Hamoodi Mohamad Elsalameen, 14, PALESTINE
Hamoodi lives in a poor village south of Hebron on the West Bank, an area that is occupied by Israel. “One night, Israeli soldiers came to our village in tanks. They gave orders through a loudspeaker, telling everyone to switch their lights on. They shot in all directions, and three people were killed,” says Hamoodi. When he was five and heard about a little boy being killed, Hamoodi said, “I want a gun!” But now he takes part in negotiations for peace. He has Jewish friends, and plays football with them several times a month in Israel. “I like playing football, but we don’t have a pitch in our village. We usually play on a field further away, but when the Israeli soldiers come to arrest someone, they drive us away. They take away all the fun things,” says Hamoodi. Hamoodi represents children in conflict areas and children living under occupation.
PHOTO: KIM NAYLOR
Maria Elena Morales Achahui, 16, PERU Maria Elena left her village in the mountains when she was 12, without telling her parents. She has seven siblings, and she knew that her family was struggling financially. She also thought the teaching in the village school was poor. In the city of Cusco, she became an unpaid maid for her aunt, receiving only pocket money. She had to work so much that she couldn’t go to school. When she complained, her aunt threatened to beat her. Maria Elena missed her family so much, and eventually went home for a visit. When she returned to her aunt’s house, she was thrown out onto the street. Now Maria Elena lives at a home run by an organisation called Caith. She goes to school and is part of a group that works to defend maids’ rights. Maria Elena represents girls who work as maids, often under slave-like conditions, and fights for their rights.
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Brianna Audinett, 15, USA When Brianna was eleven, her mother left her violent father. Brianna and her three brothers became homeless in Los Angeles. They moved around a lot, sometimes staying in motels, but motels don’t allow five people to share a room. Eventually they found a place in a shelter. They lived here for many months, sleeping with other homeless people in bunk beds in a dormitory. They always had to be quiet, and
could hardly ever play. But opposite the shelter was the School on Wheels, which gave Brianna and her brothers somewhere to play, school materials and help with their homework. “When I grow up I want to be a doctor, and help homeless people,” says Brianna. “They don’t have any money, but I’ll help them anyway.” Brianna and her family now have their own home. Brianna represents children who are homeless.
Lisa Bonongwe, 16, ZIMBABWE
When Lisa was four, her father drank and beat her mother almost every night. Sometimes until she was unconscious on the floor. When Lisa cried and shouted at him to stop, he chased her and her big brother out of the house. “We had to sleep on the veranda, even in the middle of winter when it was freezing,” she says. When she was seven, her mother threw her father out and Lisa joined the Girl Child Network girls’ club at her school. They teach girls about their rights. “At the girls’ club, we talk about things that are important to us. Girls aren’t safe at all in Zimbabwe. We are abused and raped, and we have to do all the housework. If there isn’t enough money for everyone, it’s always the boys who are allowed to go to school. I help organise meetings and demonstrations for girls’ rights.” Lisa represents children who fight for girls’ rights.