By ANTON BRAIMAN, ADAM MIROSHNIKOV and MANNY SIGAL
Special to The CJN

Fight for the Children is a new “organization” created by the authors of this article.

We are working with the international organization War Child to help raise awareness and donations for the child soldiers all over the world.

Our group – made up of the three of us – has a mission to raise awareness about children who are in need of saving worldwide – children living in war-stricken countries who are forced to fight in the name of their country, something no child should have to do. War is ruining their lives. Our job is to spread the word and raise money, in order to give these children back their childhoods and their lives.

We have set up a booth at our school in the Greater Toronto Area for donations and to let others know about this growing issue of child soldiers. We have also created a board outside of our classroom to catch people’s attention and to spread further awareness. Using social media such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, we have spread the word about child soldiers to friends and family, in order to spread the message throughout the web. In doing this, we hope to enable children to reclaim their childhood through access to education, opportunity, and justice.

Childhood is the most important time of our lives, but it is also the most fragile and can be easily corrupted by the effects of war. War tears families and communities apart, especially when the children of these families and communities are forced to go to war. When war breaks out, children look to those close to them for protection, but mothers need protection too, often through education for themselves as well as the children, and when this education is not available, these families and communities are not properly protected.

War Child and Fight for the Children focus mainly on three areas: education, opportunity and justice. Education is critical for all members of families and communities, especially for those living in war zones. Knowledge and education can be lifesaving. Years of violence can leave schools and learning centres in tatters and can halt education for children and everyone else within the community.

Without education, people are unable to read safety instructions, to understand directions on a child’s medicine, or to add up prices at the market. These are all skills that we need to live, and in these war-stricken communities, people are left without these skills.

Opportunity is also a necessity for many. Skills training, investment in and support for families whose opportunities have been compromised by war give families and communities the opportunities to take care of their children and help prevent them from being lured in to armed groups. This can clearly be lifesaving.

War erodes a country’s ability to bring criminals to justice, and mothers and children are left the most vulnerable. Sexual violence, emotional abuse and family abandonment are common long after the war is over, and those who commit these crimes avoid justice too easily because their community and government are too busy focusing on the war. War Child works directly with local justice organizations to help rebuild legal structures to ultimately end the free pass for abusers.

Through the donations and public awareness being created, we are helping to end the abuse of child soldiers and will help establish the justice, opportunity and education that these people deserve and need.

Anton Braiman, Adam Miroshnikov, Manny Sigal are Grade 12 students in Thornhill, Ont. They began working with War Child for a class assignment to create a charitable organization of their own that works with an established charity to raise awareness and funds for the parent organization. The students chose to name their new organization Fight for the Children.