Here are Various Catergories of Children who need your support..

There is national concern about the growing numbers of vulnerable children and the need to protect them, through a coordinated guided response in Botswana. The National Situation Analysis on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (2007) identified 30.6% of children as vulnerable due to living in poverty, while other children struggle to grow up in families prone to internal conflicts, alcoholism, violence, abuse and poor parenting skills.

We have situations where children are also heading households and living in households headed by their young brothers or sisters. Other groups of vulnerable children are those who are displaced or refugees or who have parents in prison or detention

These children are unlikely to enjoy their rights and may even be driven onto the streets to support themselves. Children with unmet emotional needs are also particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse.
Let us define some of the common terms used to define the various categories of children in Botswana:

A child is a person below the age of 18 years.

‘Orphan’
International definition
An orphan is a child below the age of 18 years who has lost one or both parents

Botswana programme definition
“an ‘orphan’ is a child below 18 years who has lost one (single parents) or two (married couples) biological or adoptive parents. Married couples include those married in civil or traditional marriages”

‘social orphan’
Botswana programme definition
‘Social orphans’ are those abandoned or dumped or whose parents cannot be traced”

‘vulnerable child’
A vulnerable child is a person below the age of 18 years who is in any situation or circumstance which is or is likely to adversely affect the child’s physical, emotional, psychological or general well-being, which prevents the enjoyment of his or her rights, and who is in need of protection.

‘A child in need of protection’
A child in need of protection is a vulnerable child under the age of 18 years and includes a child who is temporarily or permanently deprived of parental care and support; or who is temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment and care; or heads or lives in a child headed household; or displays behaviour which cannot be managed by the parent, guardian or other person; or suffers from physical/mental disability or any form of chronic illness; or is involved in work which is harmful to his or her emotional, physical, psychological, social or educational development or well-being; or suffers/lives in abusive circumstances; or lives in circumstances calculated to cause or conduce to the child’s seduction, prostitution or corruption; or is in contact or conflict with the law.

‘Child-headed household’
A child headed household is a family headed by a person under the age of 18 years, in the absence of his or her parent (s) or other adult family member to provide care for the children in the household.

Let's discuss support to these children later...

A 2-year-old beaten, mother's boyfriend arrested

I have been conducting research over the past 17 years on child abuse and I am inclined to say that child abuse is on the increase worldwide. The abuse takes place in many spheres; in the home, at school, in the church and in the children’s homes. You can hardly read on the newspapers or switch on the television without hearing more about a child being molested or killed. Is the world community doing enough to combat child abuse? I have just come back from a World Congress on Sexual exploitation of children and adolescents which was held in Rio, Brazil. My observation is that most countries have started doing something about, which most is pleasing.

My intention is to create awareness among stakeholders on how to manage child abuse and neglect. So in my quest to give you strategies on how to handle child abuse, I will be collecting information or news from around the world for your consumption. There are many stunning cases from around the world that I will give from time to time.

Here’s a story of a 2-year-old child who was beaten by the mother's boyfriend who was later arrested. A 2-year-old Renton girl has life-threatening injuries and traumatic brain trauma after she was beaten by her mother's boyfriend, according to police reports.

The girl is now in Harborview Medical Center – the region's top trauma center – after first being brought to Valley Medical Center Saturday afternoon. The 30-year-old man suspected of beating her said she was hurt in an accident, Renton police spokeswoman Penny Bartley told our news partner, KOMO/4. The man is not her father, according to police reports. The culprit was arrested after Port of Seattle police allegedly found him, the injured girl's mother and the couple's 11-day-old daughter trying to fly out of Sea-Tac International Airport.

The man was booked Monday night into the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on investigation of child abuse and for violating probation. He had been taking care of the 2-year-old, who was not his child. The mother of the child, whom the man recently had a daughter with, was staying with relatives. The name of the man is still withheld because he has not been charged.

Court records show the man, a New York native, has a history of domestic violence. In 2006, he was found guilty of violating a domestic violence court order, which is a gross misdemeanor. The man was also found guilty that year of two other gross misdemeanors: harassment and fourth-degree assault.

The mother of the 11-day-old girl is not in custody, but police said the girl has been taken by Child Protection Services.

Why is it that boy friends or step fathers seem to be very much involved in child abuse?

Let's talk…