Tag Archives: Children

Central African Republic Children Directly Targeted in Inter-Religious Clashes

The United Nations reported that teens in the Central African Republic have become targets in a new surge of violence that has left many of the teens beheaded, shot, and burned.

Inter-religious clashes began again in Africa’s capital after a Muslim man’s dead body was found. Three dozen people have died in the violence.

UNICEF stated that children were being targeted and initial reports showed that several children between the ages of 7 and 17 had been decapitated, shot, and/or burned.

“Nothing can justify the deliberate targeting of children,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF’s West and Central Africa Regional Director. “These appalling crimes against boys and girls who are caught between warring factions must stop, and those carrying them must be held responsible.”

Children have also been forced to fight for armed groups in the Central African Republic. The U.N. estimates that up to 10,000 children have been forced to join militia groups in Central African Republic since the conflicts began.

Hundreds of thousands have been displaced and thousands have died because of the violence in Central African Republic. The violence began in 2013 after mainly-Muslim Seleka rebels took over the country which had been primarily Christian.

Jump in Border Crossings Reported by Border Patrol

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested nearly 10,000 unaccompanied immigrant children and families caught illegally crossing the border with Mexico in August. This is a 52 percent jump from August 2014, according to statistics published by the agency Monday afternoon. Many immigrants were actually looking for border control agents so that they could be arrested once they had crossed. An increase in the number of such crossings in August is unusual because it is the time of year when hot temperatures make it dangerous to try.  

The Border Patrol reported arresting 6,424 unaccompanied immigrant children and families in August 2014.

Since last October, border agents have arrested more than 35,000 children traveling alone and more than 34,500 people traveling as families, mostly mothers and children. The number of arrests for the year is down nearly 50 percent compared with a year ago, but border agents have reported a jump in arrests since July. Studies show that the children are attempting to cross multiple times.

The August increase comes a year after a surge of more than 68,000 unaccompanied children at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many were trying to escape violence in Honduras, El Salvador or Guatemala. For much of the year, the number of illegal border crossings by families and children has been far lower than last year, before increasing in July and August

U.S. officials say there’s a notable increase in the number of unaccompanied minors and families crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, presenting worries of a possible new refugee influx.

U.N. Claims 1.4 Million Children Have Fled Boko Haram

The United Nations says that over 1.4 million children have fled Nigeria and surrounding countries to try and escape Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram.

UNICEF says that 1.2 million Nigerian children have fled from the northern part of the country and around 265,000 children have fled border towns in Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

“It’s truly alarming to see that children and women continue to be killed, abducted and used to carry bombs,” said Manuel Fontaine, the UNICEF regional director for West and Central Africa.

UNICEF also reported on their efforts to help those children. The report stated:

  • Over 315,000 children have been vaccinated against measles;
  • More than 200,000 people have received access to safe water;
  • Almost 65,000 displaced and refugee children have had access to education and are able to continue their learning thanks to the delivery of school materials;
  • Nearly 72,000 displaced children have received counselling and psychosocial support;
  • Almost 65,000 children under 5 have received treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

The U.N. officials also focused on Boko Haram’s targeting of women and girls in their terror assaults and kidnappings.

“Women and girls are involved in approximately three-quarters of the attacks,” she said. And children are “used, often without knowing, to carry bombs that were strapped to their bodies and detonated remotely in public places.”

Georgia Football Team Helps 5-Year-Old With Rare Brain Disorder Obtain Dream

A five-year-old boy from Georgia was told by doctors that he would never be able to play football because of a very rare brain disorder.

Ben Holloway was diagnosed with brain dural arteriovenous fistual (BDAF) last year.

“Last spring, my wife was telling me that Ben’s eye looked like it was bulging, and though I didn’t think much of it, she was very persistent,” his dad, Joshua Holloway, told ABCNews. “We brought him to a pediatrician after a few days, and he knew something was wrong.”

The doctors immediately rushed Ben to the ER where a CT scan confirmed the BDAF diagnosis.  BDAF is a condition where there is an abnormal connection between blood vessels inside and outside the the brain’s fibrous covering, or dura.

“You can have side effects and devastating problems such as bleeding in the brain, which can lead to stroke, and other problems such as swelling in eyes that can cause vision loss,” Dr. Nicholas Bambakidis said. “In children, these fistulas seem to form spontaneously, whereas adults usually acquire them from trauma such as gunshot wounds.”

Ben had to undergo surgeries to deal with the problems associated with BDAF including an abnormal tangle of blood vessels that brought excess blood the size of a golf ball into his head.  Doctors gave him a 50/50 chance of a stroke and even 20 percent chance of dying during surgery.

A week before a third surgery, the players and coaches of Murray County High School heard about Ben, his love of football and how doctors said he could never play the game.

And they decided to prove the doctors wrong.

Ben was invited to a scrimmage game where he was surprised with his own uniform and equipment including shoulder pads and a helmet.  He was told to suit up and be ready when his number was called.

In the first half of the game, the offense called on Ben to be the running back in a “shotgun draw.”  The quarterback took the snap and handed it to Ben who then ran it in for a touchdown with the entire team cheering him on.

Video of the event has gone viral.

“He was like a kid at Christmas time,” Joshua Holloway said. “It was like Christmas morning for him — it really was.”

“We still watch the video every night,” he added.

Ben had a third surgery the following week that was so successful he may not have to undergo a fourth surgery.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family’s unexpected medical costs.

Carolina Panthers Hire Six-Year-Old Coach

He barely reaches the waist of most of the players, but the Carolina Panthers were listening to the orders of their new coach.

Braylon Beam, 6, has been battling cancer since February.  He signed a one-day contract to be the head coach of the team for the annual “Fan Fest” practice August 7th at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte.

Braylon is a big fan of Carolina quarterback Cam Newton.  The first-grader wore a Newton jersey during an appearance on the Ellen TV show where he talked about his #JustKeepDancing movement to raise money for pediatric cancer.

“He’s a real energetic young man who has got a real good sense for being around people. He showed that,” Panthers regular head coach Ron Rivera said. “He’s got a great fight about him and I hope our guys got the message and understand who this young man is.”

Beam held a team meeting, telling the Panthers: “Be brave, be positive, never give up, have a heart, go Cats.”

Beam told ESPN after the event that it was the “best day ever.”

School Choir Surprises Cancer Stricken Teacher

The children’s chorus from P.S. 22 in Staten Island, New York has made sure a teacher stricken with cancer knows she is not alone in her fight.

The 5th grade students sang the Martina McBride song “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” to Adriana Lopez, who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“For a dear friend and teacher at PS22 whose bravery and dedication to her students amidst a difficult fight with breast cancer has inspired us all… We love you, Mrs. Lopez!!” chorus director Gregg Breinberg said on Facebook.

The song is about standing beside a woman who has just received a breast cancer diagnosis.  The choir changed the lyrics to include Lopez’ age and number of children to personalize the performance.

The peformance, shown in a YouTube video, ends with the kids giving Lopez pink roses.

The choir has been around since 2000 and has performed with superstars like Jennifer Hudson and even performed for President Obama at the White House.

British Teen Admits Role In Australian Terror Plot

A 15-year-old British man has admitted in a Manchester court that he was working on a plot via the Internet to behead, run over or shoot police officers in Australia.

The attack, inspired by the Islamic extremist group ISIS, was to take place on April 25th, the day Australia celebrates the service of their armed forces.

The unidentified youth pleaded guilty to inciting terrorism overseas and because he was 14 at the time of arrest, he became the youngest person in British history to be convicted of terrorism offenses.

Prosecutors showed the enthusiasm of the boy for the attack by entering into court thousands of instant messages with fellow terrorist Sevdet Besim in Australia over a 10 day period.

“Those messages reveal the intentions of the plotters and their targets, along with their motivation which may be summarised as support for Isis and their enthusiasm for the attack,” prosecutor Paul Greaney said according to the BBC.

“The messages also set out the plotters’ preparations for the attack. On 18 March 2015, as part of those preparations, the defendant sent Sevdet Besim a message that read, ‘suggest you break into someone’s house and get your first taste of beheading’.  Sevdet Besim responded to say that this seemed ‘a little risky’ and that aspect of the preparations appears then to have drifted away.”

The judge says because of the boy’s age it will be hard to find a sentence.  The formal sentencing is scheduled for March 3rd.

ISIS Releases Video of Children Calling For Jihad

The media wing of the Islamic terrorist group ISIS has released a video showing young boys being indoctrinated into the group’s extremist theology, training to fight and championing the group’s cause.

The video, “The Cubs of Dilja”, shows children as young as three reciting verses of the Quran directly into the camera for the first time.

A boy asks the camera “where are the martyrs?  Where are the suicide attackers?” and then says “give me my weapon.”  The video later shows the child firing the gun.

The video release Wednesday follows reports the group has been training children to behead people using dolls for practice.

The Associated Press spoke with Yazidi children who escaped the training camps who said the terrorists are brainwashing children into converting to Islam and becoming fighters.

“Then they taught me how to hold the sword, and they told me how to hit. They told me it was the head of the infidels,” the boy, renamed Yahya by his ISIS captors said to the AP.

He told the AP that he was at the camp five months where he studied the Koran and was trained in fighting 8 to 10 hours a day.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 8 children have been used by the terrorists in suicide bomb attacks.

Minnesota Boy Uses His “Make-A-Wish” To Feed Others Via Food Truck

A 12-year-old boy who has overcome leukemia was offered anything he wanted by the Make-A-Wish foundation.

His wish?  To take a food truck around his community and feed those who helped him during his fight against the disease.

Lucas Hobbs came up with the idea while at Minneapolis Children’s hospital during a time when it was hard for him to eat.  He watched a movie called “Chef” about a father and son who operated a food truck and it spurred his idea to feed others.

“When I was sick, people brought me food from our church, and it was really nice of them,” Lucas told the news outlet. “It kinda got me thinking about my Make-A-Wish, so I asked my parents if I could use my wish to help others.”

Make-A-Wish contacted the Minnesota Food Truck Association and together planned a five-stop tour for Lucas including  a homeless shelter, senior center, church and the Minneapolis Police Department.

“The fact that there is somebody, anybody, much less a 12-year-old, that is so willing to give outward,” John Elder, a spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department, told the StarTribune. “I was honored on behalf of the department to help facilitate it.”

Lucas says he plans to continue to serve food to the community through a food truck.

“I don’t know what to say, but it makes me feel really, really happy for what i’m doing,” Lucas told KARE 11.

More Children in Poverty Now Than During Recession

A new report shows that more than one in five American children were living in poverty in 2013, the last year that complete data is available.

The number of children in poverty, 22%, is higher than in September 2010 when the New York Times said the Great Recession had brought poverty rates in the U.S. to their highest level in 15 years and greater than the 18% child poverty rate recorded in 2008.

The report also says that almost one-third of American children in 2013 lived in a home where no parent held a steady, full-time job.

The report says with only a “few exceptions”,  “nearly all of the measures that [it] track[s], African-American, American Indian and Latino children continued to experience negative outcomes at rates that were higher than the national average. Overall unemployment rates have fallen, but the unemployment rate for African-Americans is currently 11 percent — 2.4 percentage points higher than where it was prior to the economic crisis. Nearly 40 percent of African-American children live in poverty, compared to 14 percent of white children.”

“The fact that it’s happening is disturbing on lots of levels,” said Laura Speer, the associate director for policy reform and advocacy at the Casey Foundation, told USA Today. “Those kids often don’t have the access to the things they need to thrive.” The foundation says its mission is to help low-income children in the U.S. by providing grants and advocating for policies that promote economic opportunity.”

Speer added their is hope for 2014 because the decline in the unemployment rate means more children in a home with at least one adult having stable employment.