"But who shall return us our children?"

This question forms the refrain in the first and final verses of Rudyard Kipling's poem, The Children [1914–1918] .

Sorting out my desk muddle this morning, I came across the poem in the form of a cutting of it when it was the Saturday Poem in The Guardian some time back.

I thought of the children who aren't returned to their parents. Anwar, and so many other sons and daughters, lost in a violent encounter. And young children, spirited away by those with malicious intent.

There is nothing of ubuntu in the recruiting, often forcible, of children as child soldiers. How do we undo some of that damage when the children are rescued, or escape?

According to Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier, "It is easy to become a child soldier, but it is much more difficult to recover one's humanity. But it is possible." (My italics.)

There are at least a quarter of a million child soldiers. You can find out about the work of Save the Children here, and of Unicef, here.

In the UK, War Child publishes resource packs for teachers.

I will be adding a new side bar area for organisations which work with former child soldiers, or which actively seek to support children affected by war. Please look out for it.