The action that I chose to help bring recognition to my social justice project on child soldiers was to make posters centered on the issue. My posters utilized facts and pictures to hopefully draw the attention of students or others who happen to pass by them. Specifically, I decided to share that at least 15 million children have died directly from the use of child soldiers, and that to get involved one could navigate to “childsoldiers.org.” I chose this action because I felt that writing a letter to a representative of government would likely have little impact; unfortunately the voice of one often falls on deaf ears.
With my posters I hoped that my message would at least catch the attention of one person, and that this sole person might be driven to perhaps research the issue of child soldiers. Perhaps if I caught the attention of a certain right person, this person could possibly contribute his or her own time towards the issue. I cannot know for sure, but I can only hope that I was successful in this manner. Unfortunately many of us today ignore suffering around us and simply focus on our comfortable lives.
Overall, this project has broadened my own thinking by exposing me to the plights of not only child soldiers, but the plights of others associated with the many other social justice issues my peers examined. This exposure helped me to really see that I do live a privileged life and that around the world there are countless others who need help. With the gifts I have been given it is not my responsibility to sit back and relax, but instead to share and spread the comfort and happiness I feel in my life to others.
