KEHKASHAN'S STORY

This story is a must read if you care about fundamental humans rights and children.  

Kehkashan is a natural changemaker. Born in the United Arab Emirates on June 5, World Environment Day, she has always been passionate about protecting the planet. By 8 years old she was persuading those around her of the importance of environmental action. It was not just empty talk: Kehkashan soon put her words into action by planting trees and bringing together young people locally to collect and recycle waste.

CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR THE STORY

https://kidsrights.org/kehkashan-basu

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WHY WE NEED TO PROTECT CHILDREN

The period of childhood is a phase in which the human being is more vulnerable because they have not finished developing physically or mentally. Furthermore, the child requires a particular attention and protection.

CHILDREN'S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

A GREAT WEBSITE SUPPORTING KIDS WORLDWIDE

http://www.kidscanmakeadifference.org/

INSPIRING KIDS TO END HUNGER AND POVERTY
IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, THEIR COUNTRY, AND THEIR WORLD.

KIDS is a program of iEARN (International Education and Resource Network), the world's largest non-profit global network.
iEARN enables teachers and youth to use the Internet and other technologies to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world.

GREANWOLD'S WORLD and the GREANWOLD FOUNDATION

My dream on developing the Greanwold brand has always had one main focus. To generate revenue that will flow to the Greanwold Foundation for Kids Worldwide. As with any project, there are investors who expect a return on their investment, overheads to be covered, loans to be paid back and funds to be put aside for growth.

These taken into account, the balance of revenues will go to the foundation. The foundation will be managed by Christy Ellynby, the originator of the little character that became Greanwold. Christy lives in New Zealand and has a lifetime of experience, both work and personal with children and families. Christy will work in conjunction with a board of directors, yet to be named.

How did the idea for the foundation come about? 

Some years ago, my wife and I traveled to several third world countries. In the course of our travels, we came across a number of children living in dire poverty with little chance of an education, no medical care and an uncertain future. One small boy, I would say around the age of 10, was supporting his family by acting as an unofficial guide at the Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia. His father was injured, he had several younger siblings and lived in a 3 room, thatched roof, for the lack of a better word, shack. 

He asked for $5 to act as our guide but said he had to be careful as the tourist police would take his money and throw him out of Angkor Wat complex if he was caught. We gave him $10 that we later found out was the cost of one month schooling in Cambodia. No free education there.  The average annual income is USD$950.

His English was excellent and had been learned from tourists he guided for. He could also speak some French, German, Spanish and Japanese, all learned from tourists. An amazing little guy.

This was just one incident. There were many others. 

Another introduction into the dire straights of many of the world's poorest children was through a young lady I met several years ago who worked as a volunteer at an orphanage in Thailand at the border of Myanmar at the Baan Dada orphanage.

Most of the children at the orphanage come across the border from Myanmar, either orphaned after losing their parents through the brutality of the military regime or were sent across the border because their parents could not longer afford to look after them. The orphanage relies solely on donations from individuals and the Neo Humanist Foundation.

If you are interested on knowing more, please email me. admin@greanwold.com I would be happy to provide further information.

If you would like to help getting Greanwold off the ground, please click on the Greanwold on Kickstarter image at the top of the page. You will be supporting children, far less fortunate than your own. Thanks.

CANADA DOES NOT HAVE A NATIONAL POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAM

There is something deeply wrong in British Columbia and with our government that thousands of children are hungry and school districts are forced to beg private donors for food on their behalf.

The Vancouver school district feeds breakfast and lunch to 5,000 elementary and secondary school children every day. But it says there are another 2,000 who are going hungry. It would cost $1.7 million to feed those 2,000 kids. It’s money the district doesn't have.

How many kids in other school districts are hungry and going unfed is an open question because most others haven’t done a detailed school-by-school analysis as Vancouver has. But it’s definitely not just a Vancouver problem.One in five B.C. children is growing up in poverty, according to 2012 Statistics Canada data. That’s 169,240 children.

And, while there are pockets of extreme poverty in Vancouver, the Central Coast Regional District has the highest rate with 54.8 per cent of children living in low-income families.Hungry adults can be hard to identify because they often try to hide it.

But children? They’re visible, especially to teachers.

Many are young enough not to be ashamed to say that they’re hungry and they’ve had no breakfast and there’s no food for lunch.But even if they don’t, their hunger shows up in other ways: poor marks, the inability to focus, the anger and frustration that are manifest when the body screams out for nourishment. The Vancouver school district spends $4.4 million on food programs. Of that, the $300,000 for breakfast programs already comes from by private donations either directly or through charities like The Vancouver Sun’s Adopt-a-School.

The provincial government provides $2.4 million in Community Links grants for lunch programs, while parents who can afford it provide another $1.7 million.Yet it’s clearly not enough if 2,000 kids are still without food.

Canada is one of the few developed countries without a national poverty reduction program. So, as poverty in Canada has increased, it’s charity — not taxes — that has filled the gaps.

Before 1981, there were no food banks in Canada. Since then, their use has risen exponentially. Since 2008, the number of British Columbians using food banks has increased by 25 per cent since 2008.

Of the 97,000 B.C. citizens reliant on food banks, one-third are children.

WANT TO READ MORE?: CHILDREN AND POVERTY IN CANADA

Canadian Politicians (Fat Cats) Forgotten Promise to Canadian Children in poverty

TORONTO – A new report finds a lack of progress in reducing child poverty in Canada, despite a commitment from members of Parliament more than two decades ago to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000.

Released Monday, the Campaign 2000 annual report release also marks five years after the entire House of Commons voted to develop an immediate plan to end poverty for all in Canada.

 25 years ago this week, in the House of Commons, MPs agreed unanimously to try to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000. Today, there are roughly the same amount of kids living below the poverty line. ‘There’s no question we failed': MPs commitment to end poverty is 25 years old

“More children and their families live in poverty as of 2014 than they did when the House of Commons unanimously resolved to end child poverty more than 25 years ago,” read the report.

The report gathered Statistics Canada tax-filer data and found that child and family poverty has increased to 1,331,530 children in 2014 from 1,066,150 children in 1989.

While public policies such as the Canada Child Tax Benefit/ National Child Benefit Supplement and the Child Disability Benefit have made an impact to families, the report said those policies do not make a “big enough difference to dial down the child poverty rate substantially or to sustain less child poverty.”