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Across Africa on June 16, the UN Millennium Campaign and partners celebrated the Day of the African Child with events and petitions to world leaders. Some of the activities included:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
LUNACOP and the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo commemorated the International Day of the African Child on June 16 with a workshop on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for students, advocacy meetings with policymakers on the marginalization of Congolese children during the post conflict period, and a broadcast debate organized by the Congolese National Radio in Bukavu City.
Six children from secondary schools participated in the debate, under the theme “Children's participation for MDG achievement in D.R. Congo.” The children asked that their rights be taken into consideration by policy‐makers.
Ghana
In Ghana, a delegation of children presented a petition to the Parliament, Ministries, UN Agencies and Embassies demanding a stronger commitment toward achieving the MDGs, with child development-oriented, comprehensive policies on agriculture, trade and health. The initiative was supported by the Abibimman Foundation, through its Green‐Life Clubs, in collaboration with IDAY Ghana and the MDGs/GCAP Campaign Secretariat. The delegation’s demands were as follows:
Rwanda
In Rwanda, GCAP Rwanda organized an event at the Gisimba Memorial Centre, an orphanage in Kigali. During the event, about 200 children marched to remember their colleagues who were killed in Soweto in 1976. It was also their opportunity to advocate for children's rights. A message of hope was delivered to the orphans. To encourage children to strive for a better future and to work hard at school, GCAP Rwanda committed to paying one year of school fees for a girl named Diana Arakaza who has been performing very well at school.
Sierra Leone
Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD) partnered with the Children's Forum on a Child Education and Talent Exhibition Show at the Stadium Atlantic Hall in Freetown.
The event brought together prominent artists from around the country to perform live for the children and offer their success stories for children to learn from. The event brought together 300 children and was attended by the Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs and other key officials.
Kenya
An array of activities marked the celebration of the Day of the African Child across Kenya.
Key to these activities was the launch of the Africa-wide petition, which seeks to engage at least fifteen percent of the African population to call on African leaders to redouble their efforts to achieve the MDGs. The petition will be presented in the Africa Union Summit in July in Kampala, Uganda. In Kenya, the launch was organized by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and the UN Millennium Campaign, and attended by members of the Parliamentary MDG Caucus and citizens from one of the largest informal settlements in Kenya.
Speaking at the launch of the petition, Hon. Ntoitha M’mithiaru, the chair of Parliamentary Caucus, called on the citizens to be more vigilant and call on their government to be accountable to its core mandate of service delivery.
“How can we talk or even dream of attaining development, when our citizens are threatened with [lack of] access to decent shelter and social services such as health and education? When our women and children die indiscriminately due to lack of basic health services? This is the thrust of the Millennium Development Goals, and as such our government is duty-bound to achieve them if we are to attain the development we seek,” said Hon. Joyce Laboso, member of the MDG Committee.
“As parliamentarians, we have to ensure that our budget is in tandem with the MDGs, and as citizens we have to ensure that we are keen to track the expenditure of the government as stipulated in the national budget,” said Hon. Otieno Ogindo, a member of the caucus and the chair of the Parliamentary Finance Committee.
Jacob, a ten year-old student at Mathare Primary School, read the petition symbolically marking ten years since the signing of the Millennium Declaration, in memory of Hector Pieterson, the martyr of the Soweto Uprising. Charles Abugre, the Regional Director of the UN Millennium Campaign in Africa, joined members of the Parliamentary Caucus on the MDGs in leading citizens to sign the petition.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
LUNACOP and the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo commemorated the International Day of the African Child on June 16 with a workshop on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for students, advocacy meetings with policymakers on the marginalization of Congolese children during the post conflict period, and a broadcast debate organized by the Congolese National Radio in Bukavu City.
Six children from secondary schools participated in the debate, under the theme “Children's participation for MDG achievement in D.R. Congo.” The children asked that their rights be taken into consideration by policy‐makers.
Ghana
In Ghana, a delegation of children presented a petition to the Parliament, Ministries, UN Agencies and Embassies demanding a stronger commitment toward achieving the MDGs, with child development-oriented, comprehensive policies on agriculture, trade and health. The initiative was supported by the Abibimman Foundation, through its Green‐Life Clubs, in collaboration with IDAY Ghana and the MDGs/GCAP Campaign Secretariat. The delegation’s demands were as follows:
- Ensure that every child is given equal rights and opportunities to grow in a secure environment for a sustainable future.
- Re‐affirm their commitments to the achievement of the MDGs by 2015.
- Work with children, Parliament, development partners and local governments to develop and implement break‐through action plans for children’s survival and the attainment of the MDGs.
- Address inequality, discrimination and the marginalization of children with disabilities, who form an integral part of our society.
- Address resource leakages and corruption with urgency.
- Act urgently to implement the African protocol on women's rights and similar undertakings in relation to children and people living with disabilities.
- Put employment and decent work for women and young people at the centre of economic policies.
- Uphold all continental agreements and protocols to budgetary allocations for the achievement of the MDGs.
- Put more efforts into mobilizing and retaining domestic resources through fair and efficient taxation, fair sharing of natural resources and the prevention of illicit capital flight.
- Make a firmer resolve to stop all forms of child labour, exploitation and trafficking by enforcing the Human Trafficking Act of 2005.
Rwanda
In Rwanda, GCAP Rwanda organized an event at the Gisimba Memorial Centre, an orphanage in Kigali. During the event, about 200 children marched to remember their colleagues who were killed in Soweto in 1976. It was also their opportunity to advocate for children's rights. A message of hope was delivered to the orphans. To encourage children to strive for a better future and to work hard at school, GCAP Rwanda committed to paying one year of school fees for a girl named Diana Arakaza who has been performing very well at school.
Sierra Leone
Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD) partnered with the Children's Forum on a Child Education and Talent Exhibition Show at the Stadium Atlantic Hall in Freetown.
The event brought together prominent artists from around the country to perform live for the children and offer their success stories for children to learn from. The event brought together 300 children and was attended by the Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs and other key officials.
Kenya
An array of activities marked the celebration of the Day of the African Child across Kenya.
Key to these activities was the launch of the Africa-wide petition, which seeks to engage at least fifteen percent of the African population to call on African leaders to redouble their efforts to achieve the MDGs. The petition will be presented in the Africa Union Summit in July in Kampala, Uganda. In Kenya, the launch was organized by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and the UN Millennium Campaign, and attended by members of the Parliamentary MDG Caucus and citizens from one of the largest informal settlements in Kenya.
Speaking at the launch of the petition, Hon. Ntoitha M’mithiaru, the chair of Parliamentary Caucus, called on the citizens to be more vigilant and call on their government to be accountable to its core mandate of service delivery.
“How can we talk or even dream of attaining development, when our citizens are threatened with [lack of] access to decent shelter and social services such as health and education? When our women and children die indiscriminately due to lack of basic health services? This is the thrust of the Millennium Development Goals, and as such our government is duty-bound to achieve them if we are to attain the development we seek,” said Hon. Joyce Laboso, member of the MDG Committee.
“As parliamentarians, we have to ensure that our budget is in tandem with the MDGs, and as citizens we have to ensure that we are keen to track the expenditure of the government as stipulated in the national budget,” said Hon. Otieno Ogindo, a member of the caucus and the chair of the Parliamentary Finance Committee.
Jacob, a ten year-old student at Mathare Primary School, read the petition symbolically marking ten years since the signing of the Millennium Declaration, in memory of Hector Pieterson, the martyr of the Soweto Uprising. Charles Abugre, the Regional Director of the UN Millennium Campaign in Africa, joined members of the Parliamentary Caucus on the MDGs in leading citizens to sign the petition.
