Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Kimmie's incredible story


During all this time he did not see a doctor or a nurse: he had no medicine, only a few herbs. He became unconscious, his body seemed lifeless; it was decided that he must be dead.
His grave was being dug to bury him, but his mother refused to believe it. She screamed and started hitting his body and kept hitting him until he became conscious again.
That night the young Kimmie vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to making the world a better place for children.
Kimmie started volunteering at hospitals, which were understaffed, and caring for babies that were very sick and poor. He also got young people to clean up communities littered by debris of war.
At the age of 13, he founded The Voice of the Future Inc. (VOF) that was the first humanitarian organisation run by young people.
At the age of 15, Kimmie founded the Children's Disarmament Campaign. With the support of UNICEF, they lobbied for disarmament of child soldiers and to end civil war.
A year later he started Liberia's first Children Information Services. This helped former child soldiers mix into the community.
At the age of 17, Kimmie wrote a report on training of children by the Liberian Military. As a result, his life was under threat and he had to flee to America for his safety, leaving behind his mother.

In America he graduated from Amherst College. In 2002 Kimmie founded Youth Action International (a network of young people helping children affected by war).
Kimmie has continued working towards protecting children from war. He is the Director of Planning for the International Coalition for Children and Environment. He is on the board of several non-profit organizations.
In 2007 out of 1,000 candidates, Kimmie at the age of 25 won a Brick Award, which acknowledges and supports young social change makers aged 25 years and under.
 
~ Source: Peace News ~
 

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