Today, Wednesday, June 16th is African Child Day. The whole continent stops to recognize the value, power and needs of children in Africa and remember the students who died in South Africa and helped end Apartheid there. For the children at The Covering, it was a day of fun: no school, special meals, birthday cake, juice, and popcorn. They spend hours watching the World Cup and even got to watch a movie. We arrived mid-afternoon after the program, which included singing, speeches, and prayers; we were sorry to have missed it. The children had so much fun though. Some were wearing traditional African dress and others were simply enjoying a day of rest and football. As we drove up-country this morning we listened to a radio program about the plight of children in Sierra Leone. It is very common to see young girls and boys on the roads selling small items instead of going to school. It must be a difficult choice for a parent to choose between having enough money for food or for school. It is a choice that is unimaginable to me. Many people in Sierra Leone put so much hope into their children…they know that these children can grow up to change the country. They can make Sierra Leone strong again; they can stop the suffering of the next generation!
So, I mentioned that we went up country today. Not so far, just 67 miles or so, but it was 8 hours round trip! The countryside here is so beautiful! If you've ever seen the TV show Lost, it looks like that. We went to see some land that is a possibility for us to build out own center on. We even got to get out of the vehicle and walk about 20 feet into the bush! I felt just like Kate (again with the Lost reference) although I am sure I didn't look like her! How did she always have nice hair and makeup after running through the jungle and I was drenched in sweat after just stepping out of the vehicle. Wait, if I had a crew of 25+ people or so following me around to make sure I looked good I could manage tooJ Sorry that was way off the path!
One other thing to note today was the Sierra Leonean Sledding. I had so much fun watching two of our little boys take plastic soda bottles and flatten them and "sled" down the sloped area in the drive way. Antie they would call…watch! I am continually amazed at how these children will take anything they find and turn it into a game or toy. Everything becomes a small treasure to enjoy and to hold onto. Sticks become parts of games, bottle caps are great for table/floor soccer matches, rocks become goal markers, plastic bags become slippery shoes, and bottles become sleds. They are so creative! I wish that too would continually treasure the little things…small beads, and bottle caps can bring such joy!
Laughing and enjoying the Sierra Leonean Sledding :) Thanks so much for posting! Amazing how children with so very little to nothing can entertain themselves better than our kiddos who have everything.
ReplyDeleteWednesday, June 16th is the International Day of the African Child.Kenya Interreligious AIDS Consortium join the World in celebrating. It is celebrated in remembrance of the hundreds of black children who were gunned down in Soweto as they marched in protest against the poor quality of education they were receiving. On this date, in 1976, children also demanded to be instructed in their own language. The original march was more than an half mile long and has been celebrated since June of 1991.
ReplyDeleteMembers of a youth debate team in Kenya discussed government spending in terms of education, health, recreational programming, and personal development. They feel that priority needs to be given to these areas as a means of preventing the rise of substance abuse, crime, and prostitution among the nation's youth. In Rachuonyo, a town in the Nyanza Province of Kenya, children speak about the lack of clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, health services, and education. They spoke of the prevalence of serious diseases and malnutrition, along with the high rate of illiteracy among their parents.
While some African governments utilize funds on education by building more schools, they overlook the issue of access. Often times, the rainy seasons experienced in some areas results in flooding, causing the roads to become inaccessible. River beds rise and there are no bridges. Other issues include the unavailability of qualified teaching staff and a severe lack of resources and supplies.
For more information visit: http://www.kirac.or.ke/
AHHH! Regina looks BEAUTIFUL! Her hair wasn't long enough for braids when I was there! Gorgeous.
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