by Amanda Cherpak

I'm a grade 10 student at Riverview Rural High School. Last summer I was among the more than 150 youth from across Canada who gathered in Kemptville, Ont., to put child poverty on trial. The verdict we reached is worthy of note: Guilty on all charges.

We were attending a national youth conference organized by the Students Commission and TG Magazine. Together, we developed the Sharing Resources 2000 project. Our goal is to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000.

We do not wish to single out under-privileged children but to provide everyone with equal opportunities for security, honour, education and equality. We believe that child poverty is not limited to financial status but also includes poverty of the mind and of the body, caused by neglect, abuse, malnutrition, lack of attention, and lack of opportunity.

During the conference we compiled a national youth report, including mission statements, recommendations, and project ideas. We presented our report at Parliament Hill for the media and the Speaker of the House.

I am returning to the next conference to be held in Banff, Alta., Feb 8 to 14. I am returning to the conference as a facilitator, helping to educate another 150 Canadian youth on the issue. Nova Scotia will also be represented by four delegates from Riverview High School: Nafay Choudhury, Aja Joshi, Scott Murchison, and Sravani Prayaga.

Child poverty is rapidly growing in our country, with a rise of 68 per cent between 1985 and 1995 in the number of children in families needing social assistance. It is now estimated that it would take $7.1 billion to lift all Canadian children out of poverty. Something must be done before these numbers grow.

During this series of workshops, we hope to involve more than 2000 youth, raising their awareness and education of child poverty. Although this would only by a small percentage of the population in a country of 80 million, we believe we can make a difference.

It is time that youth took responsibility for issues concerning other young people.