A few weeks ago I jumped rope for the first time since the fifth grade. I remember how this was absolutely my favorite after-lunch activity on the blacktop with a group of girlfriends. Now, as a young woman, I miss those afternoons. The chances of my grown-up girlfriends pulling out a rope and saying, "Let's jump," after a midday meal are slim to none. Adults can be so lame.

Children jump rope over a dirt road in Juarez, Mexico. Mónica Ortiz Uribe/World Vision Report

It was a Wednesday, warm and sunny. I was in jeans and pink flats. The place: Colonia Primero de Mayo in the Mexican border city of Juarez. My guide was a social worker with unforgettable green eyes. I picked her up at a corner pharmacy where she was waiting with a portable stereo and a small canvas bag filled with coloring books and crayons. "The neighborhood is a little rough," she told me. I think I just smiled back at her. Like I haven't heard that before.

When Lourdes and I arrived there were only a few children gathered in the front yard of the family who hosts these weekly play dates. The homes here were built by hand by their owners, so the architecture can get pretty, well, creative. This house was actually several small houses on a single plot. The walls were a bright yellow and the front yard — like the roads — was all dirt and pebbles.

Lourdes set up the stereo, a table and a few chairs. Then the children arrived. There was a little more than a dozen of them, some barefoot, some in superhero t-shirts, some in stylish second hand shirts. They played games, danced, and of course jumped rope.

After I'd collected some sound and did a few interviews the kids didn't have to ask me twice to join them in their jumping. I practically threw my gear into my bag and made for the rope.

There is a sad story behind all this, as is typically the case behind so many of my trips to Juarez. These children live with unthinkable violence everyday. Few public policy makers in Juarez take the time to seriously study the effects of such violence on the city's future generation.

A coalition of non-profit organizations recently published a book which is meant to call attention to this important matter. The book is filled with the testimonies of local children and their perception of violence. Please share your thoughts about how best to nurture children who live amongst violence.