, The International Foundation for
Education and Self-Help (IFESH) announced today that it has received an
additional $1.

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2 million from the World Bank to expand its child soldier
demobilization and reintegration programs in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), Africa. Tragically, nearly
70 percent of the children who manage to escape the conflict return to
fighting because they have had no schooling and have no marketable skills .

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The organization currently operates in
10 African countries: Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti,
Ghana, Guinea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa.5 million per year in funding
from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), it
depends heavily upon charitable contributions from concerned corporations and
caring individuals to expand its reach. The IFESH program in the Congo focuses on training former
child combatants and in providing employment opportunities and counseling for
them, thus reducing the likelihood of their return to conflict.

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The child's identify and status are verified by the local
community; a sign-off by an independent United Nations observer completes the
process. Julie Sullivan, President and CEO of Scottsdale ,
Ariz. "The few schools still standing are ill equipped; they
lack desks, chairs, books or even chalk.
Without programs like this one, which is being run by IFESH with funding from
The World Bank, returning to the fighting may be the child's only means of
avoiding starvation.

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The program provides counseling, education and skills training to the former
soldiers, many of whom have never experienced anything resembling a normal
childhood.
In addition to the Demobilization and Reintegration Program, IFESH also
operates a number of conflict resolution and community development projects in
Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kalemie, Butembo, Kolwezi, Likasi, Nyunzu, and Pweto in
DRC as well as a number of community development and conflict resolution
programs in Nigeria. Reverend Sullivan's work, which earned him the Presidential Medal
of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor , is based on the concept that,
for true sustainable development to occur, principles of self-reliance must be
adhered to and integrated into community projects. Ninety percent of
IFESH employees in those ten country offices are natives of the countries in
which they work.

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"We want to reclaim these children and reintegrate them back into
society," added Ratcliffe. Photo IDs are obtained and paperwork is secured from the
child's ex-commander to confirm that he is no longer an active member of the
rebel forces. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.

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The program
relies heavily on community involvement and consensus building," said Dr. Reverend Sullivan's work, which earned him the Presidential Medal
of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, is based on the concept that,
for true sustainable development to occur, principles of self-reliance must be
adhered to and integrated into community projects.

.

any visual representation of the area.

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The World Bank Awards IFESH an Additional $1.2 Million for Child Soldier Programs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Africa

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This category includes links to maps, photograph sites, live web cams, satellite imagery .

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"Close to 70% of the children who do manage to escape the conflict
will return to the fighting," said Ratcliffe. To that end, IFESH
provides highly respected, grassroots education, healthcare, poverty
reduction, conflict mitigation and community development assistance to
sub-Saharan Africa. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona , USA, IFESH employs
more than 160 people in Africa; most of those employees are natives of the
countries in which they work.1 million.
Julie Sullivan, CEO and President of IFESH.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has one of the largest
populations of child soldiers in the world.

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"
The reintegration process begins with the child being certified as a
non-combatant.

Established in 1981, IFESH, the International Foundation for Education and
Self-Help, continues to uphold the pioneering self-help philosophy and
transcendent message of hope of its founder, the late Reverend Dr.
"The World Bank grant to IFESH to expand its child soldier reintegration
program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo signals the organization's
confidence in IFESH's ability to deliver sustainable development initiatives
on the ground.

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Sullivan.

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-based IFESH.
Sullivan.1800.

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Those programs help counsel
and train children, some as young as eight or nine years old, who were forced
to become child soldiers in order to survive. "Their physical and emotional needs must be
addressed , as must the needs of the communities to which the children are
returning.

For additional information, please visit the IFESH web site at
http://www.

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"There are estimates that place the number of nine to seventeen year old
soldiers at 30,000; other estimates place the number even higher," he said." This high recidivism rate is one of the factors that
led to increased funding by The World Bank, the United Nations and others,
said Sullivan.

IFESH's effort to aid education in sub-Saharan Africa is not limited to
counseling, skills training, and small business funding for the child soldiers
because even where schools do exist, they are ill equipped -- most lack desks,
chairs or even chalk.

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IFESH Gives Child Soldiers a Second Chance at Life in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Africa

Through the intervention of IFESH and its partners, these children , most of
whom have never experienced anything resembling a normal childhood, will
receive extensive counseling, education, and skills training.

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., IFESH, The International
Foundation for Education and Self-Help, has received a $900,000 grant from The
World Bank Group to expand its child soldier repatriation programs in The
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Africa.org, or contact the organization at 480.

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IFESH will use the added revenues in cooperation
with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to promote the demobilization
and socio-economic reintegration of approximately 2,215 child ex-combatants in
the DRC. Estimates place the number of
9-to-12-year -old soldiers in the DRC alone at 30,000. Since 1987, IFESH has sent more than 800 master
teachers to Africa, built more than 200 of its planned 1,000 schools, and sent
more than $30 million in school and medical supplies to several countries.

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"More than 1,000 civilians die
here every single day from hunger and disease and if the child's family
members are among the missing and the dead, the likelihood of his being
re-recruited becomes almost a certainty."
"Skills training and job opportunities are rare or non-existent for such
children," said Dr.
While IFESH receives the majority of its $11.
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, IFESH, employs more than
160 people in Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia,
Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Namibia , Nigeria, and South Africa.

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Unfortunately, unlike food, shelter,
vocational training and jobs in the DRC, there is no shortage of firearms. Leon H.443.

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"The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the largest populations
of child soldiers in the world," said Jeff Ratcliffe, the IFESH Program
Coordinator for northern Katanga Province in the DRC. IFESH's budget for this program has now increased from $35 per
child per year to $300 per child.

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Ratcliffe heads up
IFESH's Demobilization and Reintegration of Former Child Soldiers Program. The expansion brings the World Bank's current IFESH
grant for child soldier repatriation projects in the DRC's Northern Katanga
Province to $2.

.

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The success of
the IFESH program, which provides real world skills for these young men, was a
major contributing factor in the World Bank grant expansion.

Established in 1981, the International Foundation for Education and
Self-Help (IFESH) continues to uphold the pioneering self-help philosophy and
transcendent message of hope of its founder, the late Reverend Leon H.

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IFESH.