Not Only Boys are Solidiers

When we hear child soldiers we imagine boys with guns. I would have never thought about girls being obligated to fight for the rebel groups. I read an article in the WorldArk magazine titled "Never the same" by L. Lamor Williams, where a woman named Grace Akallo tells her story about her abduction in the LRA. She was abducted by the LRA from her High School in Northern Uganda. Akallo dreamed of being the first person to attend college but her dreamed vanished when she was kidnapped in Oct. 9, 1996 beside other 138 girls. She marched with the LRA into southern Sudan where she saw many children being killed on the way with sticks, axes, bayonets, and machetes. The children were killed and abandoned in the forest. She learned to use a gun and the hunger tought her to hunt. She battled against the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Sudan. She was obligated to kill those girls who tried to escape or refuse there husbands, so she was repeatedly raped by an LRA commander on countless occasions. Akallo finaly saw her chance to escape in April 9, 1997 when she fainted from thirst and hunger and was buried by the LRA in a shallow grave. She walked for 2 weeks and was rescued by sudanese villager who handed her to the Uganda government then to her parents. Akallo finaly got the chance to go back to St. Mary's College and graduated. Now she is a graduate student at Clark University near Boston Studying international development she is now 29 years old.

Holidays

Time of happiness is here. Well for some people who enjoy the big lines in stores, Santa in the mall, gaining some fat from grandmas famous cooking, and most importantly presents. We as Americans have the great opportunity to write Santa a Christmas letter of what we would like this year.
I was thinking that instead of asking Santa for a new cell phone, ipod touch, or those amazing form teddy bear socks from JCPenny, I would ask Santa for something more meaning full something that would change someones life around the world, I want t-shirts, bracelets, or maybe a kid. Don't be scared I'm not adopting a child I'm to young for that responsability. I want to sponsor one. For these holidays I believe it's a great idea to buy presents for your friends and family that would help kids around the world have a better quality of life. Since after all we spend money on the most ridiculous things, (like teddy bear socks) around this time. We want the most meaningful presents for our love ones so spend that money on something unique and for a good cause. Check out the links and find something that will make a diffrence, then writte to Santa and we will see if you have been a good kid on Christmas Day.

Children abused in Darfur

Two important organizations, the Watchlist on children and Armed Conflict report accused the Sudanese government of "apparent deliberate efforts.. to suppress information and prevent agencies form collecting and disseminating details on attacks against children and their protection needs, particularly in Darfur"(par. 2). This shows that not only adults are being tortured but kids as well are suffering. This article was published April 20, 2007 when the United Nations to this problem into account. This abuse of children has been going on since 2004 or even earlier, so it took about 3 years for the United Nations to realize that kids needed to be protected. Children are being raped, tortured, mutilation abducting and gang-raping girls and using kids as combatants(5), these are just a few examples of what kids are going through probably until this day. The situation is not only in Darfur but all around the world. Youngsters are also lacking the education necessary to grow because teachers as well as students are being attacked by military groups. The Watchlist steering committee include Care International, Save the children Alliance, Women's commission soldiers, Norwegian Refugee Council, International save the Children Alliance, Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, and World Vision Canada.