Who are you following? Young people in Serbia are as enthralled by social media as their counterparts elsewhere. So it was an obvious theme for the Christian summer camps for young people, run by Blythswood Serbia.“ They all want to follow and be followed on social networks,” says David Armus who organised the camps. “At camp we had a full
Cheryl is in her second year of study for a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Looking at her now it’s hard to believe that not so many years ago she was sitting in the dust by the roadside in Rusinga Island, Kenya, and envying children dressed in uniforms on their way to school. Her parents depended on casual work on other
Rural poverty continues to be a harsh reality for people in Romania, even for those like Agi who manage to maintain a brave face. Her husband is incapacitated by Parkinson’s disease and her son suffers from schizophrenia, making her a full-time carer who must also balance the family budget of 500 euros per month. It’s not a lot for three adults.
Maxim is 13 and lives with his brother who is 20. Their mother abandoned them several years ago when she went to another village to live with a new partner. Their father they never knew. Left to their own devices they shelter in a tumbledown house in their home village, well off the beaten track among the fields and woods of central Moldova.
After just one month at Blythswood’s Daniel Centre, on the outskirts of Cluj, Romania, Catalin is well on his way to reaching his first target – feeling safe. “When he arrived, he was very scared,” says social worker Lujza Fechita. “He couldn’t even speak for himself. His sister was speaking for him.” Catalin’s fearful frame of mind resulted from his experience of modern-day slavery
When Aanya* was 12 years old and had lost both parents, an uncle sold her into the sex trade in Mumbai for 10,000 rupees. Twenty two years later she is still there and her number one priority is to make sure that none of her three daughters ends up in the same profession. For this reason she has sent the eldest, who is now 14, back to her own home village.