cnewhouse's blog

In Africa, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has captured children, brainwashed them, and forced them to become brutal soldiers–or die. The LRA defines army training as killing another child, and they murder the children who refuse to comply.

Humanitarian organization Invisible Children wants to rescue these abducted children. Invisible Children started the Rescue, an event to raise awareness about the LRA abductions in Uganda, the DR Congo, and South Sudan. On April 25, 2009, participants in 100 cities around the world will abduct themselves in honor of the LRA’s child soldiers. Supporters will circle themselves in a family photo and leave the photo at the abduction site to symbolize their capture. They’ll march 1-3 miles, linked by a rope, to the “LRA camp” where they’ll stay overnight.  Read More »

Here’s a story you don’t hear too often: Microsoft millionaire visits a school in Nepal and decides to abandon his job and life of luxury to bring back books for kids.  Read More »

If you’ve logged on to Google Earth (earth.google.com) and looked up your house, you know the program is surprisingly accurate, with individual cars and buildings made visible. And hey, that dot on the sidewalk could be you walking to school.

With the ability to zoom in on one’s own house and view photos of college campuses, Google Earth may be a source of amusement and interest, but this program also serves a greater purpose.

Many nonprofit organizations now use Google Earth to quickly locate refugee camps and provide aid. In dire emergencies, lack of communication and panic can make it almost impossible to find those in greatest need, so Google Earth is a huge advantage for aid workers. In fact, after Hurricane Katrina, some used this technological tool for rescue operations  Read More »

Originally published on IgniteYourFaith.com.

"That's me," my little sister Jessica said between bites of a chocolate chip cookie. She pointed to a photo on the refrigerator.

My mom put down the gallon of milk she'd been pouring into Jessica's glass and glanced at the refrigerator. "The girl in the pink shirt?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"That's not you, honey. That's a picture that came in the mail."

Confused, my 8-year-old sister left her chair and walked up to the refrigerator. Looking more closely, she saw that the picture wasn't her at all. She furrowed her eyebrows, and I could almost see the thought running through her head: Who was that girl?  Read More »

Fill up your water bottle and get ready for an awesome way to help provide kids in Africa with clean water. For the next couple of weeks, I challenge you to drink only water. No juice, no soda, no sports drinks, no (gasp!) coffee, no Jamba Juice—nothing but water for two weeks.  Read More »

Not sure what you’ll be doing with your extra time this spring and summer? Would you like to make time to help out hungry kids? Whatever your current plans are right now, the Great American Bake Sale is a fun event you don’t want to miss. Right now people all over America are teaming up to battle childhood hunger—by baking. Simply bake, sell your delectable creations, and send your funds to Share Our Strength, who will pass it on to charities whose purpose is to feed hungry children.

Sadly, in a country with such abundant wealth, one sixth of children are at risk of hunger, according to the Great American Bake Sale web site. Their web site points out that if you were to visit a soup kitchen, one in every four people standing in line would be a kid. Childhood hunger in America is a reality, and as teenagers, it is our duty to help our fellow youth.  Read More »

A few months ago I had the opportunity to chat with Kendall Ciesemier, the 15-year-old founder of the Kids Caring 4 Kids organization, which provides impoverished African children with food and education. This past September, she appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” with former President Bill Clinton, who came to her high school and spoke at a surprise assembly.

Kendall felt moved to fight for justice in fifth grade, when she watched an Africa special on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” about orphans. One girl her age had lost her family to AIDS, and now she carried the responsibility of raising her younger sibling. Compelled by the orphan’s pain and grief, Kendall signed up to sponsor a child through World Vision that day. Later she expanded her sponsorship to include an entire Zambian village. Her charity eventually grew into a nonprofit organization, Kids Caring 4 Kids.

“It’s gotten so much easier for people to join the force to fight AIDS,” Kendall said at a coffee shop in January 2008.  Read More »

You may have heard about the recent violence in Kenya, including a church burning in Eldoret, and 350,000 people displaced (according to Newsweek). Here are five ways you can help the Kenyan people during this time of crisis.

1. World Vision: Donate to emergency aid disaster response. World Vision is an excellent humanitarian and child sponsorship organization.

2. Kenya Children’s Fund: Donate or sponsor a child. Kenya Children’s Fund is an excellent child sponsorship organization located in Kinyago-Dandora in Nairobi, Kenya--one of the regions affected by the recent violence.

I sponsor 18-year-old Faizo through this organization. I’d like to share some quotes from his letters with you. He wants to be a doctor, which he considers "a marvelous career." His role models are his teachers, who "are sharpening my mind to be full of knowledge, so that one day I could help my society in rebuilding it." He also writes, "I don’t know how I can express my gratitude to you but I’m really happy and glad."

When my violin teacher went to Kenya with Kenya Children’s Fund, she introduced music to their schools and ran a photojournal project.  Read More »