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Guardians of the Children, an organization dedicated to helping children who deal with abuse, has recently opened a chapter in southeast Kansas.
The chapter’s president, Boga, spoke about the organization and its founders.
“Well, a little over a year ago a group of friends and I decided that there was a need for these types of services in our area,” Boga said. “And we sought out the Guardians and became members and then worked over the process of the last year to form our own chapter here in Southeast Kansas.”
The chapter was officially formed on August 21, 2021. Boga wanted to emphasize the organization’s mission statement and what they hope to carry out.
“The mission of Guardians of the Children is to recognize and react to child abuse and educate the public to do the same; to serve as advocates to provide strength and stability to families in crisis; and be an answer to the prayer of an abused child or teen for courage, support, and protection,” Boga said.
Boga hopes to use the Guardians of the Children to inform the public about the signs of child abuse and resources for children and other members of the family that are struggling.
“A lot of people don’t see the signs of child abuse or they actually a lot of people don’t want to see the signs of child abuse and that somebody else has problems,” Boga said. “But as a responsible adult, everybody should be a mandatory reporter if you think something is going on with a child, you should report it to somebody so that it can be looked at.”
The organization offers many different resources to children who endure abuse and work with them to overcome their fears.
“We work with the children of the abused children individually to try to empower them to not be afraid anymore,” Boga said. “We work with the family too, we don’t provide direct support like we’re not going to pay their phone bill or something, but we can help them connect with resources in our community that can help.”
One of the organization’s main outreach programs is its services to children who testify against their alleged abusers. Their support has helped many kids share their stories.
“The other thing we do, the important thing is when a kid has to go to court a lot of times, they’re really afraid,” Boga stated. “They don’t know anybody there. Well, half a dozen of their brothers and sisters (members of Guardians of the Children) will go sit in the courtroom with them and then they’re not afraid of that abuser because sometimes in their mind they think he’s going to jump over the counter and get them. It leads to a much higher rate of children testifying and testifying accurately by being empowered to not be afraid while they’re there in court because they have their friends with them.”
The organization is always open to new members and wants to encourage people to help children in need.
“The best way they can do is come to one of our meetings,” Boga said. “It’s generally the third Sunday of the month at 1:00 o’clock at the Holiday Inn in Pittsburg. It’s open to the public. We are a 501(c)(3), so all of our meetings are open.”
College students are also encouraged to join the organization because of the many opportunities to help the community and to become part of a larger mission.
“There’s a lot of benefits for a student that wants to join us,” Boga stated. “We’re a 501(c)(3) so any community service requirements they have can be met through us. It’s the kind of thing you can take with you. There are chapters all over the country, so you’ve become a member of our chapter and you graduate and you move on to Kentucky to get a job, you can join there.”
You can find the Guardians of the Children Borderland chapter on Facebook or at the meetings they hold at the Holiday Inn in Pittsburg.