Cameroon is on the central-western coast of Africa. Like Canada, Cameroon is a bilingual country made up of many provinces. I lived in the economic capital city of Douala, a busy, crowded metropolis. Every morning, I woke up to a cold shower and a fast ride into town on the back of a motorcycle taxi. I was surrounded by stark contrasts-beautiful houses, five-star hotels and upscale restaurants neighbouring areas of widespread poverty.

For six months I worked on a project to help local businesswomen contribute to the local and global economy. The project was focused on the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of promoting gender equality by empowering women and developing a global partnership for development.

Although I lived in Douala, my job allowed me to travel all over the country, meeting with women’s groups and visiting their businesses. I helped showcase their products and provided them with a business training program. It was very rewarding to speak with women about their businesses, their professional goals and their hopes and dreams.

Working in Cameroon made me realize how important micro-credit and capacity-building projects are. Free The Children’s Alternative Income program provides women with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed in business at a local and international level. Through the Alternative Income program, you can help to provide milking animals to generate income, micro-credit loans and skills training to women in countries where Free The Children works.

Through supporting Alternative Income projects we can all take action toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, but most importantly we can empower women, their families and entire communities in the developing world.

Dana Crawford-Dignard
International Youth Coordinator

It was a brisk January morning and the sun was just starting to melt the frost on the dirt trail that my dog and I were running on. I live in a rural area and it is rare to bump into someone on our daily trek. Today however, as we panted up the hill, a young woman about my age was walking down. I nodded and tried to push out a hello between breaths. She nodded, smiled back, and continued on her way.

About an hour later on my return home, I noticed the same woman waiting at the end of my street by the bus stop. Knowing that this was the only bus stop for the local international students who lived on campus nearby, I slowed and asked if she needed help. She responded with a beautiful accent, asking me if I knew when the bus would be arriving. I didn’t know, but said I could check at my house, and invited her along.

I asked her where her beautiful accent was from and she told me that she was from Sierra Leone. When I heard her mention Sierra Leone, I couldn’t believe the connection. I told her that I had raised money as a high school student to build a school there a few years ago. She smiled and said she was impressed that I knew where Sierra Leone was.

I then asked her if she knew of the organization Free The Children and her smile grew a little bigger. I told her that I work for Free The Children and that it was great to meet someone from a place that I have learned so much about. She told me that she knew of the work Free the Children had done in her region and that she had friends who attended one of our schools.

It was in that moment that I was more than a global citizen… I was a global neighbour.

Help connect our world through education.

Sara
Youth Team

A few days ago, while waiting for a street car, I struck up a conversation with the person beside me, a Grade 10 student. Within a few minutes we were able to find our common interests, he liked playing X box while I preferred Wii. I preferred watching documentaries to reading, he was the opposite. While he seemed positive that spring was soon approaching, I firmly believed that we would never see the end of winter.

During our long ride, we discussed a range of issues, from the ever-deteriorating service of Toronto’s public transit to the Canadian military presence in Afghanistan. Is the United States ready for a Woman President or an African-American President? We both had so much to say and expressed a multitude of different perspectives.

I shared with him Free The Children’s Junior Journalists program, which would enable him and other interested youth to:

• Report news from their unique perspective, giving youth a voice and a platform to speak out!
• Engage in world affairs issues
• Get published in the Toronto Star, which is no small feat!

To learn more about the Global Voices Junior Journalist program, please e-mail journalist@freethechildren.com and check out what our participating Junior Journalist have to say!

Youth Team

Monday was a chaotic commute to work. Streetcars were re-routed, subway trains were stalled and many people were late. The cause was a six-alarm fire on Queen Street West, one of Toronto’s hippest and most historical streets.

I’ve lived near the area for all of my six years in Toronto, spending much of my time visiting its one-of-a-kind boutiques, record stores, restaurants, and admiring the sidewalk art. This fire started in the middle of the night, destroying family businesses and homes. Although no one was hurt, many people are left with only the clothes on their backs.

The fire on Queen Street West has been in the Toronto media all week long as Torontonians brainstorm ways to help the victims. Ideas have ranged from benefit concerts to a “Queen Street Fire Fund” for displaced tenants.

As upsetting as it is to hear about my beloved Queen Street, this kind of loss is not unusual in many of the communities Free The Children works. Climate change has caused flash floods in Kenya during the “dry season” washing away just-planted seeds famers depend on. Hundreds of schools were burnt down during the war in Sierra Leone, and the calamitous affects of the tsunami took lives, homes, schools and businesses in Sri Lanka.

In light of all these tragedies, it’s important to remember we are all a part of local and international communities, and it’s our duty to help one another. That’s why Adopt a Village is so special—because students around the world are putting together their own funds and benefit concerts so our global neighbours can go to school.

Keep on rockin’ the change,
Youth Team

A few weeks ago I had the amazing privilege of doing a speaking tour for the elementary schools and high schools in the Upper Canada School Board in Eastern Ontario. I already knew what amazing people the teachers and students from the area were and the incredible impact they have made through their years of support of Free The Children.

But nothing could have prepared me for the tremendous kindness and compassion that all the people of Eastern Ontario, including strangers I met along the way, showed me.

You see, Eastern Ontario is a large area. The Upper Canada school board is actually larger than the country of Belgium (a fact the teachers love to share). So that meant a lot of driving in unfamiliar areas, most of which were large farms and great expanses of land. To add to this a huge storm had just passed through the area, making my already bad sense of direction, even worse!

Unlike Toronto, there wasn’t a Tim Hortons or gas station every few minutes where I could stop for directions. But on numerous occasions, as I sat parked by the side of the road, frantically searching through my map, strangers would stop their cars, in the freezing weather and offer to help me find my way once again.

The experience really taught me how prevalent the Me to We philosophy is everywhere. In a time when we are always being told to be cautious and untrusting, it was so beautiful and uplifting to see the human spirit shine in a time of need. And I know the next time I see someone looking lost or in need of assistance, I’ll always remember to share the kindness the people of Eastern Ontario were able to show to me.

Most people have heard the age-old saying: “If you give a man a fish, you can feed him for a day, but if you teach a man to fish you can feed him for a lifetime.” My own version’s a bit different: “If you teach a man to teach other men to fish, then you can feed a whole community.”

I was lucky to meet 59 16 to 18 year olds from 43 different countries all around the world who were doing just that at the Road to Davos forum. From January 12 to 19, we met in Guildford, England to learn about each other and discuss how we can be more effective change agents. Six of us continued on to participate in the youngest panellist discussion at The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

One of the inspiring participants I met was a 19 year-old girl from Sierra Leone. Many days, she can only afford to eat one meal a day, and yet even though she can barely feed herself, she works with street children in the capital city, Freetown, on a newspaper for young people. Even though she herself is facing many challenges, she gets out of bed every day to help children in her community realize that they do matter. She is teaching these children not just to help themselves, but to help others through her work of expression.

In addition to that, she has inspired me to become even more active and not let little things get in my way. She has taught me to teach others how to fish.

So, pick up your fishing rods and start standing up for what you want the world to be like. Work passionately yourself, but also challenge yourself to go a bit further- inspire others to stand up with you.

Youth Team

For as far back as I can remember, Free the Children has been in my life in some aspect. My older brother and sister became involved when I was in elementary school by helping to raise money for schoolbuilding in Latin America.

Through their example, the ideal of helping others and the belief that youth can make a difference became commonplace in our house.

And looking back, that’s what Free The Children is about: just knowing that we can make a difference. You don’t need to make grand gesture or some large demonstration in order to leave your stamp and do your part.

All you need to do is share a smile, raise awareness and keep your eyes and ears open to those around you and to the world as a whole. You will have begun the process of truly making a change.

Good Luck and remember that if someone lacks a smile, give them yours!

Enjoy,
Youth Team

Go to the Speak Out page now to see some exciting ways you can take the next step:

- Youth Speakers Bureau: join our roster of student speakers to engage and inspire youth in your community!

- Global Voices: Our Junior Journalism program will put your name in print with Canada’s largest paper, the Toronto Star.

- High school and university students: show everyone your commitment to social issues. Take the global pledge for children and their families, society and the environment

Raise awareness, learn new skills and join Free The Children in our mission to empower others to change the world. We can’t wait to hear from you!

The Youth Team

Let’s get our lives in action. There’s no reason to stay indoors just because the thermometer drops a little. Why not try a new sport or activity that you’ve never tried before. Snowshoeing anyone?

2008 is your chance to become a real We-thinker. When you find yourself getting into your old routine, think of all the children around the world who can’t even go to school or try some fun new activity. So why not get some classmates and friends together and start a Youth in Action Group to support Adopt a Village.

This year, let’s Be the Change

Happy New Year from the youth team!

By The Youth Team

As Free The Children youth coordinators we are able to meet so many extraordinary young people. At a speech last week, we met one particular boy whose courage amazes us.

Sarah, one of the youth coordinators, just finished presenting her Adopt A Village speech. She talked a little bit about her life in the speech, by telling a story about an experience she had in sixth grade when a group of classmates picked on her so much she left class crying.

Sarah explained that all kids can make a difference in the world, and that we can all choose to make a positive or negative impact on the lives of the people around us.

While saying goodbye to the kids, Sarah started talking to a Grade 6 boy. He said hello and right away began telling her that he had cancer. While looking into this young boy’s eyes gazing out from under his grey hooded sweatshirt, she thought of how much courage he had to share his story. This young boy was fighting for his life, and all he wanted to do was to help out with Free The Children projects.

The boy told her that he did not have many friends, and that it was difficult sometimes in school. Sarah encouraged him to continue to make a positive difference in his school and thanked him for sharing his story.

Young people like this boy inspire us on a daily bases. We are proud of so many of the kids we get to meet, and we’re humbled by the courage young people continue to show us.