Alcohol-free spaces for children in Greenland

Blue Cross Faroe Island is working in Collaboration with BC Denmark to support the  Alcohol-free spaces for children in Greenland (19735)

The General Secretary  Frants Jensen of BC Faroe Island says:  

“The reason, why we wanted to support Greenland is that many people in the Faroe Island have been in Greenland and we know and have seen, that many children are living in families with alcohol or drugs problems.”

The collaboration is a result of a suggestion by the mission team from Faroe Island that has been in Greenland the last 6 years. They asked Blue Cross in Denmark and Blue Cross in Faroe Island to help and support Blue Cross in Greenland. “Now it is really good to see, that there is a new beginning and that Blue Cross in Greenland again is reaching out to children and others that needs help”:  Mr Jensen continues.

The Blue Cross Faroe Island has a treatment centre and highly skilled staff team. The skills and knowledge from this project can be transferred and both organisations can further develop their activities. In addition , BC  Faroe Island has a project called "All children has a right to good childhood". Especially the stories and experience from this project will be transferable to Greenland.

Copenhagen Post also states  on 10^th May 2016 that inuits  are among the world’s healthiest indigenous peoples, but much remains to be accomplished. (http://cphpost.dk/news/greenlanders-getting-a-little-healthier.html)

Greenlandic Inuits, the country’s native people, experience many of the same health and social issues as other indigenous peoples like the Aborigines in Australia and Sami in Sweden and 5,000 other indigenous populations listed by the UN around the world.

Infant mortality in Greenland has fallen over recent years, and alcohol consumption has decreased to be on a par with the rest of the Danish population.

Within small communities alcohol use effects the significant others and this is why work with families is increasingly important to prevent alcohol addiction in future generations. Our project is doing just this and we thank you for your continued support and interest!

More than 30 of children in Greenland live in a home where alcohol harm plays a daily role.  Nearly a third of young girls in Greenland are sexually abused before they turn 18. Meanwhile, the suicide rate among the 10-14 year olds alarmingly high. There are many wonderful things to say about Greenland, but the problems, particularly among youth, are ever present.

Meet Nive Heilmann, the leader of the project called “Open your eyes - talk about it,” which was launched in partnership with Blue Cross Denmark and Blue Cross Greenland. Nive is a native of Greenland, a trained primary school teacher and has many years of experience in relief work in her country including volunteer training about children’s rights and how we can identify warning signs of abuse and harm to children.

Nive Heilmann will spend the next year traveling around Greenland to strengthen our efforts to help children in families with alcohol abuse, initially based in Blue Cross Greenland's 30 local branches and run by 400 volunteers.

Experience shows that adult care and attention can give these children a significantly better chance to do well during childhood – they need good role models in their lives. "There is only one good person to change another person's life. If you grow up in an environment of abuse or other problems, you need someone to show a different way of living. That's what these kids need. They need to see that there is another way to go," says Nive.

More Support for Greenland!

As the project is developing, we are so pleased to announce that Blue Cross received a grant from Ole Kirk's Fund, which will support the development of several shelters in Greenland and training of adult volunteers to work with the children! We are also excited to report that another Blue Cross member is planning to adopt the project in Greenland to help with the expansion of the children’s services and provide technical expertise in the counselling services.

Be sure to stay tuned and follow us on Facebook for exciting developments.