Tag Archives: children’s rights

Commemorating the International Day of the African Child

Posted on June 16, 2011 | Comments Off

Reporting by Tenagne Mekonnen, Africa Regional Communications Manager

The Day of the African Child, marked each year on June 16, stems from the brutality and cruelty inflicted on children in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976 during apartheid.

Thousands of black schoolchildren went to the street to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot down, and in the two weeks of protest that followed, more than 100 were killed and more than 1,000 injured.

Group photo of Ethiopian childrenEach year, schoolchildren across Africa honor the memory of those killed and the courage of all who marched. This year, children in ChildFund’s Ethiopian programs share a song and their artwork to commemorate the day.

Song for the Day of the African Child

by Meseret, 13, and Jerusalem, 12

Listen now, listen now
We children we know
We deserve the love of mothers and fathers
We need to be free of child abusers
We know, we know
Child abuse is not right
We have education right
Listen, listen
Parents and communities
We children have rights
We are tomorrow’s doctors and leaders
Listen, listen
Be gender sensitive
Abandon rape
Beating and insult is not good for us
Advise us and guide and grow us
To help us be good citizens

Art by Yabsra and Kuribachew

Yabsra's drawingYabsra, 14, Grade 8
On my art, I have tried to show a child who has opportunity to go to school and another street child who is crying there. At the same time, I tried to show the student who went to school greeted the [street child] and another child, being carried by his mom, waved his hand to this boy. There is also a teacher who is calling the street boy to join the school. The message I want to pass on is that everybody, regardless of age, should give love and respect to children and take care of them. I have tried to teach the community to support orphaned and street children as they are their own.

Kuribachew's drawingKuribachew, 12, Grade 6
I have tried to express my feeling on my art. We need to take care of orphan children. I tried to show how children receive educational materials and uniforms for their school needs. This is to teach the community to continue their support.

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Posted in ChildFund International, In the Field

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ChildFund Vietnam Participates in Children’s Protection Workshop 2010

Posted on October 6, 2010 | Comments Off

by Vuong Tuyet Nhung, ChildFund Vietnam

At the national children’s forum held in late August in Hanoi, the focus was on helping children who are the victims of bad treatment, abuse, violence, exploitation, neglect and trafficking.

Eighty-five children from 12 Vietnamese provinces attended the event. The vice-minister of the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) served as chair. ChildFund Vietnam worked with local government agencies in Hoa Binh and Bac Kan to select six children and two adult facilitators from our program sites to represent each province.

Prior to the main workshop, our staff conducted an overview training on child protection to help the children become more familiar with issues like child trafficking, bullying and corporal punishment, as well as the abuse types and trafficking situations that exist in Vietnam and the world.

During the workshop, children had intensive peer discussions about human trafficking, abuse and violence in their areas, identifying reasons and proposing solutions. They also had direct dialogues with MOLISA and the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (COMMIT) leaders to raise questions about these issues.

On behalf of their localities, the children also delivered powerful messages urging Vietnamese and Mekong regional leaders to combat human trafficking.

Among their calls to action:

  • “Please give us a free call! (a hotline to call if they know of a child in danger).
  • “Let children live safely in their houses. It’s our sweetest home in the world!”

Nguyen Hai Huu, director of Vietnam’s child-protection bureau, complimented the children’s confident presentations and communication skills. “Their messages amazed me much, with remarkable initiatives reflecting factual states in different areas,” he said.

Diem (second from left) joins a discussion on human trafficking.

“I’m so proud and happy to join in such a big event like this,” exclaimed Diem, a 14- year-old girl from the Bach Thong district. “As the leader of Bac Kan group, I encouraged all members in my group to contribute ideas in discussions.” She noted that the workshop helped her gain knowledge of children’s rights, child violence and trafficking. She also sharpened her teamwork and communication skills by working with children from other provinces.

“Now I have a better ability of defining violence cases around me. Before coming here, I thought it is nothing special if classmates beat each other or parents abused their children,” she said.

Five children who attended the August workshop in Hanoi will be representing Vietnam at the Mekong Youth Forum on human trafficking in Bangkok, Thailand, later this month.

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Posted in In the Field

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