"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."
Isaiah 9:2

Alberto's Story

7 year old Alberto has a contagious smile and a cheeky giggle. He loves everyone, but especially dogs. He lives with his brothers and mother, who works at the local mine.

His father abandoned them a couple of years ago and they know almost nothing about him. "I have not seen my father and I do not know where he might be. My brothers do not want to tell me anything.”

The absence of his father become more and more upsetting for Alberto, and after a while, he began to act very differently, causing great distress for his mother. The lack of a male role model and the pain of abandonment made Alberto feel unwanted and insecure. He stopped attending school and spent much time alone while his mother was working at the mine.

However, Alberto's mother made contact with local Toybox-supported project, and Alberto and his brothers were asked if they would like to attend.

“When I came into the project, I was afraid at first because I knew no one, but after a wile I have met kids of the project and I like to come now and I have gotten used to it, and every time I come here because I like it..." says Alberto.

Alberto is a different boy now. He is happy and self confident, knowing that he is wanted and cared for. He has returned to school and enjoys playing and growing as every little boy should.

"... I have friends in the project and together we do everything in the project and when is time to leave I go with my brothers running to my house and then go to school."

• Pray for Alberto - pray that he will continue to enjoy his childhood and that his studies will be a source of fun and interest for him.
• Pray for his feelings about his father. Pray that the pain from abandonment he feels will have no hold over his progress and his future.
• Pray for his mother and brothers - pray that they will stay united as a family and that they will continue to be able to support one another in love.
• Pray for other boys like Alberto. Pray that through the projects and local Churches, they will find good male role models and that they will be able to be a changed generation of faithful and caring men.

Project Focus - Santa Barbara

Santa Bárbara works with 100 children between the ages of 6 and 15 years old in an area where many children are living on the streets. The high number of street children in the area is due to the high rates of domestic violence and extreme poverty, and the number of children who are left at home to fend for themselves whilst their parents are out working. The project has been set up to prevent them from leaving home and becoming part of a dangerous street culture. The area is lacking in drinking water and basic services such as drainage and rubbish collection, which makes the area very susceptible to disease and sickness. There is a very low rate of income with many families living on the equivalent of $1 a day.

The project runs workshops for the children whilst they are in its care. They also work with about 70 families, working through the issues of domestic violence and educating parents in the good treatment of children; in doing so they are tackling the root cause of children moving to the streets.

In the last few months, the project leaders have organised a holiday club for the children, so they have had more time at the project during their time away from school, keeping them away from the streets of Lima. The children have also been involved in an environmental campaign called ‘Adopt a Tree’
which has been supported by schools and churches alike.

• Pray for the children at Santa Barbara - pray that they will find the support they need through the care and love of the project staff and volunteers.
• Pray that Santa Barbara will continue to be a happy, joyful place where children can come and experience what it means to be valued and understood.
• Pray for the children that attend that have experienced domestic violence in their young lives - pray that they will find healing and that the work the project is doing with their families will have a lasting and changing effect.

Guatemala Violence on the rise

A recent report released on Thursday 19th August, by the Guatemala Police security forces has revealed that for the first seven months of 2010, the violent death rate has risen to 16 per day. That's 3,434 violent deaths already so far this year. The shocking statistics underline the growing momentum behind youth gangs, drug traffickers and the rise in organised crime.

Over 85% of deaths were involving firearms, with the majority of all violent deaths occurring in and around the country's capital city, Guatemala City, where more than 30% of Guatemala's 14 million people live.

Central America, and in particular, Guatemala, has a greater intensity of gang and drug trafficking problems because it is a key passage en route to the United States - the desired final destination of many of the drug cartels and their merchandise. As with any organised crime or drug-related gangs, violence and force come hand in hand as a means of control.

Many of the children we are working with find themselves caught up in the cartels, as errand-runners, delivery boys or simply as a cog in the overall process. The children are shown a different way of living, given a place of safety, or simply shown that they are precious and loved - values that the gangs don't share.

• Pray for Guatemala - pray that the violence that is gripping the country will lessen and that those in authority will find ways to stem the outbreaks and gang activity.
• Pray for the children of Guatemala - pray that they will be protected and kept away from violence, both out on the streets, and in their own homes.
• Pray that the children that come into contact with the gangs will find ways of detaching themselves, so that any involvement they may have had will have no hold over them.
• Pray that the Toybox teams in Guatemala will be able to speak more with the authorities about violence against children and that they can be actively involved in improving the situation.

Give Thanks...

... for Emily!

Some of you may have encountered Emily at some point, either at an event, through an email or even on the recent Coast to Coast cycle ride! Emily Fyson has been part of the Communications team here at Toybox HQ for the last two and a half years. But sadly, the time has come for her to move on.

Em has been a real blessing to not only the team in Milton Keynes, but also to many of the teams out in Latin America. Her generosity and passion to see change in the lives of the children has been a wonderful thing and has helped Toybox achieve great things.

Thank you for everything Emily, we will miss you! Em is moving to London, so if you spot her, do say hello!

• Give thanks for the work Emily has done over the last two years and pray that it will provide a great foundation for the future.
• Give thanks for Em's smiley face and her passion for the children.
• Pray that her future will be filled with God's blessing
• Pray for her new role within another children's charity - pray that she will be able to bring great things to her new team and be a blessing to them.

Prayer archive

Click here to read previous prayer news

Join our email prayer team

We will send you e-prayer news - normally fortnightly. We would also like to be able to send you our bimonthly newsletter by post, to give you more background information about Toybox for prayer.