Howdy Youth Leaders,

Happy New Year! We hope that your holidays were fantastic and that you are ready for an incredible 2006 filled with much happiness, passion and hope for the future.  

December 26, 2005 marked the passing of one year since the Tsunami struck South East Asia. In the past year, the people of South East Asia have begun the slow process of rebuilding their lives with the promised assistance of foreign aid. To date, very little of the aid pledged has been put to use. According to the United Nations, $2 billion of aid pledged has still not been distributed and put into action! Craig and Marc Kielburger describe this unfortunate reality and offer positive solutions in a recent article, “Lessons of the Tsunami: ‘For some, the aid business is just that – a business. When each NGO is out for itself, everyone loses,’ in the Ottawa Citizen.

In the “Just In” section, Lloyd Hanoman, our South Asia Program Director, reports directly from Sri Lanka on the Tsunami relief effort one year later. Thank you so much for all of your generous support!

But we need to keep working together to change the world! Check out the new Adopt a Village: Clean Water posters. By participating in the Clean Water campaign, you can help a village in Sri Lanka rebuild from the Tsunami or support an impoverished village in China, Kenya, or Sierra Leone. To get your New Year started Adopt a Village style, check out the “Free The Children Updates” section of this newsletter.

We are also gearing up for the Vow of Silence campaign where your silence can speak to the world. By participating in the Vow of Silence campaign, you have the power to raise awareness on children’s rights issues and raise funds so support Free The Children overseas projects. The Vow of Silence will be on March 1st, 2006, when youth across North America will speak out for children’s rights by maintaining 24 hours of complete silence. But remember, if this date does not work for your group, feel free to pick a more convenient day. To find out more and start planning your own Vow of Silence campaign, visit the “campaigns” section of the Youth Zone.

We also just found out that our very own Craig Kielburger was nominated for the "World's Children's Prize." This is often referred to as the Nobel children's prize. Please visit the Free The Children Updates section in this newsletter to find out how you can vote for the winner of this prize.

All of us at Free The Children are extremely excited to be working with you as we take action in 2006!

Peace and hope,

The Youth Programming Team
youth@freethechildren.com