Day of the African Child--Slave Children Have Nothing to Celebrate

Day of the African Child. A day to Celebrate the worth of African children. A day to remember how far we have come and how far we still have to go. Many of our sponsored children from the Kamwokya slum here in Uganda where I am writing this participate today in a wonderful program--probably their first. They will sing and dance and recite and smile at officials.

But as I write, I remember those unable to celebrate. Those in ritual servitude in idol shrines in Ghana, Togo, and Benin will not be celebrating. There is nothing to celebrate in their lives. Can they celebrate hunger? Being set apart as less than human? Beatings? Rape?

In Ghana at least the practice (called trokosi there) has been outlawed since 1998. A mandatory three year prison term has been attached. Yet it continues. It continues because people choose to ignore it for the most part, or to blame it only on one tribe, as if other groups could never do anything like THAT! It continues because people let it continue.

God help us. I look forward to a REAL Day of the African Child--a day when ALL Africa's children will have something to celebrate!

Occult Roots of Modern-Day Slavery

I just finished reading "Restoring Survivors of Satanic Ritual Abuse" by Patricia Baird Clark. She deals with modern-day survivors of ritual abuse in the United States, but many of the themes and the methods are exactly the same as what I see in the idol shrines of West Africa. Clark talks a lot about "the chosen child" who is a living sacrifice to Satan (exactly the terminology I've chosen to describe what I see in the trokosi-voodoosi system). The chosen child is subjected to many rituals, sometimes even before birth, to impart as many demonic powers as possible. She is then kept isolated and dehumanized in every way possible (same as in the trokosi system). People use her to obtain her demonic powers for their own ends, and these powers are accessed through rape. (Same, same, same.) Lord, guide your church into helping these poor victims both here and around the world, wherever these ugly systems manifest themselves. I pray that victims will begin to seek help and that you will raise up an army of Christians who are equipped and unafraid to help them get free. Thank you, Jesus! Amen.