The Article I wrote earlier today has me searching for ways to help. I had the privilege of attending one of the global simultaneous showings of gorgeous films on Pangea Day, May 10th. You can view the film Ezra about child soldiers by clicking on the title to this article. There you will also find a link to Plan USA, a wonderful organization working with kids in distress around the world. I'm looking into all of the options they offer.
One of the ways is to get youth in your own community involved in helping other kids. In a way that is working from both angles. It's hard to stay vulnerable to the idea of killing people in war if you are connected to them in some way.http://www.planusa.org
Instead of military recruiters in our schools we can have programs that give meaning to our children's lives. Please post any other ideas find.
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3 comments:
I hope this means it's not too hard to post here.
Jude
Jude,
Thank you for this post and the earlier one on abuse of children related to war--and wars we in the US are responsible for in particular. You mentioned the idea of having alternatives to military recruiters in high schools. American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization, has a set of programs and publications aimed at high school kids considering the military. You can find out more about their "youth and milltarism programs here: http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/default.htm
Susan
http://communityoftheland.blogspot.com
I work as a member of the Youth Engagement and Action Team at Plan USA. Our team runs several programs working with U.S. youth who are interested in global issues.
One of our programs is the Global Connections School Linking Program. Through this program classrooms in the U.S. are connected with schools in a Plan program country. Through the exchange of artwork and media students on both sides of the globe learn what life is like for a student in another country.
Our other main program is a youth network called YUGA (Youth United for Global Action and Awareness). It is mainly aimed at middle and high school aged youth who want to take local action on global issues.
As members of YUGA, the youth run campaigns in their schools and communities raising awareness about issues like Child Exploitation (including child soldiers, child labor and child trafficking), Climate Change, HIV and AIDS, and Global Poverty.
Right now we are gearing up for our annual YUGA Summer Leadership Camp. The camp is open to youth entering 9th-12th grade, and is a week's worth of interactive workshops and skill building sessions, giving the youth the skills and knowledge they need to go back to their schools and communities and run their own campaigns.
More info about YUGA and YUGA Leadership Camp can be found at www.planusa.org/yugaleadershipcamp or by emailing yuga@planusa.org
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