Addis Ababa is a vibrant and bustling city - I think it could give New York a run for its money as the city that never sleeps - but as a child living without parents in the poorest neighbourhoods (kebeles) of the city, it can be extremely dangerous. Over 50,000 children are living on the streets in Addis Ababa alone, one quarter of the national estimate for streetchildren.

Since joining the War Child program, the boys have received support for their housing, medical costs and school and vocational training fees. This allows them to focus on their studies with the intention of securing a steady income upon graduation. They participate in individual and family counselling sessions, and organized recreational activities on weekends. Children in their position are frequently victims of discrimination so the organized football games for example, are a chance for them to interact with other children from their communities with no pressure.

One of the boys, currently in vocational training for hairdressing speaks up: “Since joining this program, what I am most grateful for is that we are now living together again. Before we were separated, living in different districts even, we hardly saw each other. Now we live in the same house, we eat together and share responsibilities. I am very thankful for this.”

Suddenly, the youngest brother’s ambitions of becoming an engineer doesn’t seem so far away.

To help more children fulfill their potential, become a regular donor.

In celebration of International Development Week, I wanted to profile Saa Andrew’s amazing story and introduce his annual War Child event, Battle of the Arts to all of our supporters.

Many people know now about Sierra Leone because of the horrific civil war that displaced thousands of people. What are your memories of Sierra Leone before conflict?

My life in Sierra Leone was very normal and stable. I was with my father, while attending primary school. My mother was a community health nurse, working in another village. Everything was fine, and I had never thought of leaving the country. I had never even seen a soldier before, until the day my town was attacked by rebels - soldiers and rebels were all around.

Many of War Child’s programs work with communities living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Here in Canada people have a hard time imagining what daily life in one of these camps is like, could you share what life was like living in an IDP camp?

It is not a good moment to find yourself living a refugee camp. Firstly, you never have the opportunity to eat the kind of food you want. You have no choice but to eat what is available to you. Our diet consisted of bulgur wheat, corn meal and beans. In the refugee camp, there were no homes; we had to sleep under tents given to us by the United Nations. There were over 12 people in a tent and not much privacy. My life in the refugee camp was not the best and I pray that I will never have to live in those conditions again.

Your motivation and drive is incredible. Not only are you an amazing advocate and fundraiser for War Child but you find the time to take on new projects while facing the challenges of settling in to a new country and culture. What were some of the biggest challenges you have faced moving to Canada?

Some of the biggest challenges I faced upon my arrival in Canada was acclimatizing to the weather, sudden change of environment, culture shock, making new friends and finding answers to all of the questions people would ask about my home town.  Learning English was also difficult; in order to communicate with other people I have to speak English almost all of the time. There are only two other Sierra Leonean families in my city (Fredericton) and all the other Africans I have met are from other parts of Africa and cannot understand my traditional language. These things continue to be a challenge for me, but I try to overcome them on a daily basis, and with a smile.

Why was going to university important to you? Why did you choose to study human rights?

Going to University was very important to me because I wanted to improve my "self being". I wanted to make use of the opportunities I had to make myself a better and more informed person. I majored in Human Rights and minored in World History. I find these fields of study useful to me in particular because they relate directly to my life struggle and story. I had always wanted to learn about other cultures and learning about Human Rights has helped me do that. I also want to use my studies to help bring awareness  around the world, especially to war torn nations, where human rights is not put into practice and in countries where it is abused.

Why did you choose to support War Child?

I decided to support War Child because, I see myself as a child of war. I did not have the chance to enjoy the beauty of my country. In Sierra Leone, there has always been war on many different levels, even before I was born. Terrible things happened in front of me during the ten years of the recent civil war. It is because of these reasons that I wanted to help fundraise and bring as much awareness as I can to promote War Child. My being in Canada is by the grace of God, so I always want to help War Child meet its goals around the world in war torn nations.
 
How does your love of music help your advocacy work?

My love for music is the main source of my strength. I consider myself a global citizen; a social activist for peace and change. I use my traditional music playing skills to pass on my message – in addition to public speaking, in my community and anywhere else I am needed! I have used my traditional music skills to sing and perform socially conscious tunes. My goal is to inspire change while working with artists from other cultures. I have great love for the arts.

Tell War Child supporters about your project Battle of the Arts, what is your plan for 2012?

"Battle of the Arts" (BOTA) is a dynamic show that I started back in Fredericton in 2010. It’s a show that gives youth the opportunity to showcase their talent on stage in front of an audience. The talents showcased can be from all types of genres and backgrounds but should be something that will help develop the artist, help raise awareness for the cause and put a smile on the face of a War Child. In 2010 I organized Battle of the Arts in Fredericton only. Last year, in 2011, we went all over the province of New Brunswick. I have big plans for 2012; my plan is to take the BOTA across the Maritimes and give youth the opportunity to shine, share their talent to our jury panel and promote War Child’s mission across the East Coast. Our long time vision is to take Battle of the Arts Canada wide, and help promote and raise awareness for War Child. 

International development is a subject that is really important to you, why should Canadian care about it?

I want Canada to care about International Development Week because it’s nice to recognize those organizations and individuals who are making a difference all around the world. Canada should care about International Development Week for one simple reason; the world is watching us closely, Canada is a cosmopolitan country. Canada should make International Development week more special and should take it seriously, especially because Canada is one of the top nations in the world.

To learn more about Saa Andrew’s project, Battle of the Arts, visit this website http://www.battleoftherarts.ca. 
 

Sam has been incredibly busy promoting her book and it's important message across North America. We wanted to be sure to share the following interviews and excerpts with you so that you can follow along. For more information about her book and appearances be sure to check out her new website www.samanthanutt.com.

Watch Sam's latest interview with Steve Paiken of The Agenda here:

I am lucky to have chosen a career that allows me to spend time with youth making music. I love how it brings young people with different talents together, whether they are engineers, producers or artists. I love the energy in a recording studio when everything comes together and you feel the excitement of creating incredible music. Through my work with youth in Toronto, I have met some of Canada’s top producers and engineers – that is the beauty of the creative process. We are fortunate to have several professional engineers in Toronto who have seen the talent of the youth at AUCAYD and have in turn have mentored them to develop their studio and their music.

Creating music at AUCAYD gives young people a great sense of community, which is helpful as many are not receiving monetary and familial support at home. Many young people and their parents were victims of violent atrocities during the civil war. Music gives them a sense of escape from their bleak reality. Presently the youth of Sierra Leone have very little hope to due to a lack of education, and a lack of job opportunities. It is clear they are frustrated by rampant corruption, and are at a high risk contracting illness due to poor sanitation.

The majority of the music created by AUCAYD is designed to educate and uplift their peers and the next generation about important and relevant topics such as safe sex, human rights and gender equality. AUCAYD is determined to spread positive messages through their music, and in doing so they are able to give hope to countless young people, and inspire them to work towards a better future.  The more AUCAYD can connect with others around the world and in countries like Canada, the more they can share their wisdom and creativity. They also benefit greatly from the technology and expertise provided by mentors and peers in other countries. These relationships are what keep them strong, inspired and able to bring change through the arts. 
 

‘Communication between partners is necessary to avoid HIV’

‘Most of the decisions about contraception are made by males because of the low confidence of females’

‘We must lessen our economic dependence on males’ (it is here that I find out that the term ‘sugar-daddy’ has gone global).

These aren’t your average topics of discussion for teenage girls back at home, but it is the reality for female youth living in the city core of Addis Ababa. In a country where HIV/AIDS has infected over 1.1 million people and affected the lives of millions more sons, daughters, parents and friends, the importance of creating a dialogue around HIV prevention is invaluable in Ethiopia.

One of the older girls sets down her coffee and begins to speak. Despite my very limited understanding of Amharic, her gestures and tone command attention. With 28 young girls it’s hard to keep the chitter-chatter to a minimum, but this time the entire group is listening. The Program Administrator leans in to tell me that she is speaking about how older siblings must act as role models for their young sisters and brothers in promoting partner communication and negotiation of contraception when it comes to sex. Each of the child-headed households that War Child and P2P support has three or more members. The age range in each household can be vast with some of the household heads as young 17. As the young girl continues, I notice a ring on her left hand. She is married. As she speaks about partner communication, self-esteem and role models I realize she is already a model to the rest of the girls here today. And it’s through this weekly girl’s group that powerful messages like these are being promoted and practiced where the most vulnerable can see and hear them.

We encourage you to seek out new information and get informed about the issues you care about. Below, please find a list of recommended books, web links and twitter personalities to spark your interest. We hope to post footage and photos from the event early next week.

This list is a work in progress, please add your recommendations in the comments!

BOOKS

1. Partners in Development also known as “The Pearson Report”, Lester B. Pearson
2. Rural Development Putting the Last First, Robert Chambers
3. Development Projects as Policy Experiments, Dennis A. Rondinelli
4. Blood in the Stone, Ian Smillie
5. Freedom from Want, Ian Smillie
6. The Enough Moment, John Prendergast with Don Cheadle
7. Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, Jason Stearns
8. War Nerd, Gary Brecher
9. In the Belly of the Hyena, Nega Mezlekia
10. Assassins of the Turquoise Palace, Roya Hakakian
11. King Leopold's Ghost, Adam Hochschild
12. War is a Force that Gives us Meaning, Chris Hedges
13. The Soccer War, Ryszard Kapuscinski
14. Letters to my Daughters, Fawzia Koofi
15. Tears of the Desert, Halima Bashir
16. The Big Short, Michael Lewis
17. It’s the Crude Dude, Linda McQuaige
18. White Man’s Burden, Bill Easterly
19. Problem From Hell, Samantha Power
20. Where War Lives, Paul Watson
21. Commodities as Capabilities, Amartya Sen
22. Culture and Public Action, Vijayendra Rao and Michael Walton (editors)
23. Poor Economics, Abhijit Banerji and Esther Duflo
24. Community-Based and Driven Development: A Critical Review, Ghazala Mansuri and Vijayendra Rao
25. Crafting Peace: Strategies to Deal with War Lords in Collapsing Stated, Sasha Lezhnev

WEB LINKS

ABOUT THE ISSUES

1. RAISE HOPE FOR THE CONGO www.raisehopeforcongo.org
2. GRASSROOTS RECONICILATION GROUP www.grassrootsgroup.org
3. CONTROL ARMS www.controlarms.org
4. PROJECT PLOUGHSHARES www.ploughshares.ca
5. SMALL ARMS SURVEY www.smallarmssurvey.org
6. STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL PEACE RESEARCH INSITUTE www.sipri.org
7. MINING WATCH CANADA www.miningwatchcanada.ca
8. ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS www.ewb.ca
9. DIAMOND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE www.ddiglobal.org
10. GLOBAL WITNESS www.globalwitness.org
11. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH www.hrw.org

TO LEARN MORE

1. A daily collection of world news from aid bloggers, Tim Murphy and Mark Goldberg www.dawnsdigest.com
2. Alert Net www.trust.org
3. The Guardian’s Global Development page www.guardian.co.uk/global-development
4. Relief Net reliefweb.int
5. IRIN www.irinnews.org
6. CIC www.opencanada.org

TWITTER

1. UN DISPATCH twitter.com/undispatch
2. Mark Goldberg twitter.com/MarkLGoldberg
3. VIEW FROM THE CAVE, Tom Murphy twitter.com/viewfromthecave
4. TEXAS IN AFRICA, Laura Seay twitter.com/texasinafrica
5. CONFLICT HEALTH, Chris Albon twitter.com/chrisalbon
6. Alanna Shaikh twitter.com/alanna_shaikh
7. Bill Easterly twitter.com/bill_easterly
8. Chris Blattman twitter.com/cblatts
9. Owen Barder twitter.com/owenbarder
10. Samantha Nutt twitter.com/SamanthaNutt
     

We asked War Child staff at our head office in Toronto to share their 2011 highlights; here is what some of our staff had to say:

Alyson Rowe
Senior Manager, Community Development

Without a doubt, traveling to the Congo in May to visit War Child’s program was my 2011 highlight. For me, visiting the field was a life changing experience. For professionals in development and aid we hear stories about communities affected by war and work hard to raise awareness here at home, however, until you have shared tea with women who have literally risked their lives to better their communities and who, against all imaginable odds, find the strength and resiliency to create change your profession can not be translated into passion. The stories of the brave and inpiring people I met are unforgettable. Meeting our staff in Baraka, South Kivu and spending three weeks with our beneficiaries in the DRC changed the way I share stories with our supporters and on a personal level, changed the way I see war.

Justine Turner
Manager, International Programs

2011 was an amazing year for our Sierra Leone partner Artists United for Children and Youth Development (AUCAYD). With War Child’s help, they recorded and produced their debut advocacy album which has seen global sales on iTunes and Amazon and was featured on CBC; they started a skills training and leadership program for children who have been imprisoned in Freetown’s juvenile detention centre to provide them with a chance to turn their lives around when they are released; and they used music to inspire and motivate hundreds of youth to become active promoters of human rights, environmental protection and peace.

The year could not have ended better, AUCAYD were selected to run Sierra Leone’s National Youth Centre and they were personally congratulated by President Koroma of Sierra Leone. 2012 is going to be an exciting year, stay tuned.

Richard Corbridge
Director, International Programs

My highlight from 2011 was the renewal of our Afghanistan program. CIDA has come on board as the program partner for another two years. War Child's program in Afghanistan is incredibly successful; it is a holistic program that reaches hundreds of families who have experienced the most challenging of circumstances due to the combination of conflict and extreme poverty in the most vulnerable and devastated regions of Kabul and Jalalabad.

In November I traveled to the program. It was great to see the program again and meet with the women we work with. Presently, War Child's program reaches 400 families and over 700 children by providing vocational skills training, income generation opportunities, and literacy and numeracy skills to mothers, whilst providing early years education for their children. My November visit was a fantastic learning opportunity as I had the chance to learn more about the women who, upon successfuly completing the program, are now running small scale businesses in their communities made possible because of small micro-finance loans from War Child. Over ninety-six percent of loans are repaid on time! 

Emma Cosgrove
Manager, Stakeholder Relations

In November, the volunteer committee from ArtBarrage organized an online auction of an impressive array of contemporary art, culminating in a live auction. Many War Child staff and a team of over 40 dedicated War Child volunteers were on hand to help with the event, which was a beautiful evening. The ArtBarrage team took such care to plan a seamless event in support of War Child; their dedication was inspiring.

Gabrielle Duchesne
Director, Development

This year, like every year, I was humbled by the generous spirit of the people who make our work possible - our donors. Thank you does not express the gratitude I feel towards these people. I am sincerely touched by the generosity of our monthly War Child heroes, of the person who had a moment of inspiration and reached into their own pocket to invest in us, of our corporate partners and their staff, and of our foundation and government partners and their personnel.

To each of you: I am proud that you believed that children should go to school; that you believed young girls should live free of fear of abuse, exploitation or neglect; and that you believed no child should know war.  And I am truly honoured, that you entrusted War Child with administering the programs that educate girls, create projective environments for the rights of children and youth and help families and communities overcome the obstacles of poverty and economic marginalization.

Barbara Harmer
Director, Music and Special Initiatives

2011 kicked off with a bang for the Music & Special Initiatives department and didn’t slow down. In February, I was thrilled when a project that I had been working on for a year came to fruition with the auctioning of a guitar painted by Damien Hirst (yes, the internationally renowned British artist) that raised $120,000 for the kids we support.  We are currently developing a stellar art series -courtesy of Carparelli Guitars and some truly amazing artists - so stay tuned for exciting news in 2012.

When the summer arrived we hit the road and had our most successful concert and summer festival circuit to date. War Child attended a record 29 music festivals and concerts.  The summer love continued well into August when we partnered with Jackson Triggs for the first ever Rootstock benefit concert for War Child – an incredible night of music, story-telling and altruism under the stars at JT’s beautiful outdoor amphitheatre!  These are just a few of the many amazing highlights of 2011. Our supporters and partners are amazing and we are truly grateful!

Jennifer Ivanovs
Manager, Music and Special Initiatives

Chances are if you ran into me at one of the many festivals we were lucky to be at this summer I was probably asking you where to get my hands on a double shot of Americano, a sugar free redbull or some kind of throat tea.  Yes we here in the MSI department had one of the busiest summers ever, that being said it was also one of the most amazing summers ever. 

From Edgefest and two dates with the Tragically Hip, to the expanded Busking For CHANGE stages at Osheaga and Supercrawl, Jackson Triggs Roostock, all the way to the newly re-located War Child Lounge at Rifflandia our summer was nothing short of impressive.  I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am to all of the artists and festivals we worked with in the summer of 2011 and can’t wait for all of our involvements in 2012.  My travel mug and sunscreen are already packed and ready to go, oh and for the record I will never say no to a soy latte. 

Chelsea Lloyd
Pledge and Donor Relations Officer

Two of our most fun - and successful - fundraising events in 2011 happened thanks to stellar volunteers who invested considerable time and effort! Jonathan Kerr, Christy Wagner and a team of their family and friends organized an entire golf tournament in May. Such an immense amount of work resulted in a great turnout and an achieved fundraising target. Personally, it was reaffirming to witness such passion for War Child’s work, and has perhaps led to my nascent appreciation for the game.

James Topham
Director, Communications and Marketing

As in every year, my War Child highlight of 2011 was our continued relationship with john st, our pro bono communications partners. john st are part of the fabric of War Child. Founded within a year of us, we've grown up together.  Over those years, john st has encouraged and pushed us to be bold and brave and in doing so have helped us define who we are and what we stand for.  john st's promise is to be unignorable - I hope some of that has rubbed off on us. In 2011 they helped us relaunch our website, develop a house style and better define our core messaging. Not a bad year!

Nikki Whaites
Senior Manager, International Programs

As one of the most recent additions to War Child Canada, favorite memory of 2011 was getting hired in October! War Child is full of enthusiastic, fun and dedicated people, both in Canada and overseas, who immediately made me feel welcome. My first few months have been spent mostly learning – learning about War Child programs, vision, history, goals and, most importantly, learning about the lives and stories of the children and youth for whom we all work.

The culmination of any year brings with it “best of” lists  that document the year that was in music, fashion, books, films and the like in addition to countless predictions – however, here at War Child, the “best of” lists that interest us most are these, in no particular order:

1. CGD’s What’s Hot & What’s Not for 2012 from the Centre for Global Development by Jenny Ottenhoff

2. 2011 International Book List by The CIC

3. 2011 Round up by Anouk Dey and Taylor Owen, CIC Dispatch Editors

4. Three Trends to Watch in International Development from the Council on Foreign Relations by Isobel Coleman

5. From an excellent resource – The Guardian’s “Global Development” – a year in pictures

6. Five Reasons for Hope for AIDS, Polio, and More in 2012 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation by Joe Cerrell

7. From Foreign Policy Magazine “The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers”

8. CIGI Experts Predict Global Governance Challenges for 2012

9. 12 Trends That Will Drive the Global Agenda in 2012 by Mark Goldberg from UN Global Dispatch

10. Top 10 nuclear weapons stories of 2011 from Project Ploughshares by Margaret Swink

Coins For Change is designed to inspire, encourage, and enable kids to make a positive difference in the lives of families around the world.  Players can direct their virtual donations to provide medical help, build safe places and protect the earth.  At the end of the event, which runs from December 15 to 27 2011, the players’ virtual donations will serve as votes to determine how the contribution from Disney Online Studios will be divided among pre-selected charitable projects aimed at helping children, families and the planet. Kids will be challenged to fill the island lighthouse with donated coins and if this goal is reached, Club Penguin has committed to doubling its overall cash donation to $2M US.

“The Club Penguin community has already helped more than a million people all over the world through Coins for Change and I hope by doubling the donation, they can help even more." says Lane Merrifield, one of Club Penguin’s co-founders and executive vice president of Disney Online Studios.

As a result of the generous in-world contributions kids have made to Coins For Change, Club Penguin has helped in excess of a million people in more than 40 countries by funding schools, libraries, health clinics, clean water programs and more.

To find out more, visit http://clubpenguin.com/global-citizenship.

The results of Coins for Change 2011 will be announced on January 1, 2012.