1. Innocent Children of War By Bella Lenisa

2. Visualize an image of a small boy or girl. What do you see?

3. Today there are more than 300,000 child soldiers in the world. Alone, orphaned, frightened, starving and frustrated, they give up and finally choose to fight. Many children are abducted and beaten into submission, others join military groups to escape poverty, to defend their communities.

4. Definition of a child soldier A child associated with an armed force or armed group refers to any person below 18 years of age who is, or who has been, recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, spies or for sexual purposes.

5. It is crucial that our societies provide; education and healthy living conditions for these children to live productive lives, most governments in 3 rd world countries are not providing these aids.

6. Governments, churches and non-profit organizations need to play an important role in establishing laws that will eliminate children’s participation in armed conflicts. I believe we need to provide basic education and medical attention to these children along with protecting them.

7. Exposure of reading, writing, math and life skills would be a simple curriculum that would be a life long tool for the children. These skills would enable them to work and provide for themselves. 3 rd World Countries in green

8. International adoption could be ONE way to help these children grow up in healthy living conditions. These children need full-time loving adults to be their parents.

9. Governments have to establish international laws for armed forces recruitments and implement them. There has to be verifiable proof of age, an authentic process in which to verify the age of new recruits. Human rights law declares 18 as the minimum legal age for recruitment and use of children in hostilities. Recruiting and using children under the age of 15 as soldiers is prohibited under international humanitarian law – treaty and custom – and is defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court.

10. Non-profit organizations like Child Soldiers International can help to fulfill the protection and survival rights for the children living with the effects of war. People must support non-profit organizations with donations so they can give more money to teachers and doctors who are willing to live and work in other countries and help build, educate and council these poverty stricken communities. Give money please! www.child-soldiers.org

11. Together as a society we can provide these essential tools and aids to these innocent children so that we may all see the bright future that every child deserves.

12. The End