1. Children soldiers in Chad By Angela, Sophia, and Sarrah - Flag of Chad

2. Location and Climate Fun Facts Chad stretches for about 1,800 kilometers from its northernmost point to its southern boundary Chad average width is about 800 kilometers. Its area is about 1,284,000 square kilometers. That is about the combined areas of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Location: Chad is located roughly in he middle of Africa. Chad is bordered by Libya to the north, Niger and Nigeria to the west, Sudan to the east, Central African Republic to the south and Cameroon to the southwest. Climate: The climate in Chad varies on the location. In the northern regions of Chad, climate is usually very warm and dry. Other regions are mostly wet have very high humidity. The southern portions of Chad have rainy season that start in May and continue until October. The rainy season begins in June and ends in September.

3. Government of Chad: -The Government of Chad has been ruled and controlled by Idriss Déby and his Patriotic Salvation Movement since December 2, 1990. He has been officially declared leader on February 28, 1991 - An amendment to the Constitution of Chad, passed in 2005, allowed Déby to run for his next term which will be his third. He ran for it and won. -Even though Deby won the elections were commonly criticized. - The Chad Prime Minister is Emmanuel Nadingar. Emmanuel ran in 2010 and his term has not ended since.

4. - The situation of child soldiers relates to child labor in many ways. - Parents sometimes volunteer their children to fight in war or are kidnapped to fight. Child labor is when children are forced to work at a young age. - People use children soldiers to fight in battles or war because children are fast and they will do whatever an adult tells them to do. - Child soldiers could be children that are raised in an area surrounded by war, battles, or just violence, which causes them to grow up as violent person which relates to child labor because this can effect them mentally. - When there was child labor, children were forced to do work, child soldiers are no different. Child soldiers are simply children that is being forced to fight or children that are raised to be soldiers. The Present Situation in Chad And How it Relates to U.S History!

5. Unfortunately, children have been recruited as soldiers long before the Civil War and there may be no way to stop it permanently. But, there are ways to help the children. Some ways you can help these children are by; - Buying clothes for the young soldiers so they would not freeze to death. -Donation money so our government can help these children get a better education, shelters, food, and clothing -Bring awareness so people would know about this epidemic and would donation themselves -Preventing the recruitment of children in to armed conflict by providing the poor communities with the support to resist recruitment -Providing for the treatment of trauma that is experienced by children who have been recruited and their families and communities;

6. Resources - http://www.projectak47.com/getinvolved.aspx -http://www.savethechildren.org.au/component/content/article/89- what-you-can-do/1545-help-stop-the-recruitment-of-child- soldiers.htmlhttp://www.savethechildren.org.au/component/content/article/89- what-you-can-do/1545-help-stop-the-recruitment-of-child- soldiers.html -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Chadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Chad -http://www.mapsofworld.com/chad/society-and- culture/climate.htmlhttp://www.mapsofworld.com/chad/society-and- culture/climate.html -Pictures from Google - http://www.projectak47.com/getinvolved.aspx -http://www.savethechildren.org.au/component/content/article/89- what-you-can-do/1545-help-stop-the-recruitment-of-child- soldiers.htmlhttp://www.savethechildren.org.au/component/content/article/89- what-you-can-do/1545-help-stop-the-recruitment-of-child- soldiers.html -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Chadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Chad -http://www.mapsofworld.com/chad/society-and- culture/climate.htmlhttp://www.mapsofworld.com/chad/society-and- culture/climate.html -Pictures from Google

7. Angela’s Essay: Chad is located roughly in the middle of Africa. Chad is bordered by Libya to the north, Niger and Nigeria to the west, Sudan to the east, Central African Republic to the south and Cameroon to the southwest. The climate in Chad varies on the location. In the northern regions of Chad, climate is usually very warm and dry. Other regions are mostly wet have very high humidity. The southern portions of Chad have rainy season that start in May and continue until October. The rainy season begins in June and ends in September. The location and climate are not the only data recorded on Chad. It also has a very long history too. People have lived in Chad for more than a million years. In 2002, a skull was found by Michel Brunet that is more than 7 million years old. This skull was the oldest discovered anywhere in the world. It was not until the 1st millennium AD when the formation of states began across central Chad. The first known empire in Chad originated in the 9th century AD. This empire was called the “Kanem” Empire and was located northeast of Lake Chad. Toward the end of the 11th century the Sayfawa converted to Islam. In the following century the Sayfawa rulers expanded southward into Kanem. This was where the first capitol was created. The capitols name is Njimi. Skipping a few hundred years; during WWI, Chad was the first French colony to rejoin the Allies (August 26, 1940), after the defeat of France by Germany. The problem with Chad is the fact that they use children as soldiers. They have used children in the military for as long as there has been war. There were two ways they would draft children into the military. First, the parents basically sell their children at birth. These children are then raised by generals and train for war all their life. Or second, the children are kidnapped or taken away from their home. The government usually does this when the child is a little bit older. In this case, the government brain-washes the child, teaches him/her that violence is good and raises him/her on the battlefield. These children can literally put together a gun in 1 minute or shoot a target from about 20 feet away at age 10. These children are also trained all their life and some even die during training. Chad’s children obviously don’t have a long life span. Those that do survive are usually either shell-shocked or so violent that they kill everyone they see. The government uses these children in war because they are small and very easy to brain-wash at a very young age. Chad is a country with many problems. The U.N (United Nations) are trying to stop children from being drafted into war. Even though we have a lot of proof why drafting children into war is bad, it might be very hard to convince Chad’s government to stop. It might be hard to convince the Chad’s government because it is true that children are small and much easier to handle than adults. Hopefully, in the future children will be free of labor and war.