Ukrainian Youth Find Out About Their Human Rights

Over the next year, approximately 1,500 lost or runaway children between the ages of 3 and 18 will spend up to three months at the Kiev City Orphanage for Youth and Teenagers. It was a group of these young people that Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) addressed on the importance of human rights.

YHRI President, Mary Shuttleworth, showed the children an award-winning human rights music DVD, UNITED, which illustrates how one youth, with the support of other children, uses human rights awareness to prevail over a playground bully and even gain his friendship and support. UNITED was followed by a presentation of public service announcements (PSAs) illustrating the Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The PSAs portray in very personal terms the human rights issues facing youth, such as attempts to cheat them of the pay for the work they do, the injustice caused by false accusations and the existence even today of child slavery.

The director of the orphanage, which helps reunite lost and runaway children with their parents, welcomed Youth for Human Rights International’s program and their gift of a set of the DVDs. She commented that the program is a means to help the youth increase their self-esteem and take responsibility for the issues that led to their being in her facility.