Violence during elections is common in many countries. On Thursday 18 October 2017, at National Stadium hostel in Freetown, the National Youth Commission in partnership with Child Fund, Sierra Leone engaged youth on non-violent elections in the upcoming March 7 election.

Youth matter.

That thought has stayed with me in the days since ChildFund International’s second annual Advocacy Day, March 24, when 27 ChildFund colleagues visited Capitol Hill in teams to speak with members of Congress and their staff about issues critical to the well-being of children and youth worldwide.