Paul Kimumwe
As the world marked the Day of the African Child on June the 16th my heart sank deep. Just a few days before that, there had been several Ugandan media reports about that really bothered me: child-headed homes were on the increase (The New Vision, Monday, June 11, 27), the worst districts being Kampala, Masindi, Iganda, Busia and Kabarole.
One the same page, there was a story of two children who were being looked after by the police after they had been abandoned by their parents, just on the next page, there was a story of a man who had just been sentenced for defiling a 15-year old girl. And this was just in one media outlet.
Since 1991, the world has been observing this day, which was created to honour the memory of innocent children in Soweto, South Africa when hundreds of them were wounded and killed during a match to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language.
Looking at the situation now, I think these poor souls will never rest in peace. For all their courage and sacrifices of life, these children seem to have died for nothing.
The number of child soldiers in all African civil wars is simply unbearable. The number of street children is always on the increase; defilement and rape cases are heart breaking; and if poverty or AIDS had a human face, it is highly likely to be that of an African Child!
The day of the African Child is supposed to be a day for celebrating and acknowledging our children as Africa's most valuable asset. A day on which nations, families and communities should reflect on the challenges and threats that compromise the healthy growth and development of children, and their health and well being of their children.
It is also a day on which all of us, as adults, should assess opportunities for enhancing children's lives, individually and collectively, in the home, in schools, communities and other institutions that potentially make a positive difference in the life of a child.
This year’s them could not have been any better. “Stop Child Trafficking.” The rate at which children are being trafficked within and across the boarders is heart breaking.
In many a posh home, there are multitudes of children enslaving away as maids. Their only crime is being orphans, coming from poor families and dropping out of school, with rich relations in need of cheap labour.
According to a Rapid assessment report in trafficking of children into worst forms of child labour, including child soldiers in Uganda, conducted in the districts of Busia, Kalangala, Masaka, Pader and Kampala, as part of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour Time Bound Programme by the ILO, child traffickers mainly target children who have lost their parents, mainly out of school and at the brink of poverty.
The report further says that most of the children are promised employment opportunities, a better life, making quick money and school fees. And in addition to the promises made to children, guardians are also enticed with sugar, alcohol and monthly remittances of income earned by the children.
With all these gruelling scenarios, it defeats thinking that we have to wait for June the 16th to think about our children.
On Wednesday the 13th June 2007, the African Network on Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN –Uganda) organised quite a successful dialogue, during which the above report was launched. But while these efforts are commendable, the situation demands that there is still a lot to be done.
The driving factors of children into vulnerabilities are quite overwhelming. These cannot wait for June the 16th or thereabout to manifest. They are daily occurrences. Unfortunately, they seem to have become part of us.
One the same page, there was a story of two children who were being looked after by the police after they had been abandoned by their parents, just on the next page, there was a story of a man who had just been sentenced for defiling a 15-year old girl. And this was just in one media outlet.
Since 1991, the world has been observing this day, which was created to honour the memory of innocent children in Soweto, South Africa when hundreds of them were wounded and killed during a match to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language.
Looking at the situation now, I think these poor souls will never rest in peace. For all their courage and sacrifices of life, these children seem to have died for nothing.
The number of child soldiers in all African civil wars is simply unbearable. The number of street children is always on the increase; defilement and rape cases are heart breaking; and if poverty or AIDS had a human face, it is highly likely to be that of an African Child!
The day of the African Child is supposed to be a day for celebrating and acknowledging our children as Africa's most valuable asset. A day on which nations, families and communities should reflect on the challenges and threats that compromise the healthy growth and development of children, and their health and well being of their children.
It is also a day on which all of us, as adults, should assess opportunities for enhancing children's lives, individually and collectively, in the home, in schools, communities and other institutions that potentially make a positive difference in the life of a child.
This year’s them could not have been any better. “Stop Child Trafficking.” The rate at which children are being trafficked within and across the boarders is heart breaking.
In many a posh home, there are multitudes of children enslaving away as maids. Their only crime is being orphans, coming from poor families and dropping out of school, with rich relations in need of cheap labour.
According to a Rapid assessment report in trafficking of children into worst forms of child labour, including child soldiers in Uganda, conducted in the districts of Busia, Kalangala, Masaka, Pader and Kampala, as part of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour Time Bound Programme by the ILO, child traffickers mainly target children who have lost their parents, mainly out of school and at the brink of poverty.
The report further says that most of the children are promised employment opportunities, a better life, making quick money and school fees. And in addition to the promises made to children, guardians are also enticed with sugar, alcohol and monthly remittances of income earned by the children.
With all these gruelling scenarios, it defeats thinking that we have to wait for June the 16th to think about our children.
On Wednesday the 13th June 2007, the African Network on Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN –Uganda) organised quite a successful dialogue, during which the above report was launched. But while these efforts are commendable, the situation demands that there is still a lot to be done.
The driving factors of children into vulnerabilities are quite overwhelming. These cannot wait for June the 16th or thereabout to manifest. They are daily occurrences. Unfortunately, they seem to have become part of us.
Sparing at the bare minimum a minute each day to think about the African Child will do miracles, and brighten up the future of our children. You do not have to wait for June the 16th to make a contribution. All you need is a heart that cares for the children – all children!
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