Investing in our future means investing in our children
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man
Rabindranath Tagore
It is International Children’s day,
A day to reimagine a better future for every child.
Think of your childhood, if you are lucky it would bring back the special days, unfortunately, it is not the case for but for many in the world. For them, it is a fight for survival with unequal opportunities and lack of support.
The United Nations on November 20 1959, adopted the declaration of rights of the child. The declaration emphasises on the fundamental rights of children which are nutrition, safe environment, education, and moral support. On November 20, 1959, the UN adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Again on 20, November 1989, the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The anniversary of both these Declaration and Convention is also marked by the UN on November 20 since 1990. It is reported that there are about 152 million children worldwide working as child labourers and India accounts for 7.3% of it. The current COVID19 pandemic has been a significant blow on the efforts of reducing child labour. The pandemic has disrupted the economic system, shut down schools and universities, resulting in the rise of child labour. Through the change of dynamics in the education system from physical to online medium, students from marginal communities are deprived of education.
It is of foremost importance for the governments and organisations around the world to prioritise child welfare in the post-pandemic period. We must take initiates so that the medicines and vaccine (when becomes available) for COVID are available to every child, bridge the education gap, and work on reducing the child labour. It is also of utmost importance that we focus on the mental wellbeing of children in the post-pandemic period and be patient when the young ones gradually adapt to the system.
World Children’s Day offers each of us an inspiration to build a better world for children
Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow
Abdul Kalam
Toons: Reema Jaiswal
Logs: Sneha Yadla and Sai Baba
