WHEN PARLIAMENT CAME TO THE CHILDREN!
“BECAUSE our school bus has broken down” was her response when the Mayor of Lusaka His Worship, Wilson Kalumba asked her why she had told him that she had not gone to school for One Week!
The girl (nicknamed Jane,) has a physical condition which makes it hard for her to walk, not even on clutches. Jane was representing children living with disabilities at the 2017 Children’s Parliament in Lusaka. A bright smiling young girl, with all the vibrancy in her eyes, which probably made the Mayor and his Deputy to halt his ceremonious exit of the council chambers where the child parliament was being held and walk up to her for a handshake and ask how she was doing in school. For Jane, this is a moment she will live to relish, not the fact that she had gotten a picture with the Mayor of the City of Lusaka, but because she actually had spoken to a higher authority to fix their broken down school bus. There is only one school bus for the disabled children at her school and therefore when it breaks down the children stop going to school, according to the children and parents! Now the Mayor heard all this for the first time from an affected child. Issues like Jane’s are what comes to children’s minds when the Minister of Finance presents the national budget. From a child’s lens money should be used on things that matter to them the most and therefore when they hear government is going to spend a particular amount of resources in Education, in their mind it is more textbooks, more teachers, more desks, or even fixing of Jane’s school bus. If children like Jane are fully aware of some of the challenges affecting their ability to live and enjoy a safe and secure childhood, why not allow them to contribute to deciding their priorities and also solutions? Part of the answer lies in providing a platform for the children to participate in national development especially on issues that affect them. A consortium of CSOs advocating for increased public Investments in children in Zambia which include the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction, Jesuits Centre for Theological Reflection and SafAids with support from Save the Children, brought together 55 Children aged between 12 and 17 years old, from Eastern, Luapula, Copperbelt and Lusaka provinces for the 2017 Children’s Parliament from 21st to 23rd October at the Council Chambers in Lusaka District. The children’s Parliament is a child friendly simulation of the main National Assembly Debates. Children get to learn about the basics of National Development Planning and Budgeting including Parliamentary etiquette and procedures under the guidance of National Assembly staff. The Children are then given the rare opportunity to debate the child friendly 2018 National Budget proposals as Child Parliamentarians representing different Constituencies. The children’s debate submissions are treated with utmost importance that the final report was submitted to the Chairperson of the Expanded Committee on Budgets, Honourable Simfukwe at National Assembly of Zambia for consideration. Most Development practitioners hold the narrow view that children are passive beneficiaries of public goods and services and even when investments in these goods are inadequate, children have no right to request for justifications and explanations from duty bearers. Very little is therefore done at all levels of decision making in Zambia to invest in child-led platforms which promote child rights programming and participation even though Zambia has made several International Commitments on the rights of children. Apart from November 20th, being the day we Commemorate Universal Children’s Day it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This year’s theme “Stop Violence Against Children” should incite a sense of resolve in our policy makers and any well-meaning adult to address the different forms of violence which children face in Zambia. According to Zambia Civic Education Association, on average three out of four Zambian children between the ages of 2 and 14 are subject to some form of violent discipline in their own home; 42% of girls are married before the age of 18; Many children both boys and girls are subject to rape or other forms of sexual violence each year and that an estimated 28.1% 5 to 14 years old children are engaged in child labour and hazardous work such as stone crushing and mining! Through platforms such as the children’s parliament, government, civil society and all relevant stakeholders can work with children to address the foregoing statistics through strengthened, inclusive and sustainable interventions. Children’s Parliament brought unique perspectives on how resources intended for the actualization of children’s rights were not benefiting children like Jane. Parliament embodies open dialogue, democratic representation and accountability; therefore, we must all create a child parliament in our small spaces for effective child protection. Councilors and Members of Parliament must assemble children in their areas and allow them to have a dialogue among themselves on how their rights are being violated at every level of society and solutions to address the situation. This is key for shaping effective interventions to address social inequality and poverty. For now let us go beyond taking children to parliament for just educational tours but also invest in bringing parliament to the children!