Archive for category: Children

Information and stories addressing children.

, ,

Info About Child Soldiers: What You Need to Know

Info About Child Soldiers
According to DoSomething.org, “in the last 15 years, the use of child soldiers has spread to almost every region of the world and every armed conflict. Though it is hardly possible to define an exact number, thousands of children soldiers are illegally serving in armed conflict around the world.”

Eight Facts About Child Soldiers

    1. Currently, there are between 250,000 and 300,000 children soldiers globally.
    2. The recruitment for children starts at the age of 10 and they are used as instruments within wars to execute individuals unreasonably.
    3. A child soldier is any minor, regardless of gender, under the age of 18 who is recruited by a state or non-state armed group and who is used as a fighter, messenger, spy or even for sexual purposes.
    4. “Children are recruited because they are more manageable, more obedient and more easily manipulated than adults. Children are also less conscious of danger, and it is harder for them to see the difference between absence and death,” according to Humanium.
    5. Young people are more likely to get recruited if they come from marginalized communities, are displaced from their houses, live in a combat zone and do not have access to education.
    6. Humanium emphasized that “children who are orphaned, unaccompanied or living in a difficult family environment, see it as a solution to their problems, and taking part in an armed group seems safer than confronting these problems. Revenge, community identity and ideology can also influence children.”
    7. Additionally, armed forces take minors because they are less expensive to recruit and train compared to adults.
    8. “Child soldiers are usually presented as victims of adults, and forced recruitment is more readily emphasized than voluntary engagement,” said Humanium.

 

There are some extreme cases where children volunteer to become soldiers because it is a better option to the reality they face every day. They see this as an outlet from their current situation.

– Isabella Rolz

Sources: Child Soldiers, Do Something, Humanium
Photo: Flickr

, ,

The Loss of Freedom: Different Types of Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking
There are several types of human trafficking, and they all have a common denominator: an abuse of the intrinsic vulnerability of the victims.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human trafficking is defined as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the treat or use of force or other forms of coercion.”

Trafficking of individuals is a serious crime and a heinous violation of human rights.

“Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims,” said the UN.

The following are various categories linked to human trafficking.

Sex Trafficking

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime suggested that 53 percent of the victims are forced into sexual exploitation. “Sex trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, or harboring of persons through threat, use of force, or other coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation. This includes movement across borders, as well as within the victim’s own country,” affirmed Human Trafficking Search.

The International Labour Organization estimated that there is a worldwide profit of $100 billion for forced commercial sexual exploitation.

Additionally, “the perceived inferior status of women in many parts of the world has contributed to the expansion of the trafficking industry,” confirmed Human Trafficking Search.

Involuntary Domestic Servitude

Involuntary servitude happens when a domestic worker becomes enslaved in an exploitative position they are incapable of escaping.

“Domestic servitude is the seemingly normal practice of live-in help that is used as a cover for the exploitation and control of someone, usually from another country. It is a form of forced labor, but it also warrants its own category of slavery because of the unique contexts and challenges it presents,” said End Slavery Now.

Forced Labor

According to Human Trafficking Search, “Forced labor is work or service that is extorted from someone under the menace of any penalty and work or service that the person has not offered voluntarily.”

The International Labour Organization estimated that approximately 20.9 million people are enslaved to forced labor, and 4.5 are subjected to sexual forced exploitation.

Debt Bondage

“Debt bondage is a type of forced labor, involving a debt that cannot be paid off in a reasonable time,” said Human Trafficking Search. It is a period of debt during which there is no freedom, consequently, it is also known as debt slavery.

Child Soldiers

Child soldiers are described as persons under the age of 18, who have been recruited by armed forces in any capacity. Currently, there are thousands of soldiers worldwide.

“The definition includes both boys and girls who are used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes,” added Human Trafficking Search.

Child Sex Trafficking

There are approximately 1.8 million children subjected to prostitution or pornography globally.

The Human Trafficking Search defined it as “a sexual exploitation by an adult with respect to a child, usually accompanied by a payment to the child or one or more third parties.”

Child Labor

A child is considered to be involved in child labor activities if this minor is between the ages of 0 and 18, is involved in a type of work inappropriate for their age and in a dangerous work environment.

However, there are several forms of child labor. The most common ones are related to the informal sector of the economy and are linked to agricultural labor, mining, construction and begging in the streets.

Said by the Polaris Project, “human trafficking is a form of modern slavery – a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 20.9 million people around the world. And no matter where you live, chances are it’s happening nearby. From the girl forced into prostitution at a truck stop, to the man discovered in a restaurant kitchen, stripped of his passport and held against his will. All trafficking victims share one essential experience: the loss of freedom.”

– Isabella Rolz

Sources: Human Trafficking Search, UNODC, End Slavery Now, Polaris Project, United Nations, International Labour Organization

, , ,

Progress For Child Malnutrition Treatment

Child Malnutrition
Child malnutrition is the leading cause of death in children under five years old. Some 2.7 million children die annually due to undernourishment. However, promising research coming from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is raising hopes to change that.

Two studies led by Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD and Dr. Robert J. Glaser demonstrate potentially life-saving progress in the treatment of child malnutrition.

Gordon and Glaser have been studying the connection between gut microbes and the development of children. Child malnutrition is often diagnosed in children with stunted growth and they have found that the gut microbes in these malnourished children resemble microbes of a much younger child.

These findings suggest that the microbes themselves have become stunted. Healthy gut microbes are extremely important to the development of a child’s health. Such microbes contribute to the child’s ability to properly extract the necessary nourishment from their food. Without them, this inability means that even children who have received treatment for malnutrition can continue to have problems in the future.

The first study published in Science and carried out by Laura V. Blanton found that “that malnourished children have defects in this developmental scenario, leaving them with gut microbial communities that look younger than what would be expected based on their chronological ages.”

Blanton took samples from healthy and malnourished children from Malawi and implanted them in germ free mice. Knowing that mice eat each others feces, Blanton hoped that when caged together the healthy microbes would transfer to the mice implanted with the microbes from the malnourished children. She found just that, meaning that a process for implanting healthy microbes into malnourished children could be in the works.

The second study, done by graduate student Mark R. Charbonneau and published in Cell, targeted the effects of the mother’s breast milk on child malnutrition. Research shows that these mothers breast milk often contain low levels sialic acid, which is linked to healthy brain development.

Charbonneau, again using germ free mice, implanted healthy and malnourished microbes with differing levels of sialic acid. He found that the mice that received sialic acid at comparable levels to healthy mothers breast milk, grew much larger then the mice without it, even though each group of mice received the same diet.

Mice in both studies experienced “improvements in skeletal development and a better metabolic profile in the blood, brain and liver.” The researchers were also able to reproduce these results in germ free piglets, which more accurately reflect the metabolism of a human.

While the conditions of the two studies may not exactly represent natural conditions, microbial interventions in combination with more research could lead to improved treatments and perhaps even a cure. With millions of children and families relieved from the stress of finding their next meal, the globe moves one step closer to eliminating poverty.

– Michael Clark

Sources: The New York Times, The Source, The Washington Post

, ,

The Cost of Education in South Africa

The-Cost-of-Education-in-South-Africa
South Africa’s education system is badly managed and poorly equipped, with students performing far behind their African peers, according to World Policy Blog.

With the government failing to provide children with a decent education, private and fee-paying schools are becoming more popular. But not everyone can afford to access these superior schools. The City Press decided to calculate the cost of sending your child to one of these schools up to grade 12 in South Africa and here is what they found:

  • Private school costs approximately $225,700.
  • An upper-income school was estimated to cost around $41,000.
  • An average fee-paying school costs more than $15,000.

These figures were calculated based on a child who starts school in 2016 and finishes in 2028 — and include every necessity such as stationary, supplies, uniforms and boarding costs.

South Africa has struggled to provide affordable quality public education, but low-cost private schools are now on the rise and are providing alternatives to the high cost of education in South Africa.

Instead of private schools only available to the elite, low-cost private schools are providing education to middle and lower-income families who feel the state education system is failing their children. According to the Economist, there are some low-cost private schools that cost as little as $1 per week.

Due to inadequate public schools, these low-cost private schools have a much bigger share of primary school pupils in developing countries than in developed ones. Elsewhere in Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, in particular, have also seen a large increase in the number of low-cost private schools opening, according to World Policy Blog.

Although the South African government has been criticized for not doing enough to address the issues with their education system, the expansion of these low-cost private schools provides the possibility of quality education to students who cannot afford to attend elite private schools or even the average fee-paying government schools.

– Jordan Connell

Sources: Business Tech, The Economist, World Policy Blog
Photo: Google Images

, ,

UNICEF’s Adaptable Approach to Child Welfare

UNICEF’s Adaptable Approach to Child WelfareAfter almost 70 years of protecting and supporting child welfare, UNICEF has become a household name throughout the world. But where did the name itself come from in the first place?

Like other common acronyms such as SCUBA or LASER, UNICEF has become so ingrained in everyday language that few may realize the letters themselves hold meaning:

United
Nations
International
Children’s
Emergency
Fund

When the organization was first founded by the United Nations in December of 1946, the program was entitled United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Because the program was created in the wake of World War II, its initial mission was to find speedy solutions for children left without resources and caretakers.

The post-war efforts were extremely successful: UNICEF spent $120,000,000 clothing, feeding and housing children, primarily in Europe. The results were striking and quickly lauded.

Actress Audrey Hepburn later spoke of her experiences with the organization during this time, attributing what she called her “long-lasting gratitude and trust for what UNICEF does” to the fact that she was among those who received food and medical relief right after World War II.

By the early 1950s, the immediate emergency needs of post-war children were mostly met. At that point, UNICEF was able to begin developing long-term plans and finding solutions for global childhood poverty, sickness and mistreatment.

At this point, in 1953, UNICEF was officially indoctrinated as a permanent program of the United Nations and shortened its name to the “United Nations Children’s Fund.” Despite the new title, the organization has kept the acronym of its previous name to this very day.

While its original purpose and title may have changed slightly since its founding, UNICEF remains committed to its overall mission of advocating for the wellbeing of all children. It is an example of an organization demonstrating adaptability in an ever-changing world.

As technology develops and advances, UNICEF takes full advantage of useful upgrades and discoveries. In 2007, the organization launched an “innovation branch,” meant to mobilize thinkers and guide funding towards technological advances helping children across the globe.

Using open source technology, all of the innovation branch’s projects harness the power of high technology for the betterment of the organization’s mission. This initiative is just one of many that reflects UNICEF’s ability to reimagine the way it approaches child welfare in a dynamic world.

While its name and focus may have changed over the years, the organization’s unyielding passion for helping the world’s children has not.

– Jen Diamond

Sources: Nobel Prize, UNICEF 1, UNICEF Stories, UNICEF 2, Venture Burn
Photo: Flickr

, , , ,

Remote Learning as Key to Expanding Global Education

Remote-Learning
Remote learning, or the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through a program accessible through mobile or computer technologies, has the ability to expand access to education throughout the developing world.

Provided in the form of online lectures, quizzes and projects, online course material may allow large numbers of students worldwide to gain access to a world-class education that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

The number of students not enrolled in school has been rising in recent years, often due to poverty, conflict or financial issues. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 124 million children between the ages of six and 15 were not enrolled in school as of 2013, up from 122 million in 2011. One out of every 11 primary-school-age children continues to be denied the right to education across the globe.

According to the Gates Foundation’s 2015 annual letter, remote learning will revolutionize education for people around the world by 2030 by giving citizens in impoverished areas educational opportunities that were previously inaccessible.

“Before a child even starts primary school, she will be able to use her mom’s smartphone to learn her numbers and letters, giving her a big head start,” Bill Gates said in the letter. “She will collaborate with teachers and other students in a much richer way. If she is learning a new language, she’ll be able to speak out loud and the software will give her feedback on her pronunciation.”

Educational access has always been a significant issue in developing and poverty-stricken areas. Students are limited when it comes to the classes and materials offered at the schools in their own communities. Digital education gives students within these developing or conflict-marred regions the ability to access educational materials.

In areas without significant funding for building heavy infrastructure, children would still be able to access education without traveling hours to schools in nearby communities. A shift to digital materials for use in learning courses also saves a significant amount of money for communities that may be struggling to provide educational materials such as textbooks.

Due to the lowering cost of mobile phones and tablets with online connectivity, technology is connecting students with teachers like never before. While many areas still lack service, Internet access and communications technologies have rapidly been emerging and expanding in developing nations over the last several years. Google Inc. is currently planning to spend more than $1 billion to bring service to these communities and expand Internet access to unwired regions of the globe via small, high-capacity satellites orbiting the earth, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The challenge of keeping children in school after primary school is tremendous, as the costs associated with secondary schooling are much higher, which is often difficult for families with lower income levels to afford. Also, secondary schooling facilities are often located farther away from rural communities, making transportation a challenge. Though online classes will never be able to replace a teacher, the technology may give children the ability to continue their education after primary school, while also pursuing other commitments.

Online education also has the ability to impart literacy skills and market-worthy training to adults who missed out on formal schooling opportunities when they were younger. It allows these individuals to pursue their education in their spare time by fitting in learning after they work a day job, provide for their families or while they are in between jobs or unemployed.

One organization, Lynda.com, an online education site providing e-learning platforms to more than two million subscribers worldwide, currently provides access to over 80,000 instructional videos relating to job skills in areas such as retail, construction and graphic design.

Many concerns remain about the challenges mobile education may pose. The cost of electricity in developing areas, the cost of network use, and the constant risk of theft or damage to the devices the children use are all threats to the sustainability of remote learning. Though these challenges in the current implementation of online education in these communities persist, technological advancement in the field continues to progress.

– Lauren Lewis

Sources: Business Insider, CNBC, CNN, Gates Notes, The Verge, The Wall Street Journal, UNESCO 1, UNESCO 2
Photo: Google Images

, , ,

How Literacy Reduces Poverty

UNESCO
Literacy is a crucial socioeconomic factor in poverty. In developing countries, approximately one in every two adults can’t read or write, with the situation only worse in the rural areas, especially for women and minors. UNESCO is working to prove that literacy reduces poverty and to support initiatives in the area.

According to UNICEF, “Children and youth living in rural areas have little access to education or skills training programs, and overall the quality of education in rural areas is generally low due to poverty and limited investment resources.”

Additionally, the drop-out rate for children leaving an educational institution after primary school is high, leaving minors without adequate literacy and skills to survive.

“Literacy is a fundamental human right and the foundation for lifelong learning,” according to UNESCO. “It is fully essential to social and human development in its ability to transform lives… A literate community is a dynamic community, one that exchanges ideas and engages in debate. Illiteracy, however, is an obstacle to a better quality of life, and can even breed exclusion and violence.”

Better assessment of literacy challenges is critical to reducing global illiteracy. UNESCO’s main focus will be to encourage the governments of developing countries to consider education as a crucial instrument in driving development and transformation as well as in reducing poverty and empowering citizens.

“The administrative institutions of these countries have to prioritize the development and provision of access to primary education to children under 15 years,” said a spokesperson for UNESCO. Governments should provide literacy courses and basic skills training to people who left school or received no education at all.

Furthermore, this year UNESCO plans to introduce “livelihood-oriented adult non-formal education initiatives,” offered in partnership with other community-based organizations, in order to promote education, reduce illiteracy and alleviate poverty.

For more than 60 years, UNESCO has worked to ensure that literacy remains a priority; however, this year, the introduction of a program with a vision toward livelihood-oriented initiatives will bring a new type of dynamism to the effort.

“Literacy is at the core of sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems,” said former First Lady, Laura Bush. “Literacy builds the foundation for freedom from poverty, and freedom from oppression.”

– Isabella Rölz

Sources: DDV International, UNESCO, The White House Education, Mrs. Bush
Photo: UN

, , ,

SOS Children’s Villages

SOS Children’s Villages
SOS Children’s Villages is a nonprofit group whose mission is to provide every child with the opportunity to grow up in a loving home to secure their futures as successful adults.

This international organization was founded in 1949 by Hermann Gmeiner to help orphaned children in Europe rebuild their lives after World War II. Now, SOS Children’s Villages sponsors vulnerable children and fragmented families in 125 countries, across 12 different continents, with headquarters in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

SOS Children’s Villages aims to help families stay together by offering community outreach programs that provide each family with a development plan designed specifically for their needs.

The nonprofit offers aid to children who have lost their parents, those living in an orphaned household and those whose parents suffer from a life-threatening disease. Funding for these villages comes from donations, volunteer workers, corporate partnerships, fundraising and sponsorships that offer donors the chance to support an orphaned child.

Each child that lives in an SOS village receives guaranteed education and health care. Nearly 100,000 children are enrolled in 187 SOS primary and secondary schools. Tens of thousands of people attend the 51 SOS vocational training centers created to enhance employment opportunities.

“If SOS Children was not here, our children would have become street children, with all the risks this may cause. Today, we are proud of ourselves, and many of us have found dignity. We can now stand on our own feet,” said a mother in Dakar, Senegal, now able to find financial independence thanks to an SOS outreach program.

With 150 SOS villages in 45 African countries, more educational projects are run in Africa than in any other continent. According to UNICEF, educating young people can support economic resilience and stability, as children learn to address family vulnerabilities and gain skills for future employment.

A total of 79 SOS medical centers have been built by the organization, primarily in Africa and the Middle East. In more remote areas that lack clinic access, SOS children train local people in the medical field, passing on first-aid skills and health advice garnered from SOS family health awareness campaigns.

Because vulnerable children often live in non-democratic societies, SOS prides itself on strong communication with central and local governments that hold legal responsibility for the welfare of these children. According to SOS, this has allowed them to bring aid to children in Zimbabwe, where other organizations have been asked to leave.

“As a result of the various economic opportunities that were created for many vulnerable families since the inception of the project [SOS Children’s Villages Ghana], more than 78 percent of caregivers have become more self-reliant and are capable of accessing social services like health, education, water and sanitation without external support,” said Alexander Mar Kekula, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana.

– Kelsey Lay

Sources: Ghana Web, SOS Children’s Villages 1, SOS Children’s Villages 2, SOS Children’s Villages 3, SOS Children’s Villages 4, SOS Children’s Villages 5, UNICEF, 
Photo: Flickr

,

Helping Save Street Children in Guatemala

Guatemala Street ChildrenIt is estimated that there are between 1,500 and 5,000 street children in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Approximately 65 percent of these children are between the ages of 10 and 17 — and around 30 percent are girls.

Street children are those for whom the street has become their real home — a situation in which there is no protection, supervision or direction from responsible adults. Consequently, most of these children live and sleep on the street, with some taking refuge in parks or under stairs.

Children living on the streets migrate from rural areas of Guatemala or from Honduras or El Salvador. This migration is caused by the extreme poverty in Guatemala, which is both widespread and severe. According to the World Bank, “approximately 75 percent of the population is estimated to live below the poverty line, which is defined as an income that is insufficient to purchase a basic basket of goods and services.”

The main sources of income for these children are usually activities such as robbery, begging and prostitution. Specialist Irving Epstein indicated that “many children inhale the fumes of shoe glue or paint thinner, often their only avenue to escape hunger, pain and hopelessness.”

Due to the lack of access to any educational institution, these children are more likely to choose violent pathways and tend to join street gangs. In 2005, approximately 10,000 Guatemalan children were members of street gangs.

Unfortunately, joining these street gangs comes at a price. According to Epstein, “violence between street gangs is common and is often used as an excuse by the national police and private security guards to harass and beat street children.”

Additionally, condom use is irregular and the pregnancy rate among the girls is high. This is unfortunate for many reasons, but largely because these girls hardly have what they need to take care of themselves and do not have the capacity to raise a child.

The social panorama in which street children find themselves living reflects the widespread poverty and severe inequality existing in Guatemala. Yet the plight of street children is hardly uncommon amongst developing countries.

However, several governmental and nongovernmental organizations have become active in Guatemala City since 2003. With his wife, former president Alvaro Arzu opened a center that provides both traditional humanitarian aid, such as food, shelter and clothing, and long-term sustainable aid, such as health services and education, to the homeless.

Casa Alianza is another agency working in Guatemala City that has provided several services for street children. It promotes residential and outreach programs, legal aid, drug rehabilitation and other vital services.

Children living in the streets of Guatemala are the most vulnerable to major social issues. Nonetheless, these initiatives are fighting to ensure a better life for these children, and hopefully in the coming years, Guatemala may see fewer children living alone and in destitution.

– Isabella Rölz

Sources: World Bank, Google Books
Photo: Hansen Photo

, , ,

Expanding Preschool Access for Poor Children

Preschool Access
Attending preschool can drastically improve the intellectual capacity of children. Research has demonstrated positive effects on learning and development in both the short and the long run.

A recent study from Northwestern University suggested that children from lower income families tend to perform significantly worse in the first years of elementary school. This is due to the fact that they usually did not have the opportunity to attend preschool.

Policy expert Whitmore Schanzenbach suggested that “by the time they reach kindergarten, disadvantaged children already show an achievement gap relative to their higher-income peers.”

Schanzenbach emphasized that “the poverty gap in school readiness appears to be growing as income inequality widens.”

Teachers at elementary schools have reported that children from less privileged families have more difficulty paying attention and exhibit more behavioral problems given no kind of education prior to elementary school.

This is because the state and the government usually do not focus their attention on expanding preschool access to children from marginalized sectors. They have concentrated mainly on improving education for children over five years of age.

According to Schanzenbach, a common proposal to bridge this gap is to make formal preschool accessible to poor children under the age of five. Given many ways to expand these educational programs, specialists at Northwestern designed a program that is cost-effective.

In their proposal, a well-developed framework would introduce the highest quality curriculum and nurturing assistance that would ultimately help these young children prepare themselves for further education.

It is important to emphasize that this is a project designed to be introduced in developing countries and rural sectors, where preschool access needs to be attainable.

Schanzenbach concluded that “the expansion of early education programs along these lines will lead to improved educational outcomes for disadvantaged children.” She added a list of other benefits which included lower crime rates, reduced teenage pregnancy and a decreased reliance on the social safety net.

Read Schanzenbach’s full study here.

– Isabella Rölz

Sources: Brookings, U.S. Department of Education, NYTimes
Photo: U.S. News