Our most inspirational webinar yet… on how young people are creating movements aimed at educating and keeping people alive and healthy, in particular with a focus on adolescent cancer. Our special guest panelists included Dr. Leonard Sender of the CHOC Childrens Hospital Oncology Department in Irvine-California and Chairman of the Board at the I’m Too Young for This Cancer Foundation, Pat Pedraja, Cancer survivor and 2007 CNN Heroes Award Winner for his work in starting and running Driving for Donors and Ali Ansary with SeventyK. We look at how these grassroots movements began and the incredible personal stories that change our perspectives of cancer patients from victims to the empowered.
Wonderful and inspiring work. Children the world over can do so much more than we think and we allow them to. They are as competent, creative and whole as the adults in charge of them. Enabling their participation in issues such as health develops self awareness and responsibility that is with them life long.
It may be of some interest to people to know about a 30 year old international organisation/programme which has been mobilising children and young people as health eductors in their communities for over 30 years. We had our birthday party in Number 11 Downing street last November. The site is http://www.child-to-child.org. I have worked with them and been associated with them for 20 years and a couple of years ago set up http://www.youngsolutionsinternational.com. There are lots of free resources on these sites.
What I think is ahead for both of these programmes is to figure out how to get youngsters more involved in spreading life saving preventative messages and there are some diagnostic activities they can do to (eg rapid breathing in infants with acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, maulnutrition etc). It enrages me that there are such simple things that primary school aged children can learn how to do in TEN MINUTES which can save the lives of their brothers ans sisters and neighbours and yet we have simply not managed to get these messages out to the people who need them and in a way that maks sense to them. I feel it is mostly a communications challenge.
I’d LOVE to hear your views and experiences around this. My own site is http://www.clarehanbury.com. Please get in touch.
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