Activities in Canada

A few projects undertaken by our volunteers

• A Silent but Eloquent Flashmob!

At the Jean-Talon Market, during the World Day against Child Labour on June 12th, a flash mob on hazardous child labor drew the attention of passers. Students from the Lindsay Place High School performed throughout the day. A young man with a hat and a cigar symbolized their employer, while the other children represented a vulnerable and exploitable workforce. Many thanks to our young volunteers for their dedication and talent: Nicholas Simatos-Arsenault, Mikhael Neelin, Savanna Ritondo, Sabrina Mosquera-Cardi, Mambo Alina Alexandra Lyschyk and animator, Suzanne Simatos! Details>>>

• The Children Auction :

Lisa Noto and fellow artists successfully organized a silent auction to the benefit of the CCI. The public came in large number to the varnishing, which was held on Wednesday June 22nd from 17h to 21h. Thank you to the artists who exhibited their works: Lisa Noto, Peggy Fillion, Isabelle Anguita, Lilison, Donyo Bliss, Helen Vanier and Niko, and Steve Paquet who hosted the evening with his musical talent! Details>>>

• A Concert for Charity :

On May 22nd, Nicolas Ellis and his musician friends offered a charity concert to the population of Chicoutimi in order to support the CCI’s projects. A crowd of 111 people attended this concert rich in diversity, and were sensitized to CCI’s mission. Thank you to the organizers and spectators who made this event a success. Watch the May 19th TV interview with Nicolas, the leader of this project! Read the article dedicated to the event in Le Progrès!

• Hunting Can Pull Tabs :

Several hundred elementary school students from the Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Board were sensitized to the situation of children around the world by gathering nearly 5 million small pull tabs between 2009 and 2011. A significant amount of money was raised in order to support the mission of CCI. A symbolic check was presented to Roxana Robin during the Youth Millennium Summit at the Saint-Laurent High School. Many thanks for this act of solidarity and commitment!

• A benefit performance:

Secondary IV students from Charles-Gravel High School in Saguenay (International education program), Simon Fortier and his friends (Maria, Blanche, Julie and Gabrielle) are hard at work creating a fund-raising show whose proceeds will go to the CCI. The show, which will help raise awareness on child labour, will be presented on February 10th, 2011.

• Raising awareness among children:

Philippe Blackburn and three of his friends, all students from Charles-Gravel High School in Saguenay, are currently working on a project to raise awareness on child labour. Using resources made available to them by the CCI, they are organizing a conference that will be given to groups of elementary-level students. At the end of the conference, the children will be invited to participate in the Literary contest organized by the CCI, by submitting a text or a drawing following the theme : " The future of the world is its children... "

• An album made by and for the children:

Students of the Tourterelle School in Brossard are currently recording an album whose general theme is childhood, which will feature a total of 144 students. The project is integrated to the school curriculum, and the teachers are educating the children on a number of issues, such as cultural diversity, poverty, child labour and children’s rights. Each group of children will sing at least one song on the album. Many volunteers are implicated in this project, which is being led by the school principal, Mr. Jean-Pierre Picard, and involves an entire community in the fight for children’s rights. The children will be donating a part of their profits to help finance educational programs benefiting children in India. See the Video of a rehearsal from students of Group B »»

• A novel on child labour:

In 2007, when she was a 12th grade student in the International Education Program, Maryline Busque-Dubois chose to write a novel for her Personal Project. Outraged by the injustices suffered by children, she took inspiration from the CCI’s mission and various projects to pen a novel on child labour. She sold copies of her book Mine de rien to family members and friends, and donated the profits to the CCI, in order to help finance projects benefiting former child workers freed from exploitation, both in India and Thailand.

• A pyjama party at school:

For many years, Suzanne Simatos and students from the John Rennie High School in Montreal have been involved with the CCI. Each year, a special event gets everybody in a good mood: the Pyjama Party! For two dollars, children get to go to school wearing their PJ’s. Without a doubt, this fund-raising event is a lot of fun for all the children who participate!

• Solidarity bracelets

Following two conferences on child labour that were held in their school in February 2010, students from the Magdeleine school in La Prairie took the initiative to sell bracelets of their own making for the benefit of the CCI, thereby helping to finance its many projects. A total of 131 students participated in this activity, under the guidance of Lyne Bowes, a teacher at the school, and the continuous support of their community leader and spiritual advisor, Réal Houde.

• A quilt:

In May 2010, Sara Ravel Witkowski organized a «mother/daughter» event within her art group and enlisted the help of the Wings of Montréal. The participants were made aware of the plight of young girls that fall victim to the sex trade during the screening of the film BAS! Beyond the Redlight! Each of the participants paid a symbolic fee for the screening. To follow up on that evening, they got together again, at which time every «mother/daughter » team designed a square of fabric, and all the pieces were stitched together to create a unique quilt. The quilt was then put up for auction on eBay, and the profits were donated to the CCI to be used towards helping young girls that were freed from the sex trade.

• A Fair Trade store:

Ms. Lyne Leblanc manages Saint-Laurent High School, in Montreal. For several years now, the students of this school have been running a Fair Trade store with the help of their teachers. The students donate their time to sell products, and all profits are donated to non-profit organizations. The CCI is among those organizations that benefit from the support of Saint-Laurent High School and its students.

• Donations of time, work and professional advice

Throughout the year, we can count on the help of several specialized volunteers, without whom many of the activities and communications of the CCI would not be possible. The work of graphic artists like Valéria Vega, Barbara Sans, Benjamin Malassingne and Bao Phan is very much appreciated as it allows us to add a professional touch to our communication tools. The help of IT specialists such as Jean-Frédéric Schmitt, Patrick Demonguères and Benjamin Malassingne allows us to make the most of available technology. Finally, the translation and proofreading work of people like Hélène Masson, Caroline Audet, Murielle Lolot, Mélanie Jodoin and Marie Lemire is equally essential to conducting our activities in both official languages.

We would like to thank all of our volunteers, who choose to give their time to help support, each in his or her own way, the fight against the exploitation of children!

And what about you? What are your talents? Do you have original ideas? What are the projects that you would like to work on? If you start a project, let us know. We will help promote it!

School Projects

Projects that Change Lives

CCI's director-general and founder, Roxana Robin, gives 20 minutes to one-and-a-half-hour talks to students about child slavery. A passionate speaker, Roxana Robin knows how to reach out to the students and motivate them to get involved.

CCI believes that raising awareness and empathy, however, is simply not enough. People need to be persuaded to take action, and they need to have projects they believe in as well as the means to make things happen. CCI's goal is to relate to the students on a personal level and encourage them to break free from traditional behaviours of indifference. And hopefully they will examine their own values and get involved on behalf of other children.

CCI's fundraising activities, designed to aid exploited children, also show students how far from helpless they actually are. By making changes in their own lives and committing to a humanitarian cause, they have the power to positively impact and change the lives of others.

During the last two years, Roxana Robin's conferences have reached some 1,000 students in eight elementary and high schools in Quebec.

Her conferences are always divided into two parts. The first focuses on raising awareness. Students learn about the different forms of child exploitation, such as child weavers in India , child servants in the Dominican Republic , and child soldiers in Mozambique , etc.

The second part focuses on responsibility-our responsibility as a nation and as individuals to combat child labour. The students learn about the different international conventions that define the rights of children and outline our responsibilities in the fight against child labour ( Convention on the Rights of the Child by the UN , the International Labour Organization's C-182-Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention , 1999 ), as well as Canada 's leading role in the creation of these conventions. The students are made aware of the importance of individual acts and the power of involvement.

How can students get involved?

Here are a few examples of activities that have already taken place in different schools to raise money for CCI:

Your students (whether they are in elementary school, high school, college or university) can also get involved to promote and contribute to CCI's cause.

For more Information

Please note that CCI conferences each cost 150 $. If your school is located more than 200 km from Montreal , you will also be required to cover the costs of housing the speaker for one night.

For more information on CCI’s School Projects, please call Children’s Care International at (514) 871-8088, or write us at:
info@aipe-cci.org

Raising Awareness

• Raising public awareness on child labour and bonded slavery

It is important that everyone become aware of the existence of these horrors and feel personally called upon to act. There are several ways to get involved, and CCI can give you the means to do so. That is why CCI regularly organizes conferences and activities to raise awareness on child slavery and exploitation, mainly in high schools but also for adults in the greater Montreal area, Ottawa and soon in the United States.

Interested in organizing a conference on child slavery and exploitation?

Contact us!