Matthew Oostvogels

Akiki's Journey and the Rights of the Child Matthew Oostvogels

Teach Peace Development, Inc. is a Canadian not-for-profit organization. Our beliefs are that no child should be used as a weapon of war and that targeted education can break this cycle. By educating those in direct contact with children-teachers-we can help build knowledge and practice that will contribute to the prevention of the use of child soldiers globally.




Akiki's Journey and the Rights of the Child was created in pursuit of providing educational resources for African teachers and their students to bring awareness to these risks and realities. The following fictional story highlights Akiki's journey of recruitment, becoming a child solider in Uganda, and his rehabilitation. The story is underscored by themes of friendship, hope and belonging. Our vision is that this book can be used across cultures and contexts to bring awareness for those children most at risk.




"All proceeds from this book will go towards future professional development training and materials for Ugandan teachers in the pursuit of protecting vulnerable children from recruitment and use as child soldiers".