Youth teaching youth... The purpose of Youth for Human Rights International is to teach youth around the world about human rights, thus helping them to become advocates for tolerance and peace.

African Youth Summit

On 26 January 2005, a Summit for Child Safety was held at the Church of Scientology in Johannesburg. The auditorium was filled to maximum capacity of 197 with standing room only.

The event was opened with spectacular entertainment including the African song Koloyi, and “We Are the Children,” performed by students from the local Summerhill Preparatory School.

Sasha Rajah, YHRI Ambassador for South Africa, gives certificate of thanks to YHRI Director Mary Shuttleworth.

Mary Shuttleworth, Director, Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI), introduced the booklet “What are Human Rights?” and described the World Educational Tour of 2004 through 13 countries to tell young people about human rights.

Nandi Msezane, Youth Participation Specialist from Sithabile Child and Youth Center, a youth activist for human rights since the age of 11, spoke about sexual and labour exploitation of children.

Nomsa Dlamini, Dept of Health, Traditional Healing Practitioners, spoke about the many programmes that teach about AIDS, and wanted the youth to know that they are the ones who need to make choices about whether to be sexually active at a young age.

Youth at the summit make paper airplanes, a symbol of being united. (In the human rights music video, UNITED, kids across the world come together by communicating via paper airplanes.)

Len Davids, Senior Manager, Curriculum Management and Development, Provincial Department of Gauteng, spoke about responsibility and how that relates to having rights. He mentioned the importance of making human rights a fact.

Sizwe Mazibuko, who works with Greater Orlando Police Department Youth Desk as the voice from the police to the youth and the youth to the police, talked about how he has used YHRI’s AIDS educational flyer. He encouraged the youth to take YHRI’s AIDS flyers home and use them to help others understand AIDS.

Sasha Rajah, YHRI Ambassador for South Africa, presented the Youth Humanitarian Award (dove, with wings spread, cast in bronze) to Superintendent Andre Neethling, Provincial Coordinator of the Child Protection Unit for Gauteng. He spoke about how responsibility ties in with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A representative from Summerhill Preparatory School gave a brief overview of the human rights music video, UNITED. Mary Shuttleworth shared how the video was produced by the 19-year old South African born Taron Lexton. The video carries the message of YHRI to empower youth to promote human rights to other youth. She said that more than 2000 people from around the world volunteered and contributed to the making of the music video. The UNITED CD is now being launched and includes the Soweto Gospel Choir.

The newly released UNITED CD was presented to Robin Hogarth on behalf of the Soweto Gospel Choir as they are presently on tour in the USA and he records their work.

He said that UNITED we can make human rights a fact and he invited all the speakers and presenters to join him on stage. The UNITED CD played and everyone held hands, moved to the music of the song and eventually clapped in harmony. The WHOLE audience stood up and joined in!
Written By: Lacey Richardson (age: 13)

Youth gather together to fulfill
Youth for Human Rights Dreams

“ A good idea for fundraising would be raffling,” Cameron Kaye, eleven-year-old youth treasurer stated, while the rest of the council listened with eagerness.

What you have just read was part of the third meeting of the Youth Executive Council. Held in a gorgeous room with a large sparkling mahogany table and green felted walls, the meeting featured a team of nine participants who planned upcoming events and chatted about past successful happenings.

Youth for Human Rights International formed the Youth Executive Council in early December 2004, to help teach children around the world about human rights, so that they can be valuable advocates for peace and tolerance. The youth who are in the council range from 11 to 17 years old and work in collaboration with the founders of Youth for Human Rights International to spread the word regarding vital human rights.

The Youth Executive of the Council, Katharina Waterkamp, is 16 years old. Here is what she had to say regarding the work she does for the youth council:

“ As part of my job, I play a part in organising all of the major YHRI events and I am present at these events to make sure they run smoothly and as successfully as possible.”

The other jobs are Youth President, Youth Artistic Director, Youth Secretary, Youth Treasurer, and Youth Editor. They meet twice a month to make sure events are correctly organised and carried out. Taking part in festivals, gatherings of people and visiting schools to educate kids, are just a few ways the council forwards the word about human rights.

The new Council plans to write about each event, each meeting and each happening they take part in, so as to record everything and spread the word further.

We are a part of this great team, because we all know how vital it is that men, women and children know about their rights. They need to know them so that we can all get along better and work with each other with joy, love, and peace.
Written By: Leat Toftness (age: 17)

Fifteen Year old and London Native Help Tsunami Survivors

Every tragedy has its unsung heroes. A fifteen-year-old boy is making a difference in an area hit by tragedy – Sri Lanka – after the December 26 tsunami.

“ I just couldn’t sit around watching those images on the TV for one second longer. I had to go there and help,” said Max McFarlane. Max is the youngest Volunteer Minister (VM) from the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles to join the Sri Lanka VM Disaster Relief Team after December’s tsunami. Max joined an international corps of Church volunteers from Germany, UK, Australia and Italy in a country in sore need of help from people of goodwill.

Sri Lankan kids hold YHRI’s human rights flyer for children.

“I’ve been a Volunteer Minister since I was 13 years old,” Max explained, “and so I had the tools to help the Sri Lanka people revive their spirit and courage. I can help and I enjoy doing it. I want others from all over the world to join in and help.”

Max’s mother, Sue McFarlane, is very proud of her son. “Max has always helped others,” she said. “He wants to set a good example and get other teenagers involved to work towards a better world without drug problems, wars, conflicts and criminality.”

London native Sue Carmel has also travelled to Sri Lanka as part of a Human Rights Team to provide aid to the survivors. Many children and their parents asked for school uniforms, because the tsunami destroyed their homes and they lost all their possessions, including their uniforms. While their neighbours and friends are looking after them, the schools will not accept the children back unless they wear uniforms. Sue’s team paid for uniforms for 127 schoolchildren who are now able to go back to school and receive an education they would otherwise have missed.

Sue found that many teachers, parents and children wanted to know more about human rights and her team distributed copies of YHRI’s reprint of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specially adapted for youth.

New Delhi— Natasha Jain with President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam YHRI MEMBER OF THE MONTH: NATASHA JAIN In addition to meeting with the Prime Minister of India three weeks ago, the YHRI representative for India, 14 year old Natasha Jain, has in the last weeks met with a number of dignitaries to introduce them to the campaign. These have included the Vice President of India, B.S. Shekhawat; the Chief Minister for the regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Farooq Abdullah; and the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, who presented Nat­asha with the “Srishti Award” for her “excellent work in the field of human rights.” Two weeks ago Natasha and her father, R.K. Jain, were on a national TV show called ZEE News where she spoke about her actions with Youth for Human Rights International. New Delhi— Natasha Jain with police offIcers and youth brigade Dilshad Garden Police Station Natasha also met the president of India about a year ago and recited to him the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from the booklet, What Are Human Rights? She had learned it by heart for the occasion. Natasha has done so much for human rights and that is why we are giving her this very special acknowledgment for what she had done. Thank you, Natasha. — Alexis Matthes