Give Childhood a Chance and Keep Youth Drug Free!

Today we would like to share with you a story from Lesotho, where alcoholism is an epidemic in a country with the 3^rd highest HIV prevalence in the world. For men and women, alcohol remains the 3rd highest risk factor for death and for children of alcoholics, the risks are many, including transmission of disease, abuse and neglect.

The Blue Cross in Lesotho runs a professional treatment center, giving men, women and children a chance to overcome their addiction and lead a normal life.

Mr. Matete is a hydrology engineer. He had a very good job helping to construct the Katse dam, a great piece of engineering that provides water for large parts of South Africa. He made good money, and could therefore afford to buy alcohol. For a time he was able to maintain his job, but the alcohol started affecting his behavior and he often got into fights.

In 2005 he got married and his daughter was born. “But it was not really a family” he admitted. He admits that he even beat his wife, and was not really a dad. He was mostly out of the house, and he spent all their money in the bar. This continued for years.

In 2012 he was supposed to attend a prestigious international engineering conference abroad but his boss told him they would not allow him to go becuase he would get drunk and would not be a good representative of the company. His wife knew some staff at the Blue Cross Thaba Bosiu Center (TBC) and she registered him for in-patient treatment. It changed everything for him. He realized he wanted to change for himself, for his family and decided to follow the program to his best ability.

At the end of the treatment, he made a plan to be able to keep away from drinking. He started growing vegetable to sell for extra income and settled all his debt. Mr. Matete now owns his own construction company and uses his skills and talents to build a life for his family, for his girls.

The best thing with his new life he says, is the new relationship to people around him. “People around me are much happier. My daughter now feels safe with daddy."

I travelled to Lesotho in June this year and had the opportunity to meet Mr. Matete. His positive attitude and strength is an inspiration for his family, the clients at the Blue Cross center, which he still visits regularly, and the young clients that are fighting the battle of addiction. During my visit, there was a 12-year-old girl at the center, who just wanted a chance at a normal childhood. Blue Cross Lesotho offers children like her and the children of people like Mr. Matete this chance through their patience, hard work and dedication to the members of their community.

Your donations help the International Blue Cross change families lives all over the world. We thank you for your continued support in giving childhood a chance and ask that you please consider spreading the word by sharing our work with your friends and family!

Dear valued supporter,

Today we would like to share with you the inspiring story of our dedicated member organization: Blue Cross Ukraine.

In a remote southeastern corner of Ukraine, life in the slums continues despite the delicate political situation and ongoing military presence in the town of Mariupol. The House Gawan, Blue Cross Ukraine’s center for children, located in the heart of the Gawan Sabotka slum, continues to open its doors to vulnerable children growing up in a community where alcohol and drug abuse is the daily norm. Young children and adolescents receive psychosocial support, counselling on substance abuse and HIV/AIDS, and tutoring for eventual job placement. Warm meals are distributed for free to cater for the most urgent health needs of the children. The center also provides access to a shower, towels and a change of clothes for those children that are forced to bathe in the nearby sea due to a lack of facilities at home.

Most importantly, the children are free to run around in a safe, drug-free environment and do what children do best – play!

One of the staff members tells us “2014 was not an easy year for us. There were many concerns and problems. But still God has blessed us this year. The children come in the afternoon into our project and we help them with their homework, as well as difficulties in learning. We play together. For example, we have had this year our own football team, which meets once a week, in addition to our youth football team. The children come to us after school and have a small meal with us. Furthermore, the children participate in smaller tasks, such as table service, watering flowers, garden service, bicycle repair and more.”

The center primarily benefits the children, however through continued engagement with the youth; the team of Blue Cross social workers gradually reaches out to the parents, many of whom are socially excluded due to their addiction problem. They then build confidence and a relationship with these parents, which is the first step on the road to sobriety and recovery. With the support of Blue Cross Ukraine, many parents have overcome addiction and subsequently sought gainful employment.

A Message from the Blue Cross Ukraine Team: We are very grateful for the things and food that God sends us. Thanks to all who pray for this work and especially for those who donate to the children and families we serve.

Best wishes,

Mischa Rychener

Fundraising Officer, IFBC