By Steven Wright (United States) By now, many of you have heard the story about the Meitiv family in Silver Spring, MD and their “free-range” parenting style who have been investigated by CPS for child neglect simply because they have allowed their kids to walk to and from their local park on their own. Danielle…
By Devendra Tak (India) 20 November marks the 25th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. And next year the Millennium Development Goals will draw to a close. When, if ever, will children — at least in most parts of the yet developing world — be able to finally celebrate their…
By Maureen O’Connor (United States) The proposal to lift the “cap” on charter schools now before the Massachusetts Senate would give more choices to some parents and fewer choices to others. There is no evidence that it would shrink the achievement gap. The proposed “caplift” applies to one tenth of Massachusetts school districts. Because of…
By Amanda Lee (France) It is a soul sheering experience to consider how to go about grouping the polluting effects of male entitlement on my life, as a woman. Especially since there is zero gain for me to take a polarized stance on the matter and vilify my brothers. Because no matter what YOU have…
By Diana Skelton (France) “When I was 12, a social worker took me away from my family and put me in a group home. I could actually see my family’s house from the home’s upstairs window. My brothers and sisters were still living there with our parents. I spent so much time wondering, ‘Why me?…
By Matt Davies (Mexico) I’ve recently been lucky enough to attend several cultural events in Mexico City organised as part of the “Festival de México”. Music, film, theatre, all offered free by the city government as part of the huge array of cultural programmes available to those of us living in this fascinating city. My…
By: Diana Skelton (France) One very hot summer, we had been running a Street Library painting workshop in a community garden outside a New York City housing project. Karen Hart remembers a boy named Harold there: “He spent two weeks on the outside of the garden watching us before joining us. He was a quiet…
By: René Muhindo (Democratic Republic of Congo) In the Democratic Republic of Congo, education comes in 4 phases: first there is primary school which normally takes 6 years, preceded by 2 years of nursery school for those who want it. After primary school is secondary school which takes 6 years. Finally there is higher education…
By Matt Davies (Mexico) I have recently returned from Guatemala where I spent two weeks accompanying ATD Fourth World‘s team as they began thinking about their priorities for the coming year. It was also a period of visiting the neighbourhoods, in Guatemala City and Escuintla, a city near the Pacific coast, where the team’s presence…
Fatimata reveals through her testimony her active participation in her community. People who have known poverty can better describe the humiliations as well as the courage of parents and children in overcoming poverty. Her words were brought to the UN through different steps, different places, from Ouagadougou (on the occasion of the seminar “The poorest…
Together in Dignity 