Sixth grader, Christopher Evans will be a keynote speaker at the United Nations Child's Rights in Action Conference in France August 2019. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the UN Child Rights Convention’s (UNCRC) theme will focus on, "Children as Human Rights Defenders". Christopher was nominated as a keynote presenter for his work as a child advocate.
Christopher’s keynote presentation is called “The Gift of Persistence”. He will share the story of a young boy he met in Haiti named, Cadeau. Cadeau means gift in French. Cadeau and his mother lived in a village that was built upon a swamp that was being used as the city garbage dump. Because of their lack of basic human needs, his mother and baby sister both died while she was giving birth. Cadeau now lives with other family members in a concrete home built through the fundraising efforts inspired by Christopher’s work.
“For me, this all started when I was in first grade. My mom’s third grade class started a school partnership with the international relief organization, Food for the Poor. That led her to take a trip to Haiti where she captured photos and stories that she then shared with me. Immediately, I said, ‘Mommy, I want to help the children in Haiti.’ After all, how could I be happy when those children were so sad?” Christopher explained.
Christopher has also shared his passion for UN Global Goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, as he worked with classmates at North Broward Prep to engineer a solar powered water filtration system, which they presented at the fifth grade Global Innovator Fair. He has fundraised through lemonade stands, speaking engagements, a web page on which tax-deductible donations can be made (www.FoodForthePoor.com/christopher), social media @URNeverTooYoung, and an annual “Hope Walk” which he began hosting in 2016. He partners with the international relief organization, Food for the Poor, to which he donates all funds.
Student volunteer service is an important learning component and furthers North Broward Preparatory School’s mission to engage students in real-life problem solving and cooperative learning and to promote civic responsibility. Meaningful community service allows students to become responsible citizens, exercise leadership, create a sense of community pride, develop their own understanding of social justice, and draw a deeper awareness of needs within a community.
In his speech, Christopher will also discuss how he overcame challenges as a young human rights activist and philanthropist and hopes to inspire others through his message.