CHILDSAFEfoundations

OTTAWA - As the December Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference in New York
approaches, Foundations for Life, a limb replacement program for child victims of land mines and
cluster bombs, begins its first fund raising push this holiday season. Foundations for Life is a part of the
larger CHILDSAFEfoundation, whose mission is to "help meet the developmental needs of the most
disadvantaged children survivors of war," according to the CHILDSAFEfoundation website.

CHILDSAFEfoundation founder, Dr. Jacqueline Beaudoin, was moved to create Foundations for Life -
Limb Replacement program after seeing a 12-year-old boy in Lebanon whose legs were amputated by
a land mine that exploded when he was playing football.

"I kept thinking of the boy and it just seemed so wrong," Beaudoin said,"when I returned to the States
I spent time watching kids play in the playground, and I couldn't help but think how much we take for
granted here in this country."

Beaudoin said that to this day, she thinks of that Lebanese boy and the look of disbelief and shock on
his face.

Despite the Convention on Cluster Munitions committing 107 nations to banning the use of cluster
munitions, the demand for help from child victims will not decrease. Cluster bombs and land mines
remain long after the war has ended. Children are particularly vulnerable because of their innate
curiosity, and the unusual objects that catch their eye often result in the loss of a limb and other
serious injury, according to Beaudoin.

At least 10 percent of the M83 type bomblets fail to explode or self-destroy, according to a study by the
Norwegian People's Aid, which is involved in efforts to clear areas of bomblets.

CHILDSAFEfoundation has provided prosthetic limbs for 96 children in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and
Laos, cooperating with limb replacement centers in needy areas where children are put on waitlists for
donations.

The goal this Christmas season is to raise enough money for 250 limbs. The needed funding for the
Foundations for Life - Limb replacement program is raised by selling Relief Rub, an herbal pain relief
balm donated by Homestead Healing Natural Health Clinic in Ontario Canada. All proceeds from the
sale of Relief Rub go toward aiding the children through the program.

"For this season, we want to meet the needs of the children currently in the program, children who
outgrow their limbs and require new replacements, and the children who are currently waiting for their
first limb," Beaudoin said.

"The program is small and growing, the success of this fundraising campaign will determine how many
children we can add to the program in the upcoming year."