Project

Children at Risk

Thirteen-year old Cynthia Desert lives in a tent camp with her parents. They are not alone. After the earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, one million people were left homeless. Today 500,000 Haitians still live in tents.

In rural areas of India few houses and only one out of six schools has a toilet. Partially as a result of this, the drop-out rate for girls is high and many never learn to read or write—40 percent of girls do not attend school.

The child mortality rate in Bangladesh has been greatly reduced in recent years, and yet 50,000 children under five still die every year from diarrhea-related diseases and many die from drowning (46 children a day).

This project looks at children in developing countries and highlights ways in which local communities are working to improve health and education—training teachers, installing toilets and hand washing stations, developing swimming programs, encouraging girls to stay in school. Some of the stories are geared to a young readers; others will appeal to a broader audience.

Cynthia in Haiti: After the Earthquake

Thirteen-year old Cynthia Desert attends l'Ecole Nationale Republique du Chili, a 15-minute walk from her home—a tent camp in Port-au-Prince.

Kem Knapp Sawyer Keynotes Model UN conference

Pulitzer Center editor Kem Knapp Sawyer opened the Global Classrooms Model UN conference with a talk on child soldiers—and on programs aimed at helping them find "the resilience to begin again."

Haiti: Isaac Floods Tent Cities

In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaac, flooded tents and concerns about the spread of cholera show that Haiti is still vulnerable to natural disasters.

Kem Knapp Sawyer on Children at Risk

The Haitians say, "Little by little the bird builds its nest." Here are several stories about community-based programs in developing countries and their impact on children.