Knowing the dark realities of life in a rebel army, it’s hard to imagine anyone actually choosing that path. In truth however, a portion of the children, teens and young adults we work with are not sold, forcibly taken or threatened – they chose to become soldiers... Without access to education, they know the options for their future are extremely limited and to an innocent mind that can’t yet grasp the reality of war, learning to shoot guns sounds like fun.
Read MoreIt's amazing what can come out of a life of oppression.
Emmanuel Jal, a young man from South Sudan, grew up in a life that many of us cannot imagine. At 7, he was forced to become a child solider to fight in the South Sudan civil war. He says that one of his most haunting memories is from when he was tempted to eat one of his fellow soldiers for survival.
Read MoreRecently, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on a harrowing incident in the Windy City. A witness shared the following account:
“I had just dropped off a customer on 81st and Saginaw. She was about two houses from the corner. I let her out and started to leave. As I got to the corner of 82nd Street, there was a young boy in the street. He went in his waistband and pulled out this large pistol and he started shooting at this car. It was a blue vehicle and there was one person in it. The driver was about to turn onto Saginaw when the young boy started shooting. [The motorist] sped up and continued his turn and kept on going down the street. The young boy didn’t hit him and didn’t seem to hit anything. There was a group of one adult and six children of various ages on the sidewalk walking down Saginaw. None of them appeared to be hit. Then the boy, after he had finished firing, ran east on 82nd Street. He got to the next street and another young man met him and took the gun. The young man who met him ran off. The young boy got on a bicycle and rode away.”
Read MoreMeet Squirrel. He came to Project AK-47 when he was 12 years old trying to escape a bloody history with a drug cartel. His head was slightly large and he had buck teeth, so the nickname “Squirrel” stuck. Squirrel became part of our rehab program because our PAK-47 community (you) gave us the funds.
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