Hey guys!
I’m Marcus Young the founder of Just Projects International, which is the mother ship for Project: AK47. Thanks again to everyone who has donated to our cause and stays connected with our mission. Every heart connected and every dollar donated means the world to a child at risk around the world.
We are in the midst of some extremely exciting transition and movement in our operations. With new projects in the Philippines and Mexico, we are seeing relational connections bring children without hope and no future to our doorstep. We’ve been handed opportunity after opportunity to be a part of what we believe is an extremely valuable contribution for our world.
In Burma, just weeks ago, the army brought 65 child soldiers to our door, of which we only had the resources to care for 25 of them. Our homes in Burma are still under extreme pressure, as war in some parts of the country still seems imminent. The government has even been pressuring usto re-conscript children from the homes, leaving our staff under a lot of pressure at the moment. All of our projects exist with permission from local government entities, but most of them are extremely sensitive in nature and have to operate with very little public exposure.
In the Philippines, several former child soldiers (now adults) recently asked us to partner with them in a child rescue endeavor to the army with whom they were once involved. We’re extremely excited about launching the partnership officially in May 2010. We intend to mentor and educate children in the Philippines that have been part of the ongoing conflict in the Muslim clan regions. We are coming in to serve people that have suffered through intense cycles of injustice for years. Our goal is not to point fingers or find blame, but rather to assist children who want an opportunity to make their people proud in non-aggressive ways.
In Mexico… Our team has just recently returned, where we scouted our strategy and the feasibility of rescuing children recruited into the drug cartel wars. We are strategizing towards creating a safe house for young girls who have been trained as assassins, as well as children recruited for drug trafficking.
There’s a lot to be involved with and excited about. Any financial help from our Project: AK-47 community to help us rescue these children is much appreciated and warmly welcomed. https://www.projectak47.com/store/donate.aspx
On a final note, we had a staff retreat in Tennessee during the big ice/snow storm over the weekend. We had a blast being snowed in to a cabin in the woods together. Our time was simply fantastic and we walked away very encouraged as a community. We have been working hard to serve all of you and keep you connected to the incredible privilege of rescuing children from armed conflict. Stay tuned to our blog as we ramp up to keep you better informed on how you can engage and grow with us in 2010!
Video Soundtrack: “Put Your Hands Up.” By: Anthony Skinner. http://anthonyskinner.wordpress.com/
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We’re keeping you updated through twitter on the very latest news in our organization and child trafficking at large @ http://www.twitter.com/projectak47