India’s Stolen Children

Official figures show that 44,000 children disappear each year in India. Some are eventually recovered, but one in four remain untraced. Yet, with many parents reporting that police are reluctant to register cases or investigate and other parents complicit in the sale of their own children, the true figure is believed to be much higher – with some estimates of up to a million children every year.

A new report by India’s human rights commission says that, while some of the children are killed almost immediately, others are ‘working as cheap forced labour in illegal factories/establishments/homes, exploited as sex slaves or forced into the child porn industry, as camel jockeys in the Gulf countries, as child beggars in begging rackets, as victims of illegal adoptions or forced marriages, or perhaps worse than any of these as victims of organ trade and even grotesque cannibalism.’

To read full article please go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/07/india.humantrafficking?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

Kara Bobroff, New Mexico, United States

Kara Bobroff, who is from the Navajo/Sioux Nation, has experienced firsthand how some schools fail Native American children. She is a former principal of a middle school on a reservation as well as assistant principal of a California Distinguished school in San Rafael, California and originally a student, a teacher, and assistant principal in the Albuquerque Public School district. Nationwide, the high school drop out rate for Native American students is twice the national average and in New Mexico, Native American students score lower than any other ethnic group on standardized tests. In particular, the public schools in the Albuquerque area, a district of 80,000 students that includes approximately 5,000 Indian students, are in need of culturally appropriate programs to help its growing Native American population.

Kara decided to do something to help Native American students achieve success in the classroom. She worked to create a small 6-12 grade charter school, the Native American Community Academy, that uses culturally-appropriate programs that focus on the success of the Native American population. The Native American Community Academy is one of the first urban schools dedicated to the achievement of Native American students.

For more information please visit www.nacaschool.org

Shine Global Fall Auction Preview

Shine will be teaming up with the online auction dynamo, Charity Folks, to offer some fabulous auction prizes this fall. The auction will start on October 1 and will end on October 14 on CharityFolks.com. Shine is currently compiling a list of exciting and unique experiences to offer as part of the auction this fall. Some items include a week-long stay in the Hamptons, tickets to your favorite talk shows, once-in-a-lifetime entertainment experiences for kids, and much MORE! Please visit charityfolks.com on October 1 to begin bidding!