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Image via WikipediaAccording to ABC News, yesterday, throughout the Congo children are being accused of practicing witchcraft (click the title to see the news video). To me, as a parent and as a former court appointed special advocate for abused and neglected children, this is serious child abuse which leads to the orphaning of these children. I don’t know who has the necessary influence to change these practices and educated the parents accordingly, but if you readers do, please encourage them to make a difference. Thousands of children are affected.
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This is not an isolated phenomenon. I spent several years in rural southeast Africa, and have seen this many times. In fact, a couple of times the kids killed their mother or another family member because they truly believed they were 'wizards'. The level of superstition is embedded in all layers of society in the region, and is something that must be taken seriously in any type of development project.