Emmanuel Jal is a musician and activist who was born in South Sudan. Just like so many other kids,
he was forced to be a child soldier. His dad went to fight in the South Sudan civil war and his mom
was killed by soldiers when he was around 7. Along with thousands of children, he traveled to
Ethiopia to find a school but on their way, the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) kidnapped
and took several kids to a military training camp disguised as a school to trick authorities. Jal was taught to fight, and after a few years, he escaped. Later on, he was adopted by a British aid worker. Today, Jal strives to end the use of child soldiers along with ending poverty and controlling arms through working with charities and expressing these issues in his music. He wrote a book about his experiences about being a child soldier called War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story. Learn more about
his book at: http://us.macmillan.com/warchild/emmanueljal
he was forced to be a child soldier. His dad went to fight in the South Sudan civil war and his mom
was killed by soldiers when he was around 7. Along with thousands of children, he traveled to
Ethiopia to find a school but on their way, the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) kidnapped
and took several kids to a military training camp disguised as a school to trick authorities. Jal was taught to fight, and after a few years, he escaped. Later on, he was adopted by a British aid worker. Today, Jal strives to end the use of child soldiers along with ending poverty and controlling arms through working with charities and expressing these issues in his music. He wrote a book about his experiences about being a child soldier called War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story. Learn more about
his book at: http://us.macmillan.com/warchild/emmanueljal
Ishmael Beah was just a 12 year old boy when a civil war broke out in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. Both his parents and two brothers were killed and he was forced to fight in the war. After two years of fighting, UNICEF removed him from the army and helped him rebuild his life in a home in Freetown. He moved to the United States and went to high school and and college. Beah is now a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In 2009, Beah created his own foundation, The Ishmael Beah Foundation, which aims to place the children affected by violence back into society comfortably. Along with all these amazing and beneficial accomplishments, Beah has written a book called A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, about his life in war and his struggles rebuilding his life. Check it out here: http://www.alongwaygone.com/
Ben Keesey is an activist and former CEO of Invisible Children. Keesey has visited many war torn countries and has spoken to lots of child soldiers. Along with others at Invisible Children, he works
to stop the use and abuse of child soldiers. Their actions at Invisible Children are aimed at the
LRA’s (Lord’s Resistance Army) leader Joseph Kony and his guerilla army. The LRA abducts,
abuses, and kills people, mainly children to use as soldiers. These actions strike fear into the
people of central Africa. In 2012, Keesey and Invisible Children created a film called Kony 2012 to inform people about Kony’s actions. It was a hit, within 6 days, the short film had over 100 million views.
to stop the use and abuse of child soldiers. Their actions at Invisible Children are aimed at the
LRA’s (Lord’s Resistance Army) leader Joseph Kony and his guerilla army. The LRA abducts,
abuses, and kills people, mainly children to use as soldiers. These actions strike fear into the
people of central Africa. In 2012, Keesey and Invisible Children created a film called Kony 2012 to inform people about Kony’s actions. It was a hit, within 6 days, the short film had over 100 million views.