Child Soldier with Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikwanine

Hosted by Sean Wilson

In Person Big Ideas History

Tuesday

Oct , 2015

12:00pm

Eastern

Christ Church Cathedral

414 Sparks St. • Ottawa

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Child Soldier with Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikwanine

… Child Soldier conveys Michel's horrific experience with sensitivity, insight, and skill … also providing readers with relevant information about the geography and history of the country.

Quill & Quire, Starred Review, July 2015

“If you ever think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito…”

Michel Chikwanine was five years old when he was abducted from his schoolyard soccer game in the Democratic Republic of Congo and forced to become a soldier for a brutal rebel militia. Against the odds, he managed to escape and find his way back to his family, but he was never the same again.

After immigrating to Canada, Michel was encouraged by a teacher to share what happened to him in order to raise awareness about child soldiers around the world, and this book is part of that effort.

Told in the first person and presented in a graphic novel format, Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War presents the gripping story of Michel’s experience. A moving and unsettling account, as told by writers Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikawanine and artist Claudia Dávila.

Join us for a session on a topic sure to engage young and old on global social justice, conflict, children’s rights and even bullying.

The Authors

Jessica Dee Humphreys

Jessica Dee Humphreys writes books about things that matter to young people (and grown-ups). Whenever she meets someone with a really important story to share, she wants to help them tell it. Often, they will write a book together! This has led to many exciting projects, including her first book specifically for children, Child Soldier: How Boys and Girls Are Used in War. This is her second book about child soldiers, and she really hopes that the leaders of tomorrow who read it will ensure there is no need for another. Jessica prefers to be called Jessie, which is what all her favorite adults called her when she was a kid. Jessie grew up reading. She read her first book (Oscar Otter) when she was three years old. From then on, Jessie read all the time. She read all through school, she read all through university, she read while walking to work, she read in the shower. She read new books and classic books, funny books and sweet books, strange books and beautiful books. Jessie read her favorite books over and over again. She has read all of the Anne of Green Gables books dozens of times (her most beloved is Anne of the Island). And then she started writing. Jessie lives with her husband and their little boy in a big city most of the time. But sometimes they live on a tiny island near the woods, where Jessie rereads To Kill a Mockingbird every summer, lying in a hammock.

Michel Chikwanine

Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Michel Chikwanine has experienced civil war, political upheaval and poverty, emerging as an individual wise beyond his years. Forced by these circumstances to leave his home country at the age of 11 as a refugee, Michel has since traveled to 35 African countries, witnessing firsthand the problems faced by the developing world, but also the beauty of the communities and people who live there. Much of his childhood was ravaged by the death and decay of a war that claimed the lives of 5.8 million people — his father included — and forced him to be a child soldier. Michel now inspires people to believe in their ability to make a difference and leaves audiences with a new perspective on life, a sense of hope through social responsibility and a desire for change. Today, Michel is an accomplished motivational speaker and the co-author of Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War. Michel addresses audiences across North America and has spoken to over 100 000 people. He has shared the stage with such distinguished speakers as Free The Children founders Craig and Marc Kielburger, Dr. Jane Goodall, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Canadian prime minister Paul Martin, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, former U.S. vice president Al Gore, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr., Nobel Peace Prize laureate Betty Williams, actress Mia Farrow and musician K'naan, just to name a few. He was also a speaker on Oprah's “O Ambassadors Roots of Action” speaking tour, largely reaching students at resource-poor schools. By sharing his personal story, Michel has captured the attention of national media, including CBC, CTV and major daily newspapers, as he inspires people to believe in their ability to create change.