Allison Coble, Author at Faith to Action

CAFO Webinar on Gatekeeping

This Wednesday, Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) will launch the second in a new monthly webinar series, Knowledge + Practice. These webinars translate research into actionable information that OVC care practitioners can implement immediately to elevate the quality of the care they provide. October's webinar focused on child protection policy. You can view this webinar here. The second webinar is called “Gatekeeping: Reducing Unnecessary Entry Into Alternative Care" and will take place on Wednesday, November 4th from 2 PM – 3 PM EST. Dr. Delia Pop of Hope and Homes for Children will explore effective methods for identifying families at [...]

CAFO Webinar on GatekeepingAllison Coble2024-01-17T18:03:58-05:00

Finding Life After Institution

Tags: Community Strengthening | Economic Empowerment In Kenya, a movement of remarkable new leaders is working to assist young adults who have aged out of institutions and are trying to find their way in life. This network of people is the Kenya Society of Careleavers (KESCA) organization, “by and for adults (18+ years), who spent all or part of their childhood in children homes, orphanages, and/or rehabilitation centers.” The systems that “raised” them often provide no mechanisms for navigating life after they leave the institution, and with no familial support network, life can be devastatingly [...]

Finding Life After InstitutionAllison Coble2024-01-17T18:01:43-05:00

New Resources Available on Strategies for Strengthening Family Care!

The Faith to Action Initiative is excited to announce the release of new resources on strategies for strengthening family care. A Continuum of Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children explains that the best way to serve vulnerable children is to strengthen the capacity of families to care for them. Family-strengthening strategies and services help address many of the root causes of separation from family care. To better understand and engage this topic, the following resources are now available for your use: Webinar 3: Strategies for Strengthening Family Care is the third in a three-part series providing an introduction to [...]

New Resources Available on Strategies for Strengthening Family Care!Allison Coble2024-01-17T17:59:53-05:00

CAFO Webinar on Optimizing Your Child Protection Policy

This Wednesday, Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) will launch the first in a new monthly webinar series, Knowledge + Practice. These webinars will translate research into actionable information that OVC care practitioners can implement immediately to elevate the quality of the care they provide. The first webinar is called "Optimizing Your Child Protection Policy: Five Key Components For Keeping Children Safe" and will take place on Wednesday, October 21st from 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM EDT. For more information or to register, please visit CAFO's website.

CAFO Webinar on Optimizing Your Child Protection PolicyAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:59:03-05:00

Strengthening Children and Families Through Agricultural Development

Tags: Community Strengthening | Economic Empowerment Roots. They dig deep into the soil, drawing up water and nutrients so the rest of the plant can flourish and bear fruit. If roots are infected, or too shallow, or lacking essential nutrients for survival, the entire plant will become susceptible to disease and fail to thrive. Similarly, children rooted in chronic poverty are far more susceptible to exploitation and abuse. When we talk about the root causes that create vulnerable conditions for children and orphans, we often have to dig deep into the brokenness lying beneath the soil’s surface. [...]

Strengthening Children and Families Through Agricultural DevelopmentAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:57:06-05:00

Fostering Hope in Guatemala

Tags: Adoption | Foster Care | Community Strengthening | Economic Empowerment In Guatemala, when a child becomes an orphan, is a victim of abuse or exploitation, or is separated from family-based care, the primary response, historically, has been to place that child in a residential care facility. In 2013, UNICEF reported that 5,800 Guatemalan children were living in orphanages with large disparities of caregivers and children. Unfortunately, research shows that there are long-term, and sometimes permanent, negative effects institutional care can have on a child physically, emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Buckner International, a Christian organization working [...]

Fostering Hope in GuatemalaAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:56:19-05:00

Fuller Theological Seminary: Equipping Students in Family-Based Care

Tags: Community Strengthening Fuller Theological Seminary is helping students thoughtfully understand and support evidence-based practices in action as practitioners. Thought leaders around the country at centers of learning like the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller, work to mold the experienced, as well as the inexperienced, into practitioners who go into the world to implement orphan care practices that align with the best interests of children. Fuller Theological Seminary’s Dr. David Scott, Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies and Children at Risk, and Dr. Sheryl Ryan, Adjunct Faculty in the School of Intercultural Studies, are two [...]

Fuller Theological Seminary: Equipping Students in Family-Based CareAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:54:57-05:00

An Introduction to Better Volunteering on Behalf of Orphans and Vulnerable Children

In recent years, a trend has been on the rise where travelers and short-term mission groups volunteer in residential care facilities with children. When traveling to economically poor countries, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the difficulties that orphans and vulnerable children face, and it is natural to want to take action, but how we engage can make a world of difference. Motivations for volunteering are diverse, and most visitors have good intentions. Many Christian groups have made these types of visits to orphanages during short-term missions trips to provide care for orphans. Other volunteers make this part [...]

An Introduction to Better Volunteering on Behalf of Orphans and Vulnerable ChildrenAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:52:47-05:00

OVCsupport.net Webinar Series: Linking HIV and Child Protection

The following news update comes from OVCsupport.net: There is an increasing focus within the children and AIDS community on the need to ensure that child protection contributes to HIV prevention, treatment and mitigation targets. The 2014 Call to Action for Protection, Care and Support for an AIDS-Free Generation emphasizes that global targets to reduce vertical HIV transmission, increase HIV treatment and prevent new HIV infections cannot be achieved without addressing underlying factors of child abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect, along with other social and economic factors that increase HIV vulnerability. The Call to Action comes at a time of [...]

OVCsupport.net Webinar Series: Linking HIV and Child ProtectionAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:51:57-05:00

Continuum of Care Resources Now Available!

Faith to Action is excited to announce the launch of three new resources on the continuum of care. The continuum of care provides an overview of a range of alternative care options for children who have been separated from parental care. In keeping with research and evidence-based guidance on the importance of family in the life of a child, the continuum places a high priority on family care while also recognizing the role that temporary residential care and small group homes can play in the spectrum of options to meet individual situations and needs. The continuum of care highlights [...]

Continuum of Care Resources Now Available!Allison Coble2024-01-17T17:50:43-05:00

Quietly Investing in the Zimbabwean Church

Tags: Community Strengthening Where would you go if your family were on the verge of separation because you could no longer afford to feed your children? What if your support system—family, friends, community—were all in the midst of similar circumstances themselves and unable to help you? Whom would you trust? In Zimbabwe, Forgotten Voices highlights how the local church is in a unique position to support family preservation, and how this kind of work is pursued with tenacity and faithfulness. Otto Monroy, Vice President of Forgotten Voices, believes that strengthening the church is a critical [...]

Quietly Investing in the Zimbabwean ChurchAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:49:47-05:00

Reducing Stigma: Retrak’s Model of Reunifying Street Children With Families

Tags: Economic Empowerment For any child longing to be reunited with his or her family, the emotional and psychological hurdles can be enormous. This is particularly true for children being reintegrated with their families and communities after living on the streets—due to a range of issues, including family breakdown, death of a parent, and poverty. Street children, in some ways, live their lives in the shadows. They are often forced into unpaid labor positions or a lifestyle of begging. Yet despite the aspects of life that are largely unseen, the stigma attached to a child who has [...]

Reducing Stigma: Retrak’s Model of Reunifying Street Children With FamiliesAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:48:46-05:00

Protecting Children in Post-Earthquake Nepal

Tags: Community Strengthening It’s hard to visit Nepal and not be awe-struck by God’s handiwork: the soaring mountains, the fields of golden mustard, the laughter and artistry of Nepali people. Yet this same beauty has at times made Nepal particularly vulnerable to poverty and natural disaster. The mountainous topography makes infrastructure a constant challenge, and for decades scientists have been predicting a major earthquake. These vulnerabilities then breed exploitation and conflict. My first visit to Nepal in 2003 coincided with a lull in the midst of the nation’s decade-long civil war. I was immediately captivated. [...]

Protecting Children in Post-Earthquake NepalAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:47:48-05:00

Webinar on Transition to Family-Based Care

Next Wednesday, July 22nd, Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) will be hosting a webinar related to their "Replicable Models of Transition to Family-Based Care," project. Leaders from Buckner International, ACCIR, and the Akola Project, and will join CAFO President Jedd Medefind and answer audience questions, in addition to presenting on their own experiences. The Faith to Action Initiative is hopeful that many organizations and churches will join the webinar and be inspired to make steps toward engaging in and supporting family-based care. The webinar is scheduled for 2-3:30pm EDT. Register for free today! If you're not able to join [...]

Webinar on Transition to Family-Based CareAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:46:49-05:00

The Long Road Back: Transitioning to Family Care in Rwanda

Tags: Transitioning In Rwanda, an estimated 860,000 children and young people have lost one or both parents from the 1994 genocide, HIV and AIDS, or poverty. The strain that this has placed on families is overwhelming. In 2012 there were 3,300 children living in 33 institutions, commonly known as orphanages, across the country. Hope and Homes for Children (HHC), an organization working to place vulnerable children in family-based care and prevent institutional care for children, is partnering with the Rwandan government, UNICEF, and other partners to transition children out of all 33 institutions and into [...]

The Long Road Back: Transitioning to Family Care in RwandaAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:45:03-05:00

Project RED: Empowering Families for Abundant Lives

Tags: Community Strengthening El Salvador is the most densely populated country in Latin America and has the unfortunate standing as one of the world’s most violent countries. With this reality comes widespread poverty and a breakdown of the family structure across society. Publicly funded programs and an adequate protection system to ensure the wellbeing of children simply do not exist. In 2009, upheaval once again become a reality for orphans living in institutions, with the introduction of a new law called Law for Integral Child and Adolescent Protection (LEPINA), which is drawn from the UN Convention of [...]

Project RED: Empowering Families for Abundant LivesAllison Coble2024-01-17T17:43:46-05:00

Learning from Jesus to Serve Children

I spent ten years serving the world's most vulnerable children as a humanitarian professional, but it took having my own children for God to teach me some important lessons about the humility and sacrifice required in serving children, and appreciation for the adults who love and care for vulnerable children up-close. I loved my career as a champion for children's rights and protection with World Vision International. I felt privileged to be paid to put my faith and vocational calling into action through serving staff around the globe as they empowered children with skills and opportunities to speak their [...]

Learning from Jesus to Serve ChildrenAllison Coble2024-01-17T19:17:29-05:00

The Justice Conference

Faith to Action is excited to participate in the Justice Conference through this weekend in Chicago, IL. The Justice Conference is a premier gathering for Christian leaders, justice practitioners, students, and learners from all over the world. The conference seeks to leverage the power of community and catalyze the work of justice globally, nationally, locally and personally. The Justice Conference is presented by World Relief and in partnership with several other Christian organizations living out values of justice in work with orphans, widow, racial reconciliation, peace, and so many other salient topics that are critical to the Church today. [...]

The Justice ConferenceAllison Coble2024-01-17T19:16:44-05:00

Children in Families: A Community Approach to Reintegration

Tags: Foster Care | Transitioning Everyone in Kampong knows Sopheat* — his mischievous laugh, his lively personality, his story. Sopheat was among the very first children to be placed with a foster family in Kampong, a Cambodian village of sweeping rice paddies and swaying sugar palm trees. Sopheat’s street is now home to several other children living with foster families, and over the past few years their village has welcomed 35 children previously living in vulnerable situations. Children in Families (CIF) is a Christian organization in Cambodia working to reintegrate at-risk children into families. Many of [...]

Children in Families: A Community Approach to ReintegrationAllison Coble2024-01-17T19:16:10-05:00

Webinar on Key Evidence-Based Strategies to Protect Vulnerable Children

On Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 2pm EST, Christian Alliance For Orphans (CAFO) will host a webinar titled, "Key Evidence-Based Strategies to Protect Vulnerable Children from Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation." The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) has identified a combination of intervention-based actions essential to the protection of children against violence. These complementary interventions, known as THRIVES, are designed to guide countries as they choose a combination of strategies that together have the greatest potential for impact. THRIVES strategies cross health, social services, education, finance, and justice sectors. They include: training in parenting; household economic strengthening; reduced [...]

Webinar on Key Evidence-Based Strategies to Protect Vulnerable ChildrenAllison Coble2024-01-17T19:15:31-05:00

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About Allison Coble