Lent is a time of year when the Christian community pauses to reflect on what we have and how we can help others as well as remembering our Saviour’s journey to the cross. Over the last couple of years, The Clewer Initiative has produced a Lent Resource which has been widely used by
churches and individuals. In 2020, we launched the County Lines Lent Resource and in 2021, the Women in the Shadows Lent resource.
This year’s new resource for Lent is called Children in the Shadows. Week by week, we explore the various forms of child exploitation in the UK and overseas, the scale of the abuse, some of the push factors and the need for us all to increase our awareness and effective response.
We have included contributions and insight from practitioners working in the areas of child trafficking, exploitation and safeguarding. This includes Ben Lindsay (the founder of Power The Fight), Becky Lewis, the Strategic Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Service Manager at Bristol City Council, Bill Crooks and Fiona Kendall of FCEI-Mediterranean Hope and the team at Hestia. Some of their reflections come in the form of short one minute film clips to inspire and guide discussion.
