Help the world’s children

IF YOU had a superpower to improve the lives of children, what would it be?

To mark World Children’s Day on Monday the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) asked children around the world: “If you had a superpower to improve the lives of children, what would that be?”

Affirmingly, almost all chose a superpower that would help children overcome inequalities.

A child in Japan maintained it would be to “buy them (children) books, pay fees and give them good housing” while one from Kenya said their superpower would be one of defending children from abuse and always watching over them and encouraging them to move ahead.

“Flying. So I could bring food to the poor children”, was a comment from Mexico and in the Netherlands, a young one maintained theirs would be “to turn dirty water into clean water and help stop diseases affecting children”.

While great strides have been made in improving the health and well-being of children globally and in South Africa, this World Children’s Day, Unicef is asking everyone to raise a hand for the work that still needs to be done. A survey conducted by Unicef in SA and seven other countries with children between the ages of 9 and 16 found children have many concerns. The three top factors children worry about most is violence against them, being bullied and poor education.

Many of the children felt their opinions were never considered. Almost all believed if world leaders listened to them, the world would be a better place. They also pointed out while smartphones are by far the most popular mode of communication, they still view traditional media such as TV, radio, and print magazines as relevant and widely consumed.

Since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989, the rights of millions of children have been protected globally. World Children’s Day aims to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide of their rights and responsibilities and collective efforts to improve the welfare and development of children everywhere.

The day is a time for countries to reflect on how children are treated and take stock of how rights are applied to children. We know that despite tremendous progress over the past decades, there remain challenges. Globally, 385 million children live in extreme poverty and 264 million children and youth are out of school. About 5.6 million children under the age of 5 died from preventable diseases last year.

This year, Unicef is working with children and with partners around the world to raise our voices in solidarity with the world’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

Mothers and fathers, teachers, nurses and doctors, government leaders and civil society activists, religious and community elders, corporate and media professionals as well as children can play an important part in making World Children’s Day relevant for their societies, communities and nations. World Children’s Day offers an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote and celebrate children’s rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world.

If we get this right, every day will be World Children’s Day.

To be a part of the movement, visit WorldChildrensDay.org.

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