Rogue Heart Media SPC’s Post

I watched a Lemn Sissay talk recently where he asked a room of people: ‘How many of you are adopted? How many were fostered?’ One or two hands went up. Then he asked: ‘How many of you know someone who’s adopted? Or who fosters? Or who’s just taking care of someone in their family who’s not their birth child?’ Only one or two hands stayed down. Off the top of my own head I know one person who’s adopted, three families who have adopted, four families who foster, and now I’ve started talking about it there’s my mum’s friend whose niece is living with her just now, and my pal Su’s friend who’s taken on her grandkids, and my one of closest friends who was considering how she would juggle her teaching career with looking after a baby and a toddler as well as her own boys when her wider family’s situation got a little complicated. Fostering and adoption is everywhere! Kinship carers are everywhere too. So why are they still not properly supported financially and emotionally? It costs an estimated £200k to raise a child today. Where does that money come from when kinship carers are having to give up work and battle to be recognised in the eyes of the law? If you know someone who is a kinship carer get them to fill in Family Rights Group’s survey. 15 minutes of their time means that campaigns can be backed up with stats and stories that could redefine the future for them and the children they care for. #KinshipCarer #FamilyRights https://lnkd.in/ey-uVe-U

Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage was founded in 2011 by The Elders, a group of international peacebuilders and human rights defenders, to tackle child marriages and other harmful practices against young girls. Today, Girls Not Brides continues its work to abolish child marriages, increase security, and promote the rights of girls everywhere. https://lnkd.in/evQ-_B-k

Happy International Boy Child Day! Today, we celebrate and acknowledge the importance of raising our boys with care, attention, and love. Having worked on a few personal and group projects focused on the boy child and youths, I've seen firsthand how often their unique needs and challenges are overlooked. It's crucial to remember that boys need as much guidance and support as girls. Our society cannot thrive if we continue to neglect the boy child. Too often, we prepare women for unprepared men, perpetuating a cycle that benefits no one. Let's commit to raising our boys well. Teach them to be humane, responsible, kind, and respectful to everyone. Encourage them to practice good personal hygiene and embrace domestic responsibilities. By doing so, we nurture future men who are compassionate, respectful, and well-rounded. Together, we can break the cycle and create a better world for all. Theodore Roosevelt said; "do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Dear parents, raise your boys well! Happy International Boy Child Day! PS: The video is one of my personal projects I did 2 years ago🙆, from planning to execution. #HappyInternationalBoyChildDay #ABetterFuture #ProjectManagement #CommunityDevelopment

Have you ‘stepped into the breach’ to provide a home to children in your family? Did you get any financial, practical or emotional support when you offered to help to look after the children - to take on school runs and sandwiches and lack of sleep? To navigate a complex legal system? We know there are thousands of relatives and friends stepping up for children in times of need. You shouldn’t have to do this alone. Support services like our free advice line are available. But there are policies we need national and local government to change and introduce too. We at Family Rights Group want to know what you need and there are just two days left to contribute your experiences to our Kinship Carers Survey. For those who wear the mantle of kinship care – numbers, stories and your insights will help us to support you by pressing government for this recognition. Help us build a better system that values and supports kinship families. Take our survey or share with families in your networks https://lnkd.in/etqMjvct #Children #KinshipCare #Policy #Campaign #Advocacy #Families

What is civil society? Why do we refer to it so often? And why do our politicians, bureaucrats, and journalists never refer to it? #Civilsociety comprises the relationships and activities that make up our life at grass-roots levels of society, in #families, #communities and #voluntary associations, independent of both government and the corporate world. These relationships and activities tend to fall into 8 key segments: #Family and kinship networks #Household or domestic economies #Neighbourhoods, friendships and informal social supports #Voluntaryassociations, self-help and support groups #NGOs and charities #Socialenterprises, cooperatives and mutuals #Familyfarms, family enterprises, small businesses #Religion, faith and spirituality (the social relations formed by them)      These diverse social forms have 3 features in common: #Relational – they are defined by relationships #Associational – they are shaped by formal or informal bonds #Voluntary – they are formed without compulsion These social forms can be strong or weak, 'thick' or 'thin'. In Australia today they are #weak and #thinning out. Social isolation is becoming an epidemic. The term ‘civil society’ does not refer to ‘politeness’ or #civility in public life, as important as this is. It refers to that part of society that is not part of the state, hence the term #civilian when used to distinguish a person in civil society from military or state officials, or a #civil offence in law which is an offence between persons in civil society rather than a criminal matter. Civil society is made up of the things we do as #civilians, freely and voluntarily, outside the state and the market. For two reasons, civil society has been steadily #marginalised over the last century. As both states and markets have #expanded, they have intruded upon the relationships and activities of civil society - sometimes #colonising them, sometimes #corroding them. At the same time, the ideologies of Left and Right have increasingly #emptied themselves of any conceptual recognition of the existence of civil society. The result of these two simultaneous processes has been a #squeezing of civil society from two sides - from states and markets, and from Left and Right. Why is the #conceptual recognition of civil society important? Because without it, we can't see or assess the state of our relationships and social connections. We can't see past the #commodification of life wrought by market transactions, nor its #depersonalisation by state bureaucracies. Without it, we get a distorted, de-humanised understanding of life, in which we are at the mercy of two hostile #invadingforces - states and markets, Left and Right - with no boundaries and no protection. #Conservatism, historically and in the 21st century, is best understood as a political movement to curb the impact on civil society of these two hostile invading forces. https://lnkd.in/g5Ri293E         .

🌟 The Struggle of Widows: Property Grabbing, poverty and mental health My Journey: After the loss of my father, my paternal grandmother made a wise decision where to use my father’s savings to purchase property in my name. I did not have to go through legal processes to utilize that specific piece of land when I attained adulthood. However, on the other side, my father had inherited a much larger piece of land. Unfortunately, after his death, it was seized by our tribal relatives. I vividly remember visiting them, asking for what should have been my rightful inheritance, only to receive vague promises like “Come back tomorrow, and we’ll discuss.” As a child, my mother lacked the legal power to fight for my rights, and as a young adult, I couldn’t navigate the system effectively. Mentally frustrated and resource-limited, I eventually gave up. Widows’ Plight: In patriarchal societies, the loss of a husband not only shatters emotional bonds but also jeopardizes financial security. Widows often find themselves vulnerable due to property grabbing by in-laws. The death of a breadwinner exposes them to economic hardship. Without formal wills or last testaments, inheritance becomes a complex issue that often leaves widows without resources, pushing them and their children into poverty. Not forgetting the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression that they experience while mourning and, at the same time, struggling to keep what is rightfully theirs. A Broader Perspective: My story resonates with countless other orphaned children and women across Africa. Support systems for widows are inadequate, and property struggles persist. Let’s raise awareness and advocate for stronger legal protections and social safety nets for widows worldwide. Empowering them economically and ensuring their property rights is essential to breaking the cycle of poverty. #WidowsRights #PropertyGrabbing #GenderEquality #EndPoverty

Love this blog and perspective about how important child abuse prevention is.

This documentary explores identity and belonging. It focuses on Tap Dancer, Johnathan Morin, raised in foster care, on a journey of self discovery. LINK TO TRAILER https://ow.ly/2Yvl50ThRgk

Raising Children in a Racist World Join Kim Brassor in an eye-opening discussion with Tracey Butler-Johnson about raising children in a racially divided society. Learn how Tracey's family tackles interracial marriage, fights against racism, and dismantles white supremacy culture. Discover practical strategies and resources to promote racial equity in your own family and community. Watch now and start making a difference. #RaisingChildren #InterracialParenting #RacialEquity #AntiRacism #ParentingTips #FamilyCommunity #SocialJustice #InclusionMatters #PromoteEquity

Check out this powerful blog by Tiffany Sickler, PhD, Executive Director of Koinonia Family Services for #CAPMonth2024. Let's advocate for children in need! Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gEbVgEbf