Child Soldiers

As many as 300,000 children across the globe have been recruited or forced into being soldiers.  They are often underfed and abused, and they are trained to kill.

Many of the armies and militias who take children into their ranks see these young soldiers as expendable.  Adults send child soldiers into minefields and other dangerous situations to clear the way for adults.  Often, the girls serve a dual purpose as sexual slaves.

In spite of international agreements, children fight in armies around the world.  Children die in combat at much higher rates than adults because of their inexperience and lack of training.

When child soldiers leave the armed forces, they have trouble rejoining society.  They are often physically disabled and psychologically damaged.  Many former child soldiers end up sleeping on the streets and living a life of crime.

How to turn the tide:

1. Sanctions must be imposed on governments that allow children to be recruited into the armed forces.
2. Children who come out of active military duty must be given immediate psychological and physical care.
3. Former child soldiers need to be reintegrated into their societies: through education; job training; and by restoring their faith in the value of human life.

Children Orphaned by AIDS

Worldwide, at least 15 million children are orphaned by HIV/AIDS.  Eighty percent of them live in sub-Saharan Africa.  By 2010, this number is expected to rise above 18 million.

Even before they become orphans, these children suffer from emotional and physical neglect.  As their parents become less able to care for them, children often go hungry, and go without the emotional support, health care, and education they need.

In certain societies, death from AIDS remains such a powerful stigma that orphaned children are barred from relatives’ homes.  Many of these children are homeless and live on the street.  With no parents to protect them, girls are often forced into prostitution.

How to turn the tide:

• The best way to change the direction of the AIDS pandemic is through prevention and care for those already infected.  Stopping the spread of the disease will reduce the number of deaths and keep children from becoming orphans.

Displaced Children

More than half of the world’s 50 million refugees are children.  These children are the most vulnerable group of an already vulnerable population.  They suffer hardship and abuse, in both the country from which they are escaping, and the country to which they flee.

Refugee camps are often overcrowded and disease-ridden.  Those camps located too close to the border subject residents to cross-border attacks, as well as abduction and recruitment into armed service.

Refugee children are vulnerable to labor exploitation, physical abuse, rape, and prostitution.  In some instances, displaced children are imprisoned along with adult convicts.

How to turn the tide:

1. All nations and international agencies must protect the rights of displaced children, including the right to education, health, and safety.
2. Refugee camps need to be located in safe areas to protect children from cross-border fighting and military recruitment.
3. Children seeking refugee status should not be imprisoned, and should be given legal representation.

Part of your gift of 0.7% of your annual income to ERD goes toward helping children.  ERD's programs help vulnerable children get the care, nutrition, education, and support they need.  Give to ERD here.