Gospel for Asia Shares: For Those Who Ran — For Those Abandoned

Wills Point, Texas – GFA (Gospel for Asia) – Discussing the innumerable children, abused and abandoned, and the impact Bridge of Hope centers make to transform their lives with God’s love.

The innocence of a child is one of the most beautiful things this world has to offer. For most people, once they reach a certain age, that innocence and naiveté is lost—merely a thing of the past. Nostalgia rules supreme among the elderly, and adults sometimes wish they could return to the time of their youth where there seemed to be no troubles and no cares in the world.

Unfortunately, some children today do not have the innocence and naiveté they should. Some have been brutally and carelessly robbed of their childhood. UNICEF reported that 13 percent of Asia’s total labor force in 2011 was composed of children.[1] These children had lost one or both parents.

With no other way to take care of themselves, these children are forced to then take to the streets. Some children are either pushed into child labor, roam the streets, or are trafficked. Many are simply abandoned by uncaring parents. More than 100 million children live on the street in Asia alone. Either they were born on the streets—or, like Akmal, they had no other place to go.

No Safe Place

Akmal’s father murdered his mother and disappeared without a trace. Akmal, only 6 years old, was abandoned by his village and taken in by his uncle. Sadly, this uncle proceeded to abuse the already traumatized Akmal. It wasn’t long until the 6 year old ran away, taking to the streets.

Akmal decided to get on a train, leaving his horrific past behind him. He had no direction, no knowledge of where he wanted to go, just that he needed to leave. Seventeen hours later, the young boy stepped off the train.

Akmal was picked up by a worker for a local toy factory. Hope quickly turned into despair as Akmal was made to work at the very station he arrived at. Every day, Akmal tried to sell toys to passersby to make his “boss” happy.

Reclaiming His Childhood

A couple of months later, local officials took notice of the too-young salesman. They brought Akmal to a home for abandoned children that is operated by GFA’s field partners. There, the staff poured love into this troubled young boy, giving him what he needed most: a childhood. Now, Akmal is a far cry from the scared, traumatized little boy he once was. Joy and love permeate every aspect of his childhood thanks to the workers at the home.

Akmal now has a chance that millions of other street children desperately need:

The chance to grow and to experience true love and compassion, the chance to realize their dreams, and their aspirations, the chance to live like a child.


Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Generational Poverty: A Cycle Not Worth Repeating

Image
The cycle of generational poverty can seem impossible to break. Children inherit what their parents teach and show them. a joint report from Ascend: The Aspen Institute and Bernard van Leer Foundation affirms this. “What young children learn from the adults who raise and care for them lays the foundation for future social, emotional, language, and cognitive growth,” the report says. 1 Children raised in a generational poverty mindset often lack the tools they need to succeed or achieve a better life than that of their parents. As adults, these individuals often then raise their children in poverty similar to that of their own childhoods, and the cycle perpetuates. It’s a cycle not worth repeating, yet it does time and time again. For the 736 million people worldwide living below the poverty line, earning $1.90 a day or less, the focus is frequently on mere survival. 2 Children are disproportionately affected by extreme poverty, says UNICEF, as “children who grow up impoverished often...
Read more

What Do I Need to Know about the Global Poverty Rate?

Image
Statisticians are getting better at measuring the global poverty rate every year. The World Bank is one group working hard to accurately measure it so that the extent of the problem is fully known and so that progress can be measured. [1] Through governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), we can more clearly see the last decade of progress and the most recent effects driving poverty rates. Sub-Saharan Africa has been one area difficult to measure, but new data shows an overall reduction in the percentage of those in poverty. Unfortunately, there is an increase in total number of people living at or below the official poverty rate of $1.90 per day. [2] That doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. With good statistics and a clear view of the problem, countries and organizations can use the proven methods to regain any ground lost. Additionally, valuable lessons have been learned about how to protect the most vulnerable and how to prevent some of the worst effects. GFA World is un...
Read more

What Is the Poverty Cycle?

Image
The question, “What is the poverty cycle, or cycle of poverty?” is one that must be answered to address and end poverty across the globe. Put simply, the term refers to the trend where the vicious effects of poverty and deprivation pass from one generation to the next, with no seeming way out. [1] Someone born into poverty has fewer opportunities than their wealthier peers. They must focus on survival above all, leaving little room for anything else. One illness can wipe out a family’s savings, but the unclean water sources and lack of protection available to them invite sickness. Walking to retrieve water can be time-consuming yet must be a daily priority, and many children must work alongside their parents for the family to afford food. Thus, school is often a far-off dream. Having had few opportunities to acquire skills, the kids grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty with their own children. This story was all too familiar for Nalah. His father worked in the tea fields, trying to e...
Read more