Each week’s Christmas Bowl Appeal donations go to a different cause and this week we are raising money to help pay the salary of a community organiser so they can rescue child soldiers in Burma. Please read through the material below for more information.

Giving the children of Burma their lives back

For over a decade, children in Burma (Myanmar) have been recruited to participate in a violent armed conflict between the state and numerous militarised ethnic groups. Though Burma recently signed a treaty forbidding the use of children in the army, there are still currently more than 5,000 child soldiers in the country being used by the army and rebel groups. ~ See the rest of this story by clicking this link – www.actforpeace.org.au/Christmas-Bowl/About/Stories/Burma – and you can watch the video below.

The difference your gifts to the Christmas Bowl are making:

Over the past 18 months, nearly 300 children have been released from the army. Getting children out of the army or rebel groups means they have a chance to go back to school, where they can get an education, increase their job prospects and become part of a brighter future for Burma.

Key facts:

Despite the release of hundreds of children from the army, boys are still being illegally recruited from poor families. Supporting the work of community organisers is paramount to help put an end to that practice.

$148 is enough to pay the salary of a community organiser for a month so they can rescue child-soldiers in Burma.

The Christmas Bowl represents churches working together through Act For Peace, the aid arm of the National Council of Churches.