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EXTRA RESOURCES
"Be the change you want to see in the world"
-- Ghandi
The Ecumenical Network for Youth Action is committed to making the world a better and safer place to live in. We do this by being involved in fighting injustices in our neighborhood and in our world, (including social/ economical/ political/ ecclesiastical). We support those who are marginalised, discriminated against and excluded, as well as encourage new and not so new activists to strengthen their involvements in various issues/concerns, campaigns and projects.
Child abuse, poverty, children and youth forced to live on the streets, trafficking and forced prostitution of children, youth and women, racism, secratrism and violence along with the ever increasing growing economic inequalities are worldwide problems that affect us all. A more just society, social equality, equity and human rights; need to be accepted as important church, faith communities and societal goals.
We hope the following pages will encourage those of you who are new to this issues to become involved and to commit your time to make a change in the world. If you are already involved in this issues, we would welcome to network with you and other organisations and to learn about your work, projects and visions.
There are over 1 billion adolescentsbetween the ages of 10 and 19 - more than one-fifth of the world's population. About 85 per cent of adolescents live in developing countries. In 1999 alone, AIDS killed 2.8 million people. More than 10 million youngpeople (aged 15-24) have become infected with HIV/AIDS, and more than13 million children under the age of 15 have lost their mother or both parents to the disease since the epidemic began. (Unicef)
Exodus 23:6
"Do not twist justice
against people
simply because
they are poor."
The United Nations estimates there are over 150 million street children in the world, with the number rising daily. They are more appropriately known as community children, as they are the offspring of our communal world. Ranging in age from three to eighteen, about 40 percent of those are homeless--as a percentage of world population, unprecendented in the history of civilization. The other 60 percent work on the streets to support their families. They are unable to attend school and are considered to live in "especially difficult circumstances."
Deuteronomy 10:18
"He gives justice to
orphans and widows.
He shows love to the
foreigners living among
you and gives them
food and clothing. "
UNICEF estimates that approximately 100 million youth work on the streets
in activities such as picking garbage, hawking small goods,
parking and washing cars, shining shoes, and begging.
It is estimated that 10% of these youth actually ive in the streets,
with no connection to their family or a permanent home.
(Unicef)
Deuteronomy 24:17
"True justice must be
given to foreigners
living among you and to orphans, and you must
never accept a
widow's garment
in pledge of her debt."
25% or more of the world's children are working.
Some 250 million children in developing countries work,
many in hazardous and exploitative labour.
Their most basic rights, their health and even their lives are at risk.
Psalms 10:2
"Proud and wicked people viciously oppress the poor.
Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others."
One out of every two young women
are abused sexually or psyically
before reaching their 18th birthday.
(Zero Tolerance)
38% of girls are sexually abused before the age of 18.
16% of boys are sexually abused before the age of 18.
(Mary Koss, et al., A Criminalogical Study, 1990)
Up to half of all women and girls in some countries have experienced physical
violence at the hands of an intimate partner or family member.
More than 60 million females are missing from population statistics --
killed by their own families deliberately or through neglect,
because of their gender. (Unicef)
Under-5 mortality rate for girls is disproportionately high.
Highest Rates -Sierra Leone, Angola, Niger, Afghanistan,Mali, Liberia. (Unicef)
Luke 4:18
"The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, for he has
appointed me to preach
Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to
proclaim that captives
will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the downtrodden
will be freed from their oppressors,
United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
estimate that at least one million young people
under the age of 14 are lured or forced into commercial sexual exploitation each year.
(Infocus)
The IOM (International Organisation for Migration) estimates that some 500,000 women
were trafficked in 1995, most of them illegally, to the countries of the EU.
7 Million children die each year
as a result of the debt crisis.
Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger.
75% of them are children.
Currently, 24,000 people die each day of hunger or hunger-related causes –
75% of these people are children under five. (www.Hungersite.com)
Half the world -- nearly three billion people --
live on less than two dollars a day.
The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poorest 48 nations
(i.e. a quarter of the world's countries)
is less than the wealth of the world's three richest people combined.
(Le Monde Diplomatique)
The developing world now spends $13 on debt
repayment for every $1 it receives in grants.
(www.Globalissues.org)
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