SANTA ANA : A Candlelight Vigil for All the Children

Santa Ana’s Centennial Park will be the site of a candlelight vigil on Sept. 23 that will attempt to bring attention to the needs of children throughout the world. It is one of 2,400 such vigils being held worldwide on that day.

The event, sponsored by the city of Santa Ana, UNICEF and a coalition of Orange County organizations and citizens, will feature speeches, entertainment, singing and a candle-lighting ceremony.

“Every day, more than 40,000 children under the age of 5 die, and most die from such preventable causes as malnutrition and dehydration,” said Shirley Williams, chairwoman for the local vigil. “The world’s children need a better chance at life.”

The vigils are being held to demonstrate public support for the World Summit for Children, to be held Sept. 29-30 at the United Nations in New York. More than 75 heads of state, including President Bush, are scheduled to attend.

“The summit’s goal is to put children high on the agenda of the 1990s, giving them priority on our global resources,” Williams said.

Part of the vigil will be devoted to the reading of the “Convention on the Rights of a Child,” a document which sets minimum standards for the survival, health and education of children and also seeks to protect children from violence and exploitation, said Barbara Sullivan, program chairwoman for the vigil.

The needs of homeless and impoverished children in Orange County will be addressed by Jean Forbath, a founder of Share Our Selves, a Costa Mesa-based charity.

The event is open to the public. For more information, call (714) 720-0279.