For the kids sake. Community mobilization is the key to better environments for children.

In Latin America and the Caribbean some 117 million children live in poverty according to the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Most live in crowded substandard housing in neighborhoods that lack basic infra-structure. This exposes them to respiratory tract infections and diarrhea--illnesses that along with perinatal conditions are among the top causes of death among children under 5 in the region. The lack of play space formal leisure activities and often even access to schooling exposes poor children to another set of environmental risks. Accidents such as falls traffic accidents electrocution and suffocation kill an estimated 100000 children annually in Brazil alone according to the Brazilian church group Pastoral da Crianqa. Poverty also increases childrens exposure to violence including stray bullets domestic abuse and homicide. (excerpt)