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

In Jail, But They've Committed No Crime

In Bolivia, hundreds of children live behind bars with their imprisoned parents. "Jail is not the best place to grow up," a government official told reporters, but at least families stay together.

His Sister Missing, a Man Waits in Anguish

Zulma Corhuari, 16, stepped out for a moment to get an aspirin for her headache. Her family never saw her again. Her brother Victor is desperate and suspects the worst. "There's no justice," he said.

Deadly Habits Passed Along to Children

In Bolivia, entire families are surrendering to cheap drugs—lethal and mind-altering concoctions of glue, gasoline, and paint thinner. The problem is growing and there's no solution in sight.

Saving Souls and Resisting Temptation

Ivan Ramirez runs an orphanage near Cochabamba. He started with one child—"a delinquent in miniature," Ramirez called him. More children arrived and the orphanage grew. "It was God's plan," he said.