…advocates for children wellbeing, others
Lagos State chapter of Child Protection Network (CPN) has advocated for well-being of children across the country.
This is coming as the child rights group joined the world on June 16 to celebrate the 2021 Day of the African Child (DAC) in Lagos.
Speaking at a program to commemorate the day, the coordinator of the Lagos CPN, Mrs Aderonke Oyelakin, implored stakeholders in the society to give meaningful lives to the children by supporting them adequately.
He said, “As we all know that the major existence of the Child Protection Network is to ensure wellness and protection of the children in the society, it is pertinent for us to join the world to celebrate the African children on this special day with the theme ‘ 30 years after the adoption of the Charter: accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2040 for an Africa fit for children.
“Taking us back to how DAC started; on June 16, 1976, nearly ten thousand black students from Soweto, South Africa, marched the streets to protest the poor quality of their education. They marched to demonstrate their disapproval of the Black Education Act, which segregated students based on their race.
“While doing this, hundreds of innocent students were shot by security forces. And in the two weeks of protest that followed, dubbed the Soweto Uprising, more than a hundred students were killed and thousands were badly injured.
“Due to this, since 1991, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on June 16 to commemorate those killed during the Soweto Uprising in South Africa, and to recognize the courage of the students who marched for their right to education.”
Calling on the NGOs to do more in seeking the right of every child, Oyelakin said “Dear friends and colleagues, as this day is particularly important to us at CPN, Day of the African Child is an ample opportunity to raise awareness on the need to improve the quality of life and access to free education of children living across Africa.
She added that educating the children lifts them out of poverty, so, it should not be compromised in their lives irrespective of the situation or circumstance around them.
“Though there are several reasons why children go uneducated which include parents inability to afford the children’s tuition fees; economic hardship, distance to the nearest school may be too far; an early marriage which usually, keep girls from the classroom and others, but I believe that with determined efforts and good supports, all these are surmountable because children are active members of society that need the support of everyone to achieve their potentials,” he said.
Oyelakin, who is also the Executive Coordinator of Bimbo Odukoya Foundation, demanded that more hands should be on deck to ensure all children are given a quality education.
Meanwhile, some of the children at the occasion called on their parents to be good role models to them, saying that most children usually emulate their parents.