Ex-child soldiers launch network to help kids

By: Brett Hulett

Fitting for what we have focused on these past couple of weeks in class, Ishmael Beah, along with two other former child soldiers, have made a new advocacy network with the hope that it will allow other survived child soldiers to become educated and thrive the same way they have. Beah states that the key to rehabilitation for child soldiers is education and with this new program, he hopes to let young children know that there are options other than merely killing the opposition.

The United Nations has backed this newest network with the same objectives as Beah--show children that their lives are not neccesarily over if they are ever able to escape war. If they use their minds, opportunities will present themselves.

This newest network is also another display of the power of resilience many former child soldiers show. The UN reports that 13 countries currently recruit the use of child soldiers, and all suffer equally brutal conditions--many are beaten, maimed, raped and murdered. And in cases when children attempt to escape, they are often murdered to prevent them from joining humanitarian groups such as these. Leaders of this latest group say the key is education, and this is what this group will hopefully provide.