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Play Provides Healing
As children around the world learn the power of their own voices and their ability to ask for what they wish for, they’re learning the safe adults in their life will not only listen, they will work to help make things happen for them.
Haiti and her people continue to persevere despite ongoing turmoil across the country. Back2Back staff eagerly pursue special activities or moments to hold space for the children and families they serve.
Back2Back’s Transition to Independence Program comes alongside young adults as they transition from one season of their lives to a new one, often resulting in independent living. Staff teams provide mentorship, life skills, and general support to each young adult in the program as they navigate life in new spaces and areas.
In trauma informed care, we are taught that a child who approaches someone new as if they’ve known them their whole lives, is displaying indiscriminate friendliness. Children with trauma histories often miss the key developmental milestones of attaching to a safe adult.
Trauma-informed schools are being developed at many of the Back2Back sites. Staff have unanimously seen the effects on children when educators lack trauma-training, thus not fully understanding what some of their students face.
Trauma-informed schools are on the rise at Back2Back sites around the globe. Over the years, as Back2Back staff have served children attending village and government-run schools, they saw inconsistencies as students struggled to keep up, many often repeating grades.
Expanding the Reach: India Welcomes New Site Director
In Hyderabad’s core, there is a community of families living in makeshift homes. Most of the parents are rag pickers, who separate thrown-out food and materials into groups and sell them for profit. Despite these living conditions, there is joy within the tarped walls and metal roofs.
Child sponsorship is an integral way Back2Back helps facilitate safe, lasting relationships for children and adults from around the world. The financial support it provides allows holistic care for each child, and the emotional investment made has eternal impact.
The trauma-informed, Back2Back-run school in India was once just a dream. Long-time staff members prayed for opportunities to send children to schools with broad and usable educational curriculum.
Adelina’s teachers and family observe her playing and learning alongside peers, recalling the little girl whose teachers claimed was illiterate and too quiet and now, all they see is blossoming.
It was 2010, and Matt and Julie Cooper, long-time friends and staff members, joined us in Cancun to explore the possibility of a new site. We had some appointments to see children’s homes and were all praying God would make it clear where He wanted our next investment.
A children’s home is like a pond – self contained, calm, and disconnected from the river. For many children, it’s a place of necessary protection from unsafe or unhealthy situations.
Each year, Back2Back staff gather and create action plans for the children and families they serve. These plans differ from site to site, based on the needs of those served. This year one of the action plan items in Nigeria is a quarterly give back activity.
One of the Hope Homes in Nigeria is a safe haven for young women in the Hope Education Program. In February of this year, the home opened its doors for another promising young adult with much ahead of her.
The puzzle pieces laid across the tables in front of the four young men. Their house parents stood in before them, speaking words of encouragement and life, telling them the puzzle is a reminder that all the answers to the puzzles of life are found in God and their Bibles.
Back2Back staff work long hours, step into difficult story lines, and never stop fighting on behalf of the vulnerable populations they serve globally. Each year, the Back2Back Care Team hosts staff retreats for the different staff teams, and this year in the D.R. it was an extra special time.
The National Stadium is a multipurpose sports stadium located in the capital city of Nigeria. The stadium serves as home to the Nigerian National Football team, as well as a center for various social, cultural, and religious events.
Kate* clocked out at the health food stand she’s long worked at and heads in the direction of home. She smiles to herself, considering all she’s accomplished and how far she had to come to do it.
Back2Back’s Dominican Republic site is unique from the sites who came before it. While partnerships with local non-profits are being established, the vision is to impact more children and families by scaling through others, to grow in breadth.
Across the world, Back2Back staff have faithfully shown up and served vulnerable children for the last 25+ years. As the ministry grows, expanding its reach, depth, and breadth, families have become a top priority at many of the sites.
