NewsBites for Kidz Jan. 25 2004

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Tomas Eduardo Trinidad, who has a snowman's belly, a degree in philosophy and a Pied Piper effect on kids, walked into a downtown square last month, looked at the crowd and spotted a dirty-faced little boy selling cheap Santa hats.

Trinidad greeted him in easy street slang, then plopped down cross-legged in the middle of the plaza, ignoring all the shoppers hustling by.

"What's your name?"

"Martin."

"How old are you?"

"I don't know. I think 7."

"Do you go to school?"

"No."

There are thousands of children like Martin on the streets of Guadalajara and in other cities in Mexico. The government says that at least 2 million Mexicans under age 15 do not attend school. The vast majority are like Martin, from poor families whose parents need the money their children can earn working.

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So street teachers go to the kids. Trinidad, 26, spends long days on the streets of Mexico's second-largest city, finding children who get no formal education and bringing them to classes right there on city corners.

Trinidad sits in the plaza with Martin and three other boys, joking and smiling. Through his efforts in the past three years, dozens of street children are now enrolled in schools, learning to read and write and studying other subjects they never would have heard about without "street school."

Trinidad and the other teachers operate an "open-air school" for about 50 children in a little corner of a busy downtown plaza. The school operates from 4:30 to 8 on weeknights; the children come after they

have finished working. The plaza is close to where most of the children's parents work selling trinkets or playing marimbas.

When Trinidad arrived at the school one day recently, Andrea Natalia, 10, was hard at work on math problems. She was sitting in one of the school's "classrooms," a small area of concrete marked off with strips of colored tape on the ground. There were no walls or windows, let alone desks or computers, and

children simply sat on the concrete, notebooks in their laps.

Andrea Natalia consulted multiplication tables in her notebook while chewing on the end of her pencil.

Disco music thumped from a nearby record store. Still, she managed to concentrate under the bright tangerine light of ornate street lamps.

"Four times seven is 28," she said.

"Right," said Liliana Avila Carranza, 23, a volunteer street teacher.

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Trinidad found Andrea Natalia a few months ago. Chubby-cheeked and barely four feet tall, she was working full time selling potato chips. Trinidad persuaded her to come to school every evening. She arrives

about 6 and stays for two hours, until her 17-year-old brother finishes work in a bakery. They ride home together on a bus. Instead of carrying home bags bulging with unsold potato chips, she now totes a backpack loaded with dog-eared notebooks.

Sitting next to Andrea Natalia is Graciela, another 10-year-old. She finished dividing 2,975 by 35 and moved on to her science homework: Write five things that keep your body healthy.

Later, a teacher helped Graciela read an essay about Pancho Villa, the hero of the Mexican revolution. She seemed delighted to discover that his real name was Doroteo Arango, as if she'd been let in on an important secret.

-- Kevin Sullivan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33805-2004Jan21.html

PEACE AWARD

Teens stage lessons in diversity USA

Community: High school students are visiting libraries to teach children that they can love people of all cultures.

By Sandy Alexander, Sun Staff

Originally published January 22, 2004

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USA-The nonprofit group Community Building in Howard County believes its message of appreciating diversity and reducing conflict is best delivered to young people by young people.

The organization is sending nine student volunteers from Wilde Lake High School to Howard County libraries to share a message of harmony and hope through poems and songs. The students also make their point by standing side by side as representatives of a variety of cultures.

"You can show [children] you can love everyone," said Alex Rodriguez, a Wilde Lake 10th- grader whose parents are from Puerto Rico and El Salvador. He said this program "is going to help children understand about peace."

Alex and other presenters at the Glenwood library last week offered greetings in several languages and identified the communities to which they belong: Arab, Korean, Hispanic, Muslim, Anglo and the people of Ghana, Haiti and Honduras.

Group members offered their presentation, "One World, One Heart and One Community," at the east Columbia library last night.

"We find that young children really relate to other young people more so than to grown-ups," said Natalie Woodson, Community Building's program chairwoman. "We wanted the children to relate to the teen-agers.

They serve as role models and guides for the younger children."

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The messages are simple to suit children in third grade and younger.

"Do we want hate?" the performers asked. "No. No. No. Do we want greed? No. No. No. Do we want violence? No. No. No."

Organizers drew material from a book called One World, One Heart by Susan Polis Schutz with illustrations by her husband, Stephen Schutz. The couple, of Boulder, Colo., have a publishing company and distribute free copies of One World.

One refrain goes: "One sun, one moon, for all the world to see. One world, one heart and one community."

"We are showing these little kids we can live together in one community," said Shawn Frederick, a senior at Wilde Lake High School.

Frederick, who is white, said that when he moved to Wilde Lake from Liberty High School in Carroll County as a freshman, he found the new school much more diverse. He has gotten to know students from many backgrounds as student government president, captain of the varsity football team and a member of the

National Honor Society.

"It is very important in these times" to help Americans understand other cultures, said Wael Ali, a sophomore at Wilde Lake.

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Wael and his twin brother, Wasel, have spoken to school and community groups about Islam and Arab cultures before. The boys' father is Sudanese, and their mother is Egyptian. Both were born in Sudan and came to the United States when they were 5 years old.

Students were identified to take part by Wilde Lake High School staff, including the English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher, principal and assistant principal.

"It's an opportunity for a diverse group of students to come together to work cooperatively on a project," said Assistant Principal Marcy Leonard.

It also allows students who have not had experience speaking in public to build their confidence, she said.

Children were in short supply at the Glenwood library as the temperature dropped and the wind gusted Jan. 15, but the teen-agers received a warm response as they practiced their show for library staff and Community Building members.

http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/howard/bal-ho.library22jan22,0,61208.story?coll=bal-local-howard

KIDS HELPING KIDS-1

Teachers with fur -USA

Therapy dogs help to calm and motivate youngsters dealing with emotional problems.

By John J. Shaughnessy

January 22, 2004

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Kelly Anderson watched as the magic unfolded in the form of a 10-year-old boy and a dog.

The guidance counselor at Kitley Intermediate School in Franklin Township saw how the child had often struggled in school, unmotivated to read or do any of his other work -- one of the results of emotional problems he was having.

When every other attempt to motivate the boy failed, Anderson decided to try an off-the-wall approach involving Jordan, a 2-year-old black Labrador retriever.

dog

Fifth-grader Brandi Ingram (left) and sixth-grader Jessie Jesinski are among students helping to train Lucy to aid physically disabled children. -- Adriane Jaeckle / The Star

Anderson struck on the idea of having the boy read to the dog.

"It lit him up," says Anderson, whose face also lights up as she shares the story. "He was a totally different kid. He started to get his work in. It made a big difference in his confidence and his attitude toward school."

http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/113533-6960-047.html

Fresh from stints of providing therapy and rehabilitation for offenders at the Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility and the Indiana Women's Prison, Jordan now helps children full time at Kitley Intermediate.

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Jordan is part of a nonprofit program called ICAAN, short for Indiana Canine Assistant Adolescent Network.

The program was started by Sally Irvin, a 43-year-old Indianapolis psychologist who works with people in correctional facilities to train service dogs; she believes inmates' involvement will make a difference in their lives, too.

Of the 22 dogs in training, Jordan is the first that Irvin has placed in a school, hoping the Lab will have an impact in the lives of the students, some of whom have emotional difficulties.

"He's there for a therapeutic and a motivational purpose," Irvin says. "He's helping children reach goals on a daily basis. Sometimes, the students are very upset, tearful and angry, and they don't know what to do

with those emotions. So they spend time with Jordan -- brushing him, petting him, reading to him. It settles them down quicker."

Jordan spends half of his school week in Anderson's office and the rest of the week in the classroom of Cyndi Schooler, a special education teacher.

On a more limited basis, Schooler also uses two other dogs from ICAAN, Lucy and Courage. She and her students help to train Lucy and Courage so the dogs can eventually assist physically disabled children.

If her students raise their grades, stay focused on a subject or cooperate with her, Schooler offers them such rewards as taking the dogs for a walk or teaching them a trick.

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"The dogs are an integral part of my program for success," Schooler says. "My students love the dogs so much that they will do anything to keep the dogs in the room with them. They know they have to keep their tempers and emotions under control."

As Schooler talks, 13-year-old Will Ray puts Jordan through a series of commands, which ends with Jordan giving Will a kiss.

"We try to teach him to sit, stay, tug, kiss and high-five," Will says with a smile. "He can high-five with both paws. It's really cool. If you're sad and you see Jordan, it cheers you up."

Sometimes, the dogs even help when students can't control their emotions.

Schooler shares the story of a child who was sobbing uncontrollably after another student made fun of

him. When Schooler's attempts to calm the boy failed, Lucy walked across the room to pick up a box of

tissues from Schooler's desk. Then the dog brought the box to the boy.

"Lucy then lay down beside him," Schooler says. "She put her paw on his leg as if to say, 'I'm here for you.' "

The act of canine compassion made a difference to the boy. So do the efforts of Schooler's students to

train the dogs to help physically disabled children.

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"The dogs do things I didn't know dogs could do," says Jessie Jesinski, 11. "They can open and close

doors. They can pull jackets off hangers. They can open and close cupboards. They can turn people into a

better person."

"I like working with the dogs," says Dawn Purvis, 12. "I'm happy to help with their training. It makes me feel

good I did something to help someone else."

That's Schooler and Anderson's ultimate goal for their students. The educators want the children to learn

coping skills early in life, so their emotions won't derail their futures.

"It's a lot easier to see the caring side of the kids with the dogs," Anderson says. "You see some kids who

don't show compassion. Then you put them around the dogs and their compassion comes out."

Anderson has also personally benefited from Jordan's presence. The Lab is the first dog for the

27-year-old guidance counselor, who takes Jordan home with her at night.

"It's fun to teach him new things and new tricks," she says as the children circle the dogs. "He's brightened

up my life."

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KIDS HELPING KIDS-2

Teens to fast for starving children

By Catherine Gibbs

More than 20 teens will go 30 hours without food in order to raise money for starving children throughout

the world.

“I wanted to do something so we can sponsor kids who are poor and need food,” Friendship Baptist

Church youth member Carly McDougald said. McDougald estimates the longest she has gone without food

while she has been awake is three hours.

This is the first time Friendship’s youth group will participate in the annual World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine

scheduled the last weekend in February. During the event, youth members will go without food to

experience real hunger and participate in activities that help them better understand life in a developing

country.

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The World Vision Web site said “29,000 children die every day from hunger and other problems, but it only

takes $30 to feed and care for a hungry child for a month and $360 to feed a child for the whole year.”

For information on the international event, visit the Web site at www.30hourfamine.org.

“I am going to be hungry,” youth member Alyssa McLendon said, recalling a two-day period a couple years

ago when she could not eat due to an intestinal infection. “I was craving foods I didn’t even like.”

The fund-raising effort is in keeping with the youth group’s name: In DEPTH Youth Ministries, which stands

for “Discipling, Edifying, Preparing, Touching and Helping others for the cause of Christ.”

The husband and wife youth leadership team Larry and Melissa Chambers are proud that the group

decided to participate in the event.

“I take my hat off to the young adults in our ministry who are willing to be selfless and go hungry so

another child can eat,” Melissa said. “There is a famine in our third-world countries that most people blow

off and could care less about as long as they have food on their tables. What if it were you with no food?”

“We want to raise $2,500, which should be easy for this county,” Larry Chambers said. “We have 18,000

people and if every person gave $1, that would meet the goal by 10 times.”

Youth group members will seek sponsors to donate money for their efforts.

“Those kids go days and days without eating. I can barely go a day without eating. I think it’s going to make

everyone aware of how fortunate we are to have food,” Amber Rogers said. Rogers estimates the longest

she has gone without food during the day is a few hours.

In addition to helping children worldwide, the effort also may strengthen faith, Caleb Gilleland said.

Gilleland estimates the longest he has gone without food during waking hours is a half-day.

“It will show our community how fortunate we are,” Gilleland said. “Maybe I can get something out of it so I

can be a better Christian witness.”

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http://www.whitecountynewstelegraph.com/articles/articles.asp?ID=2424

Photos kids took to show their view of world :India

Express News Service

New Delhi, January 19: Javier Janco Balthazar is 17 and works in a mine in Bolivia. Pandora Rexha is 13

and is unhappy for his Kosovo because life hasn’t improved after the war. Shrudi Pandey, 10, lives in a

remote Nepal village.

kids

Javier, Pandora and Shrudi can be see in the photographs taken by more than 500 children and young

people who were asked to record a day in their lives. "Imagine", an exhibition of these photos, has been put

up at Max Muller Bhavan.

On April 30, 2002, young people of 45 countries in five continents took photographs that could tell their

story to the world. The pictures for the exhibition were selected by a children’s jury.

Javier’s photo shows a boy working hard in a mine. ‘‘I and my cousin do this work without permit or

insurance to survive,” says Javier in a caption.

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A photo from Vietnam shows two boys taking a bath at a handpump, the only source of running water in

their house. ‘‘In the picture my younger brothers are washing each other’s hair. At first they had fun, but

then they started fighting. I had to split them up,’’ says 12-year-old Pham Ba Tung, who clicked the

photograph.

A picture from Israel shows children with their father. Another shows an American family enjoying their

weekend skateboarding. One from Uganda shows a boy and his family with their meal for the entire day—a

pot of porridge.

From India, comes the picture of a maid servant preparing for her day’s work.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=73698

JANUARY 19, 2004 at 3:25 PM

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Potter books, videogame nominated for Nickelodeon Kids' Choice

Posted by CHEESER

Source: PR Newswire

The Harry Potter novels and the series' latest videogame spinoff, Quidditch World Cup, are up for awards in

the 17th annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, airing April 3.

Former winners Mike Myers (Austin Powers movie, 2003) and Cameron Diaz (Best Burp award, 2002) host

the event:

mikemyers

"Kids love Cameron and Mike not only because they're superstars, but for their unique kid-like energy and

humor," said Cyma Zarghami, President of Nickelodeon Networks. "We know our audience will be as

thrilled as we are to welcome them back to Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards as the new hosts."

Finding Nemo topped the list of kids' favorites this year, garnering three nominations for favorite movie,

favorite voice from an animated movie (Ellen DeGeneres) and favorite video game. Harry Potter is up

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against Lord of the Rings in the category for favorite book.

In 2003, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets got a nod for best movie, but Myers' Austin Powers 3 took

the award instead. The Chamber of Secrets videogame was also nominated, but fell to SpongeBob

SquarePants and the Revenge of the Flying Dutchman.

This year's ceremony will be broadcast live Saturday, April 3, 2004 from 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. ET. Children can

vote for their favorites online beginning March 8.

http://www.hpana.com/news.cfm?nid=17830

HEALTH NEWS

Kids Who Skip Breakfast May Face Tooth Decay :USA

TheMilwaukeeChannel.com

January 19, 2004

Young children who skip breakfast might be fattening their chances of experiencing tooth decay,

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according to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.

Do your kids eat breakfast?Yes, every day.Yes, now and then.No, hardly ever. Researchers from the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination

Survey to look at the relationship between eating habits and cavities among children ages 2 to 5.

"Specifically, not eating breakfast every day was found to be associated with overall caries (tooth decay)

experience and untreated decay in the primary dentition in children aged 2 through 5 years," the

researchers wrote. "Our findings support the notion that even if the effects of poverty could be mitigated,

healthful eating practices among preschoolers would contribute to further reduction in caries."

The findings weren't limited to low-income and minority children. The researchers found that

higher-income kids were more likely than those living in poverty to experience tooth decay.

http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/health/2776134/detail.html

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

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Kids' theater is their Bag :USA

By JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ

DAILY NEWS FEATURE WRITER

The Paper Bag Players with Big Lady in 'Where Is That Bear?' at the Kaye Playhouse.

Good things come in small boxes - big ones, too.

bag

The Paper Bag Players, now celebrating their 45th year entertaining youngsters, are famous for turning

cardboard cartons and grocery bags into fantastic theatrical props and scenery.

"A refrigerator box is always a prize," says Judith Martin, a founding member of the New York-based

theater group. It can become "a car, a bus, a castle, almost anything."

That kind of ingenuity can be seen in the troupe's latest show - "Where Is That Bear?" - now running

weekends through March 7.

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"Where Is That Bear?" is a whimsical, one-hour retrospective of musical skits for 4- to 9-year-olds. There

are 10 tales in all, including one about the world's biggest (and weirdest) sandwich and one about a

disappearing polar bear.

"At times you can hear a pin drop because the kids are listening so intently," says music director Jim

Colleran, a newcomer to the group. "At times you can't hear anything because we've encouraged the kids

to yell."

Audience participation is key to a story about a hapless handyman struggling to fix a leak. To help him get

a handle on the situation the audience is urged to loudly chant "Plumber, plumber, fix my leak!"

"Older children say the lines precisely," says Colleran. "Younger ones just holler. It's hilarious."

IT'S A TWO-WAY STREET

Artistic director and actor Jim Brackett, a 16-year Paper Bag veteran, puts it this way: "It's a dynamic

relationship."

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And one with long-reaching impact. Brackett recently read a letter from a young man who grew up in New

York whose Paper Bag experiences inspired him to study acting in college. "He said he still can remember

the songs," says Brackett.

One reason the Obie Award-winning Paper Bag Players have survived so long is that they take their

audience - even if it is the under-10 set - seriously.

"Children are a wonderfully open audience," says Martin, who writes and directs shows. "When they're

with you, you get so much energy back from them it's very exciting. They're also very demanding. They

won't tolerate boredom - not for a minute."

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/157704p-138485c.html

Photo book of world's kids at play nearly done

Lois McFarland, The Republic

Jan. 24, 2004 12:00 AM

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Skyler Badenoch of Scottsdale has traveled thousands of miles by plane and auto to 18 countries with pen

and paper in hand, toting the bags and assisting a photographer.

The 26-year-old is accompanying Japanese photographer Ayumi Nakanishi, 32, on a project that will

conclude a 100-page photographic book of children of the world at play.

Nakanishi's parents own Bornelund Toys, a global toy company that plans to celebrate the 25th

anniversary of business by publishing the coffee-table book.

Proceeds from sales will go to an orphanage in Cambodia.

Badenoch interviews kids, logging names, and documenting the games and rules they play. He'll be writing

the book's documentary script.

They're now in the final phase of the journey that began at the end of October.

"The pair started 2004 in San Francisco, then headed for Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Belize and Mexico City,

and will finish the project Sunday in the Valley photographing Native American children.

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"What we really try to do is take pictures of children playing in all kinds of environments, whether rich or

poor," Badenoch said while visiting his parents, Patty and Don Badenoch, for the holidays. "We've gone to

day-care centers, orphanages, schools, villages and family homes just to get a flavor.

"We've walked through neighborhoods and we've spent a significant amount of time with families to

document the daily life of their children.

"We have seen kids playing in modern amusement parks, riding roller coasters and playing video games."

Both agree that the most popular sport in the world is soccer played with any kind of round object.

"Sometimes they have traditional Western soccer balls," he said.

"In Morocco, we came across two kids playing in the street with a plastic bottle for a ball. I felt it showed the

spirit of children.

"In Kenya, the kids made balls out of plastic bags bound together with pieces of shredded cloth, which

made them colorful."

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Kids everywhere love to have their pictures taken.

"So we never have to offer any bribes, nor would we ever want to," he said.

The collection of more than 10,000 photographs ranges from infants to 12-year-olds. While visiting an

African village near Bondoukou, where Badenoch served 18 months in the Peace Corps, Nakanishi was

able to get pictures of children carrying babies, which is their system of caring for one another.

Returning to the village where in the Peace Corps he developed a nutrition project and educated people

about HIV "was an emotional, happy and nostalgic experience," Badenoch said.

In Nairobi, they spent a few stressful days in early December because of terrorist threats.

Badenoch said his favorite city is Istanbul, Turkey, because of the thousands of years of history.

He said he also enjoys the people, who he says are "supernice," and the great food and culture.

"I've kept a journal each day," he said, "and I plan to give it to her family as a gift. This has been one

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incredible and personal experience. I'm sure it will continue to change my life."

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/centralphoenix/articles/0124sr-skyler19Z4.html

NEW PRODUCT!

Pop-n-Play Discs Put Young Children in Control

By MICHEL MARRIOTT

Published: January 22, 2004

Americans have taken to the DVD audiovisual format like ducks to water. And with prices of DVD players

dropping below $50, the boxes and the discs are increasingly finding their way into the rooms of even very

young children.

One problem is that many young children find navigating the opening menus of choices on DVD's - Play

Movie, Selected Scenes, Deleted Scenes, Special Features, Languages and Audio, to name just a few -

overwhelming. The result is often a cry for help to a parent.

No more, says Lions Gate's Family Home Entertainment division. Beginning Feb. 17, Lions Gate will release

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a series of DVD's that feature "pop-n-play" technology. What this means, a Lions Gate spokesman

explained, is that once the DVD is placed into the DVD player it automatically begins. Remote controls and

menus are optional.

The first wave of Lions Gate's pop-n-play DVD's will include tales from the PBS animated series "Clifford

the Big Red Dog" and the animated adventures of the Care Bears. Each of the discs, which have been

digitally remastered, will cost $15 and run 88 minutes.

No doubt Clifford would approve of a technology that makes the DVD player more child-friendly. Michel

Marriott

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/22/technology/circuits/22dvdd.html

From exploring to devising, school kids get tech-savvy :India

Express News Service

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New Delhi, January 22: It was all about experimentation. Children took over the role of teachers at the

Jawaharlal Nehru Science Exhibition, 2004.

The exhibition was inaugurated yesterday by Director for Education Rajender Kumar. Students displayed

their working models on the theme ‘‘Science and Technology in the Changing World’’ at the exhibition. It

showcased various categories, including ones on energy, IT and biotechnology.

Students from Army Public School, exhibiting their model at the IT stall, expressed their concern for the

physically disabled. They created a self operating device, which comprised an automatic bed that

responds to a clap. This, they suggest, would make these people more self-reliant.

Worried about a heart attack? The answer to this is simple, says Siddhant from Bharti Public School. His

model used recombinant DNA technology to remove clots from arteries. This model drew large crowds at

the biotechnolgy section of the exhibition.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=74003

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FUTUREKIDS

Children should make the best in schooling age - Kiriella :Sri Lanka

Daily News,23 Jan. 04

Sri Lanka-Minister Kiriella said learning of English had become a priority today in the context of modern

world trends.The Minister said that Sri Lanka in the 1950s boasted about the best system of English

Education in the whole of Asia. The education system was severely disrupted as a result of the '83 riots

and the '89 period of terror.

The child population would inherit a better future and there will be overall social development if parents,

teachers and politicians lead exemplary lives.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2004/01/23/new25.html

Desert Camp: UAE

47 Children From Sharjah City For Humanitarian Services Visit DSF Desert Camp

A group of 47 children from the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services visited the Dubai Shopping Festival

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2004 special DSF Desert Camp.

These children, between the ages of 6 and 14, are mostly from the GCC and Levant regions. Supervisors

from the Scouts led the children on the tour that lasted for 2 hours.

The children were taken on different rides and they played many games at the Desert Camp, and they even

enjoyed themselves on the inflatable castles, mazes, the trampolines and the bucking bull ride. They were

also taken to the ATV section where they took part in a competition there. The tour concluded with a

friendly football match between the supervisors’ team and the scouts and the children who formed a team.

The match was won, 2-1, by the team with the scouts and the visiting children.

The children took rest in the ‘Majlis’ setting and were refreshed with traditional food and drink.

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http://www.deepikaglobal.com/archives/ENG4_sub.asp?newsdate=01/23/2004&ccode=ENG4&hcode=38469