Wednesday 8 November 2023

This work is needed because the alternatives can be tragic.

Day 3: What can happen when things go wrong?

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Probably the worst case we’ve come across is our 11-year-old, Luis. He came to us via the official channels because he’d just witnessed the murder of both his parents. The mother was decapitated in front of him.

He was working well with our psychologist and was making good friends.

After a few weeks a family member requested he stayed with him. The authorities agreed.

As usual, in these cases, the family were unstable. Within a few weeks he was out on the streets where he was found and beaten so badly, he is now permanently brain damaged. He will never be able to care for himself. We pray for a miracle.

We asked for him back several times but we were not heard. Tragic.

Prayer points:

• Please pray for a miracle for Luis and for other boys in violent families and on the streets, for their protection, that we can be actively supporting them and changing their lives.

• The equivalent of social services called DIF, will do proper assessments in future. So often the children are sent back to unstable family settings. We know of several girls who have been sent to family members only to end up in drugs and being trafficked.