Issue

Children and Youth

Throughout the world, wherever there is conflict or poverty, it is most likely the children and adolescents who are the most vulnerable. Their lives are endangered; their education is interrupted, and their health is compromised. Many are left homeless. Safety, play, and recreation are foreign concepts.

Pulitzer Center journalists examine the challenges children face—and explore some of the solutions. They detail the lives of children in conflict and the rehabilitation of child soldiers, the struggle of girls to obtain an education coupled with their determination and perseverance, the risks young refugees take as they leave home—and the opportunities afforded to some.

 

Children and Youth

Joane: Plastic Is Killing Us in the Amazon

This young Brazilian activist fights for a better future in her village in the Brazilian Amazon. Her story is the fourth in the series 'Rainforest Defenders' which presents five activists fighting against environmental destruction and Bolsonaro's government.

Run or Hide? Seeking Refuge in Tanzania

When Bill Clinton Hadam's refugee family was approved for resettlement in the U.S., the boy's parents faced a "Sophie's Choice" dilemma: him or his sister. After escaping slaughter in Congo and Rwanda, the family waited in a Tanzanian camp for nearly a decade. Rape was common there, and Bill's teen...

Nepal: Olga's Girls

Every January, 83-year-old Olga Murray of northern California goes to southwestern Nepal for the annual Maghe Sankranti winter festival. That's where she can find impoverished Tharu farmers selling their daughters to higher caste families to work as domestic slaves. In the illegal trade, families get about $50 for what is...

Restaveks: Child Slaves of Haiti

Child slaves make up about 10 percent of the youth population in Haiti. Driven out of economic depravity, many parents are sending their children to live with others and serve as indentured servants in order to secure their survival. In a short documentary, Dane Liu and Carmen Russell explore the...

Scars and Stripes: Liberian Youth After the War

Reporter Ruthie Ackerman and photographer Andre Lambertson travel from Staten Island to Liberia, investigating the lives and struggles of Liberian youth after the 14-year civil war.