By Angela Singer
Those who work with at-risk children and families recently had the opportunity to meet with others in their field and share what works to keep children safe.
Hosted by Presbyterian Support Northern in Manukau City last month, the Keeping Kids Safe conference sought to find ways for better collaboration between community and government organisations providing services to families.
Attending for the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand were Moderator the Right Rev Pamela Tankersley, the Rev Judy Te Whiu of Presbyterian Youth Ministry and Jill Kayser. Jill, the Church’s Kids Friendly coach, found the conference by turns inspiring and saddening. “I was greatly inspired by some of the speakers, who shared success stories from their communities. What saddened me was that the churches are not perceived to have an authoritative voice on children’s issues. It made me realise how crucial it is that as Christians we respond to this issue individually and collectively. With Kids Friendly I’m trying to get across to parishes that they need to know who the children are in their community, what their needs are and how they can meet those needs. That’s how we can make a difference in children’s lives.”
As one of the conference’s opening speakers, Pamela recounted the safe community that she and many others took for granted in their childhood.
“The land I grew up in was certainly safe; many of us can tell romantic stories of licence to roam freely around our local neighbourhoods, of a ready supply of food and of little adult supervision, indeed of encountering all adults as trustworthy. But is it so anymore? Now it seems we hear horrifying statistics of 20,000 children who go without breakfast, of overcrowding and much neglect; these are real heart-breaking stories.”
Pamela noted that those at the conference experience these stories first hand in their daily work and that often the “world outside just does not want to know”.
She asked conference delegates to consider how we might change the culture and spirituality of the nation to consider our children not as a statistical problem but “as our delight, our most precious taonga, with each child able to fulfil in freedom and safety the potential that is their gift from God”.
Addressing the anger and futility that many feel when dealing with child abuse, she asked the conference to consider that, “when we shake our fists at God and say, ‘how can you let this happen to our children,’ perhaps God speaks back to us, ‘how can you let this happen to our children?’”