OK- Church must "seek out" victims of just arrested-man, SNAP says
For immediate release: Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
A teenaged missionary from Oklahoma is accused of sexually abusing several young children from an African orphanage. Our hearts ache for the vulnerable children who, instead of receiving much needed aid, were sexually assaulted. We hope the children will now, more than ever, receive the care they need.
Matthew Durham has traveled several times to Kenya to work at a children’s home with an organization called Upendo. The allegations of abuse stem from his most recent trip, but we are concerned there are more victims who have been suffering in silence and self blame from previous trips. We urge Upendo to publically explain how one of their volunteer missionaries was able to sexual assault the children they were meant to help.
We suspect Durham was or is affiliated with a church in Oklahoma. Officials at that church must aggressively seek out others in their congregation who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes or misdeeds by him.
Children sexually abused in developing countries face added hardships of limited access to recourse and rehabilitative services. Upendo should immediately provide the children with access to rehabilitative services and reach out to anyone else who might be suffering in silence and self blame.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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