This is EXACTLY why I became a filmmaker and started this blog: to raise awareness and help people like Ros Thackurdeen - the mother of Ravi Thackurdeen who died a preventable death 3 years ago today while on a Duke University Organized trip in Costa Rica. Ravi is one of so many kids who have died on Study Abroad Programs in the US. ClearCause was created because of these unnecessary and preventable tragedies.
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| Ravi Thackurdeen: June 8, 1992 - April 29, 2012 |
Parents should NOT be worried to send their children into the world.
And
Parents should NOT outlive their children….
CLEARCAUSE
We're here because they aren't
Three Year Anniversary of Ravi Thackurdeen's preventable death while on a Duke University Organization for Tropical Studies trip in Playa Tortuga, Costa Rica
Student travel is big business over $170+ Billion and over half a million American students travel outside the US each year. These are among our best and brightest, our future leaders and entrepreneurs.
Currently, the multi-billion dollar, study abroad industry is self-regulated. There are no federal or international laws protecting our students outside the U.S. and no jurisdiction when their feet touch foreign soil. Programs and universities hosting youth abroad are not even required to report such things as theft, robbery, injury, sexual assault, or death. Students are sent to foreign countries with vague awareness of the dangers they could encounter, little preparedness on how to assess and manage risks, and even less knowledge of what to do if/when they find themselves in harms way.
ClearCause Foundation, established in 2010 in honor of Tyler Hill, and every young American who died full of their future on a program that should have been the opportunity of a lifetime. Tyler was barely sixteen when he died in Japan during an Ambassador Group program called People to People Student Ambassadors. His death was 100% preventable.
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| Tyler Hill: 1991-2007 (16 years old) |
Tyler's parents, Sheryl and Allen Hill started the foundation and published TylerHill.org to inform and engage others in an effort to establish Traveling Youth & Students Standards of Safety (TYS SOS) – because no state or federal oversight, minimum standards, or transparent public reporting exists. Student travel is big business - $170+ Billion according to WYSTC, 2013.
The Hills did not expect to hear from so many others whose child was scammed, molested, raped, abused, malnourished, killed and more abroad. American youth have been placed with unsafe chaperones, in unsafe housing, in unsafe areas, in unsafe vehicles with unsafe drivers. There is no jurisdiction when feet leave foreign soil. Hundreds have perished. Most deaths are preventable.
ClearCause strives to advance safe global youth travel. Our traveling future leaders deserve emergency preparedness planning, region risk assessment, study abroad safety training, and laws to better protect them overseas. Through the implementation of our Global Safety Education Program, our goal is for every youth and student going abroad to have safe, rewarding experiences they can bring home to share with their local communities.
The Hills did not expect to hear from so many others whose child was scammed, molested, raped, abused, malnourished, killed and more abroad. American youth have been placed with unsafe chaperones, in unsafe housing, in unsafe areas, in unsafe vehicles with unsafe drivers. There is no jurisdiction when feet leave foreign soil. Hundreds have perished. Most deaths are preventable.
ClearCause strives to advance safe global youth travel. Our traveling future leaders deserve emergency preparedness planning, region risk assessment, study abroad safety training, and laws to better protect them overseas. Through the implementation of our Global Safety Education Program, our goal is for every youth and student going abroad to have safe, rewarding experiences they can bring home to share with their local communities.
REMEMBERING RAVI
RAVI'S LAW
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Linda Kruse
Creator, Producer, Director
Forever grateful to you, sharing my sons' story. It's my hope to protect students and families from the horrific pain and darkness of our loss. Thank you for seeing the importance of it and for life.
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