We're on TV!!
Check out the Nick News Program, in which Kenyon King and the Freedom Project are profiled in a broadcast highlighting possibilities for hope in areas of rural poverty.
Below is a brief description of the broadcast from Nickelodeon, but please watch it and let us know what you think. Watch the Show: http://www.nick.com/turbonick/index.jhtml?extvideoid=119785
America's Forgotten Children: The Rural Poor
14-year-old Kolton lives in a house with no electricity and no running water.
The closest big store is two hours away.
And his family doesn't have a car.
"I think life would be happier if we did have more money," he says. "(It) might kind of make everything easier."
Kolton lives on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.
He and his family are among the rural poor people who live far outside the city and far below the poverty line.
But rural poverty is not confined to the reservations where many Native Americans live.
Poverty comes in all colors.
13-year-old Garrett is white.
He, his mom and his sisters live in the mountains of West Virginia.
Jobs are scarce there.
And often, the only meals he gets are free breakfasts and lunches at school.
"We have to watch our money," he says. "I do get kind of frustrated a little. Sometimes I do feel sad, but never ashamed."
And 15-year-old Kenyon is African-American.
He, his mom and his little brother live in Mississippi.
There's not much work there either, aside from the industrial plants where people process catfish.
"I want to be better than what I have here," he says. "I want to go to college."
Kolton, Garrett and Kenyon may be poor.
But they are not stupid and they are not lazy.
They have dreams.
The question is, can they overcome their poverty in order to make those dreams come true?
On Sunday, December 21st, you'll meet Kolton, Garrett and Kenyon.
They're kids growing up in America in the 21st century.
But chances are it's an America that's far different from the one you think you know.
To find out more about Kolton, Garrett and Kenyon, tune into to Nickelodeon on Sunday night at 9pm Eastern (8pm Central) for "America's Forgotten Children: The Rural Poor."
It's the latest edition of "Nick News with Linda Ellerbee."
(If you live in another time zone, check your local cable listings for the show time in your area.)
At a time when times are tough for more and more people, find out how these kids are keeping their hopes and dreams alive.
