Our Time 1998

T hanks to the valiant efforts of IMSA's Amnesty Interna­ tional chapter and Model United Nations, Bruce Harris, founder of Casa Alianza spoke to compas­ sionate members of the community about the plight of street children in Latin America. Casa Alianza, working in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, directly serves about 4,000 homeless children each year. Casa Alianza also works to fight for the lives of the street children, through encourag- ing the ban of dangerous, addictive solvent-based shoe glue. The glue, manufactured in part by companies from the U.S., is too toxic to be sold here in America. Instead, it is sold on the streets of Guatemala in Gerber baby jars, addict­ ing half of all street chil­ dren. The fumes from the glue remove a child 's feelings of hunger, cold, and loneliness. Yet such bliss does not come without a price. The fumes also cause brain damage, kidney failure, and more often than not, death. Far Left: Looking into the distance, James Burke answers questions from eager individuals. The guest entertained the audience with a captivating speech that connected different concepts. Bottom: Bruce Harris vehemently informs the audience of the situation of children in Central America. He is the founder of Casa Alianza, an organization that provides shelter and food to the street children. Left: Keith Winstein, and Jessica Hanjland stick around afterward Convocation to engage in thought provoking conversation with James Burke. Bruce Harris came to IMSA with an important message to spread: fight indifference. He said, "The biggest killer of street children is not necessarily the police; it is the indiffer­ ence." Through his slides and his words, Harris reiterated his cry: "It is wrong to kill children! Children are the weakest members of society and we all need to protect them ... no matter how far away they are. That is our responsibility."