St. Johns Final Report Summary
1999
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Here's a quick overview of the Final Report
from SR2000 conference from St. John's Newfoundland. Each section is
taken from various pages of the report, from various teams. Remember
that at each conference the delegates are broken up into various
teams where they discuss various issues. That's why in the following
you will view various opinions from different teams/team members.
Contact your nearest SC office to receive the full version of the
report.
![Introduction](images/intro.gif)
Hi, my name is Dawn, and I am from
Conception Bay South, in Newfoundland. I am here today to
give you my personal statement about child poverty. First, I
would like to start off by saying that poverty is not
necessarily about tattered clothing and starving children.
Poverty is about missed opportunities. Children that don't
get a chance to choose where they want to go with their
lives miss out on activities because of their social status,
because they don't fit in well enough, or because they have
extremely low self-esteem. These things need to be changed
&--; and can be!
Poverty is not necessarily
about
tattered clothing and
starving
children. Poverty is
about
missed
opportunities.
|
Dawn spoke on the panel,
"What is Child Poverty", at the Sharing Resources conference
in St. John's. Here's what she had to
say.
|
During my lifetime, I have come across many
barriers. My mother had me at an early age and had quit high school.
She always found a way to blame me for this and for other things that
she thought she couldn't do because I was tying her down! My mother
soon became very scarce in my life because she had to work two jobs
just to make ends meet for the both of us. As I grew older, I began
to hate my mother because she couldn't give me the things I wanted. I
couldn't handle the teasing and name-calling I received at school
because I didn't look right, or didn't have all the things everyone
else had. I began hanging
This is an overview of what the youth
delegates think about children in
poverty.
|
![Group picture](images/stjimage1.gif)
|
- families can build bonds between children
and their issues with security and love.
- in too many cases, only money leads to
power and respect, and this has to be changed.
- everyone has potential, that if developed,
could create opportunities that lead to less poverty.
- the government has the money and power to
create a solution for poverty, but its ability to do this is
sometimes overcome by greed.
- education leads to knowledge and a sense of
pride which, in turn, leads to accomplishment; however, if we
don't have a means to educate people, this becomes
complicated.
- no child in Canada should have to go
hungry.
- all Canadians should be equal; all children
should have same opportunities.
- equal opportunities should be created
nation-wide; no one should leave their families because of the
lack of local jobs.
- We, as people that live in Canada, should
talk about the issue of child poverty.
- we need to share our resources.
- people need to empathize with and not just
acknowledge the problems of poverty.
- the community has the power to eliminate
child poverty.
- poverty is everyone's
responsibility.
- child poverty happens when businesses and
governments put profits and popularity ahead of the interests of
the most vulnerable members of society.
- child poverty is part and parcel of the
larger issue of social inequality.
- child poverty, and poverty in general, is
the result of a lack of any one of the following essential human
needs: food, shelter, clothing, self-esteem and love.
- child poverty is a vicious cycle,
perpetuated by vested economic interests.
- the only responsibility children should
have to worry about is just being kids.
- all children should have a stable, safe and
secure environment.
- all children should have a role model to
look up to.
- poverty is a result of many factors;
however, through education and awareness, decreasing poverty will
become our nation's responsibility.
- youth should be united in their fight
against child poverty.
- the first step in eliminating child poverty
is educating youth.
- youth should work together and become more
accepting of each other to break down barriers; youth should
become aware that they have the power to eliminate the differences
between them.
- youth poverty isn't just about economics,
but is also about missed opportunities which limit the quality of
life.
During
the conference the youth in various teams) discuss what they believed
children needed to survive. To live a healthy life. These are
examples of what team 4, team 7 and team 8 thought.
- love, respect, physical and mental
strength, morals + values,
- positive comments and
friends.
- love and nourishment.
- physical and emotional
safety.
- support from family, adults, and
peers.
- quality educational
opportunities.
- people and social
skills.
- time, trust, and understanding
from those around them.
|
![Team 8](images/stjimage8.gif) ![Team 8](images/stjteam8.gif)
|
![Team 4](images/stjteam4.gif) ![Team4](images/stjiteam4.gif)
|
- basic necessities of life such as
food, shelter, clothing and water in order to
survive.
- relationships with their family
and friends to be able to fulfill their need for
attention and to be shown that they are
loved.
- dreams and goals to work towards
so that they have a chance to express themselves and
display their individuality.
- to be recognized for their efforts
through encouragement, appreciation and rewards to make
them realize they are worth something.
|
- lots of attention and respect
because they too have important things that have to be
heard.
- support and encouragement from
their families and communities in order to build a strong
self image, self-esteem and confidence.
- a healthy and safe
environment.
- the opportunity to build and
improve their identities.
- mentors and role models who will
guide and set good examples for them.
- a good education to hope for a
brighter future.
|
![Team 7](images/stjimage7.gif) ![Team 7](images/stjteam7.gif)
|
![Messages and Tools](images/stjtools.gif)
This
video storyboard is an example of one of the many projects the youth
delegates come up with during the conference. This video was actually
made and was used in the SR2000 1999 video (later used in presenting
workshops at schools).
"Neglect"
![Neglect Storyboard](images/stjtools2.gif)
Sketch of Video
Description of
Video
A mother, father and child (age seven) are
walking towards their house, when the child pulls a piece of paper
from her backpack, looking at her parents hopefully. The parents shoo
the child away and walk inside. The child throws the paper on the
ground and proceeds to stomp on it (black and white).
Description of
Audio
The child sits, looking quite dejected, and
begins to cry (black and white).