Mission Possible:
Helping Children
Around the World
by Patrick Schoof
Youth Advocate Program (YAP) International
provides voice and visibility to the most vulnerable children
worldwide, and has for the past decade. Its formal mission
is to "promote
and protect the rights and well-being of the world's youth,
giving particular attention to children victimized by conflict,
exploitation, and state and personal violence".
Specifically, it focuses on issues such as preventing and
eliminating the worst forms of child labor, the use of children
in armed conflict, commercial sexual exploitation of children,
and incarceration of children as adults. YAP International
also works to protect and ensure rights and services for children
affected by war, exploitation, homelessness, statelessness,
discrimination, HIV/AIDS, and for refugee and internally-displaced
children.
In order to develop sound strategies and policy, YAP International
serves on numerous national and international child rights
and protection committees. Its research work combined with
its committee and advocacy work, continually improves the ability
of the organization to make a more meaningful contribution
to awareness campaigns, education programs, training, and policy
development.
YAP International's broad-based
knowledge on a wide range of atrocities facing children today,
and its ability to bring to the table informed perspective
and insight to aid children, is one of its greatest strengths. It
is also the reason why the organization has been asked to
provide consultation to a wide range of constituencies from
government, to teachers, to reporters, to talk shows.
In its ten year history, the organization has produced nine
books, numerous resources papers, a new resource website, a
series of curriculum modules, and is in the process of gathering
research for several new publications and developing new projects
with international partners. Youth Advocate Program International
helps to ensure the public, policy-makers, and media are educated
on these issues so these issues will move to center stage where
long-term, positive change can occur. Therefore, its organization's
work is critical in preventing these atrocities; in protecting
children currently affected and those at-risk; and, in ensuring
victimization, exploitation, and violence does not extend to
future generations.
You can make a difference by becoming more informed, and informing
those around you, in this case, educators, administrators,
and students. YAP International even has the tools to make
this easy at our website: www.yapi.org.
Patrick Schoof is the Executive Director of YAP International,
and has worked on issues affecting children and youth for
twenty years. He advises policy-makers and the media, and
serves on a dozen national and international child rights
and protection committees.
