"What if I Can't Afford to go to Africa?"

This morning I had the honor of speaking with a group of high school students during their Global Issues class (via Skype; I love Skype). A dear friend is the teacher of this Kentucky class, and she has the awesome ability of engaging high school students to care about global issues. The only global issue I cared about in high school was if I could afford an Italian leather handbag... my, how times have changed (but I still like Italian leather!).

She asked that I focus on children affected by poverty and what Until Then does. I had about 45 minutes to engage 17 year old hearts and minds with crazy statistics and hopefully empower them to do something once the video chat ended.

Between attempting to explain the differences of refugees and illegal immigrants and trying to hold back on how human traffickers are ruling the world, the students just wanted something tangible that they could do to make a difference. Texting $10 to a relief organization wouldn't satisfy their desire to help. Giving up their college tuition to go to a developing country for a personal experience of poverty is not an option for them.

Advocacy and Awareness, two of the most powerful tools for change... if you can advocate and create awareness then you are making a difference, and students are really good at both. One of our projects with Until Then is Kids For Street Kids. There is a group of high schoolers in Orange County that have an Until Then Club, where they raise awareness about homeless kids in Kenya, as well as in Orange County. They write supportive letters to street kids across the globe and raise money to alleviate poverty, but they are also making Easter baskets for local homeless kids. The students of this Until Then Club have made their peers (and faculty) aware that there are 150 million street kids globally, some of whom are in the United States. The kids, on their own and with little direction from us, decided that they were going to be the best possible advocates for street kids; hence the purpose of Kids For Street Kids.

If you would like more information on starting an awareness campaign and becoming an advocate for street kids, email us or leave a comment below! We're also on facebook.

meet Reggie, a 10 year old in Seattle, Washington, who decided that his church should put together backpacks for street kids as Christmas gifts. Reggie is an advocate for street kids.

Advocate for life,

Dalene