Youth TAP (Training in Action Program)
Developing Active Global Citizens
In spite of positive changes in recent decades, conflicts rage in many countries. Attacks on civilian populations, including children and youth, are commonplace. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes. International law is often ignored. New and old diseases cause widespread suffering. The weakest around the world continue to suffer the most.
In a world of over six billion people, over half are suffering as a result of conflict, poverty, disease, natural disasters, or social upheaval -- that is one out of every two people on the planet … and the vast majority of them live in developing or lesser industrialized countries.
Consider:
- since 1990, more than 2 million children have been killed in wars. In today’s conflicts, 90% of victims are civilians, and international law is often violated.
- almost 50 million people – one in every 114 in the world – have been driven from their home due to war.
- someone, somewhere in the world, steps on a landmine every 30 minutes
- one billion people must live on less than $1 a day; another two billion on less than $2
- thousands of children die daily from preventable causes because health services and social and economic systems are unable to cope with increasing demands
- between 250 and 350 million people are affected each year by disaster and over 95% of the deaths are in the developing world
We also live in a world, here in Canada, where youth are exposed to so many unjust social issues, yet they can often feel untouched by issues that seem so far away. Even if they are touched, they can feel helpless, overwhelmed or even ignored when it comes to working towards solutions -- yet youth have a great deal to offer in the way of ideas, inspiration and creating a better world.
The Red Cross Response
How You Can Help
