TEACH FOR A DAY:

Child Soldiers
Parker Jett Lauren Sparks Nick Bryant
Caroline Bishop Helena Monsivais
300,000
Estimated child soldiers around the world today
Child soldiers are defined as…

Any children under the age of 18 who

are recruited by a state or non-state
armed group and used as fighters,
cooks, suicide bombers, human
shields, messengers, spies, or for
sexual purposes
Child soldiers are most commonly found in Africa
Why Children are Recruited

● There is a constant supply for armed

groups, who often send children in
the first wave of attack so as to
draw the enemy’s fire.
● They are easy to manipulate
● Some groups offer opportunity- food,
shelter, survival- to young adults
giving them incentives to fight
Children Recruits Continued

● They don’t eat as much food

● Don’t get paid
● Have a highly developed sense of danger
Global Statistics

● About 40% of child soldiers are

girls.
● Some children as young as nine
are forced into armed groups.
● Boys are trained in combat, girls
Two young, girl soldiers
can be forced into marriage or
sexually exploited
Children’s Work

As well as being forced to fight, they

are used as:

● Cooks
● Cleaners
● Spies
● Couriers
● Messengers
A Solution

Tackling the problem is hard because

most armed groups who use child
soldiers are anti-government, or
non-state armies. This means they
are not fighting for the state or
government making it hard to
negotiate with them.
100,000
Child soldiers were released from 1998 to 2012
24,000
Child soldiers were released in just a 1 year period from
2008-2009
 Created by the United

UNICEF Nations to provide

emergency food and
United Nations healthcare to children and
International Children’s mothers in devastated
Emergency Fund countries after WWII
UNICEF Work
● UNICEF works to release children from
armed forces where they are exposed to
tremendous violence.
● They promote reconciliation and do so
in activities, education & training.
● The goal is to get the children
returned to their families or find a
family for them to be a part of.
UNICEF talking to an armed forces community
Focus on Culture
STATIONS!!!
Blood Diamond Station
Blood Diamond Movie

● This movie focuses on the

Sierra Leone Civil war
● Violent war lasting from
1991-2002 fighting for
freedom from a corrupt
government
Movie Clip

https://youtu.be/QaiKMayEUOw?t=21
Analyzing the Clip

● Cinematic Devices
(camera angle, silence,
zoom, pan)
● Persuasion on the part
of the man
● Reactions of the
children
Ishmael Beah’s speech
Ishmael Beah’s speech to the UN

● Perspective from a former child soldier

● Describes experiences in Sierra Leone during civil war
Child soldier statistics
Issue around the world

● The issue affects several

countries around the world
and several continents
● This issue is currently the
most severe in Africa
● (Chad, Central African
Republic, Sudan, South
Sudan, Somalia, and the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo)