed by several people, scripts written to match the content, and short videos recorded to enhance the learning experience. Finally now, after many months, the curriculum is ready to be released and provided free to churches, families and schools. 

Despite the fact that it’s written for children, as one of the people who has been working on the curriculum, it has spoken to me too and reminded me many times of God's character and promises. 

For example, many familiar Bible stories start with hopeless situations (Moses, Daniel, David and Goliath, Jonah, Noah). But just as Romans 8:28 tells us that God works all things together for our good, it’s important that we read and remember such stories. They change our thinking. They train our thoughts to be hope-filled. When we believe in God, we know that a situation that seems hopeless is not the end of the story! Our God is always good. When we invite God into our story, everything changes for good.

Working in the arena of child trafficking, the tasks that lay before us can oftentimes seem unachievable. Though there are days when we encounter ‘impossible’ situations that seem hopeless or too big, this curriculum reminded me again that God will anoint our work and give us ways to see problems through a different lens. It’s so wonderful that each theme in this prayer curriculum teaches children to see the world as God does, where no problem is too great and no child is out of His reach. It reminds children to ask God for ‘faith eyes’ to see things the way He sees them. Things that might seem impossible to us, are possible through His mighty power working through us!

There are 7 lessons included in this curriculum:

  • What is 'Hope' Like?
  • Eyes to See
  • We are Family
  • Finding a Way
  • God’s Treasure Hunt
  • Protection
  • Together is Better

And each lesson includes:

  • Warm-up (game or activity)
  • Group Time
  • Video
  • Reflection time/Talking with God
  • Small Group Time
  • Take Home Sheet
  • Comic Strip
  • Parent's Connect
  • Equipment List

The curriculum embraces topics such as trusting in God. Trusting in God means putting all our faith in His perfect love and letting go of all our fears. God has a plan. There is nothing God cannot do. It reminds children that they are a child of God and that He loves them. He walks with them. He encourages them. He protects them. He has a wonderful plan for them in this world.

It also covers how as God’s children they can ask God to give them Heaven’s ideas and plans to solve every need or problem here on earth. God wants them to see problems through His eyes of wisdom and understanding. He wants them to see challenges the way He sees them.

One of the most impactful lessons though is the one about the power in the words we speak and how our words create life or death! It encourages children to pray "No!” to the injustice of child slavery and poverty and declare it is not okay! And pray “Yes!” to life, declaring God’s promises over the children trapped in slavery. 

If you or your church would like a free copy of this curriculum, please contact us at info@goZOE.org.au and we will gladly share this free resource with you. 

For more info CLICK HERE