Volunteer-Children’s Justice Center

This last Saturday BYU UNICEF spent the morning volunteering at the Children’s Justice Center in Provo Utah. Several hours were spent cleaning and organizing the center for its crucial work. The center is “a homelike facility which serves children and families who are experiencing the crisis and chaos that comes with the disclosure of significant physical or sexual abuse of a child. The center is designed to help children feel safe and comfortable so that they may begin to deal with the difficult and often frightening issues that surround abuse.”

BYU UNICEF was grateful to assist the center in its great work for the local community. Laura Blanchard, the Director of the Utah County Children’s Justice Center sent the following letter thanking the club for its efforts. Ms. Blanchard said:

“Thank you so much for your groups interest in and support for the children in our community. Your gift of service through BYU UNICEF’s efforts are greatly appreciated by the Utah County Children’s Justice Center in behalf of the children and families who are served here.”

 

Child Protection and Human Rights Lecture

On Thursday February 5th,  Professor Michael M O Seipel from the BYU Social Work Department gave an insightful lecture about the current state of street children in Ghana. His remarks were based upon a recent paper published in the International Social Work Journal titled  “Survival Strategies of Street Children In Ghana: A Qualitative Study.” Professor Seipel has done extensive research on topics such as welfare-reform, poverty and health care in developing countries.  He has also received several awards in education and speaking. Thank you Professor Seipel for spending your valuable time with us. 

Professor Seipel was asked the question (paraphrased) “does all the work from non-profit organizations actually help to rehabilitate children, or do children start to to rely on the aid of humanitarian organizations such as UNICEF?” Professor Seipel responded by using the analogy of a fish out of water.  When a fish jumps out, do we figuratively council the fish and tell it what it has done wrong, or what it needs to change? Yes, but it may die. If we throw the fish back in the bowl every time the fish jumps out, then it may never learn. Professor Seipel suggested that there needs to be a balance of both, and that is where the expertise of non-profits comes to play. 

An Update from Cambodia

This is the first photo we have recieved from Dr. Jini Roby, an associate Professor at BYU, who is currently working for UNICEF in Cambodia.  

Dr. Roby writes in response to BYU UNICEF’s question about her experience so far: 

“…there are many individual stories, but the most important one is the powerful collective story of war, genocide, and the amazing spirit of resiliency and renewal here in Cambodia. I am loving my experience with UNICEF. My colleagues are truly wonderful, dedicated people who care deeply about children and families. I wish you could all visit me and see the great work that is going on here. I think of you often and congratulate you on your efforts to learn and grow in mind, heart and spirit.” 

An Amazing Trip to Camp “K”

On Saturday January 24, BYU UNICEF club members traveled to the Kostopulos Dream Foundation in Salt Lake City. Camp K, is an organization that provides fun community based activities for individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities.  We had a blast snowshoeing and singing karaoke with the campers. High School Musical 2 was the definite hit! After such an amazing experience we all look forward to returning soon. 

A Special Visit from UNICEF

On Thursday January 22, the BYU UNICEF club was privileged to be visited by Linda Naugle. Ms. Naugle is the Senior Major Gifts Officer of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Linda spent over two hours of her very busy schedule meeting with the BYU AdLab and sharing her experiences with the BYU UNICEF club about her trip to Rwanda last year. One of the wonderful moments that Linda shared was when she was traveling in a UNICEF vehicle in Rwanda. As they traveled down the dusty roads, people cheered with excitement as the vehicle passed.  Thank you Linda Naugle for your inspiring visit. 

UTAH TAP Project – Launch

The Utah TAP Project has begun!  There was a flurry of excitement this last Wednesday, with students getting ready to recruit restaurants across the state of Utah. If you missed out, we still can use your help! Training will start on Wednesday January 28th. Please email us for information. 

January Lecture

“Child Disability and Acceptance – - What can I do?”

This month we were privileged to hear from Tina Taylor Dyches, an associate professor from BYU’s department of counseling psychology and special education. Professor Dyches has received many teaching awards and has published numerous articles on topics including special education, autism and parenting.

Ms. Dyches covered the Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as UNICEF’s commitment to children with disabilities. Half way through the meeting, Ms. Dyches broke the group up into teams of four. She asked each member of the group to explain to the other members why they joined UNICEF, except they could not use the letter “r”. It was a small example that helped many to understand the difficulties and stigmatism’s that a child, with a disability, may face. 

In closing Ms. Dyches shared a very special quote from Cory Moore,  a parent and special educator in testimony before the U.S. Congress. 

“My middle child carries a number of labels; ‘mentally retarded,’ physically handicapped,’ ’speech impaired,’ developmentally disabled.’ At our house, we call her Leslie.”

Thank you Ms. Dyches for your commitment to children, and for helping us become more prepared to see the person first, and not the disability. 

A Holiday Card from UNICEF

This holiday card was sent to the BYU UNICEF Club. It was signed with the message “Your work is so important. Thank you. -Rachael” Rachael Swanson is the Program Manager for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. We hope you all had a very happy holiday break. 

“Believe in Zero” Concert

This past Saturday BYU UNICEF hosted our very first “Believe in Zero” concert as part of the UNICEF Campus Challenge. A special thanks goes to the local bands of Shark Speed, Kid You Nauts, and Imagine Dragons. Thank you for all who participated and the BYU Bradley PR Agency who helped publicize this event. 

“Imagine Dragons”

David Hawkins of the “Kid You Nauts”

“Shark Speed”

“Kid You Nauts”

BYU UNICEF Concert Committee

L-R (Skyler Stevenson, Rebekah Price, Rachel Price, Rusty Greiner, Cami Rooney) Missing-Robert Cowan, Brad Stringfellow, Joungwon Yoon

BYU News Article – “UNICEF benefit concert…”

To see the link please click [here].