African children: The Cape Verdean reality
The Day of the African Child, marked every year on June 16, aims to commemorate the children of this continent, recognize the importance of these children for the future of Africa and celebrate their culture, potential and contributions to society.
This date is also intended to promote the rights of African children to education, health, protection and participation in society, as well as the fight against the challenges that African children face, such as poverty, hunger, disease, war and exploitation, which affect millions of children on the continent.
The Day of the African Child is celebrated across the African continent with events, activities and awareness campaigns. It is a day to reflect on the progress that has been made in defending the rights of African children, but also to recognize the challenges that still remain.
In Cape Verde, basic schools carry out various educational and cultural activities with their pupils on this date almost every year. Relevant topics about the African child are debated, always against a backdrop of reflection and awareness of the concerns and challenges affecting the continent’s children.
Similarly, local institutions and NGOs working on issues relating to children, in this case Cape Verdean children, are also celebrating the day with a range of lively activities that also draw attention to the real cause of the day. Many of the themes relate to violations of children’s rights, abuse and exploitation of minors and child labor.
It should be remembered that the Day of the African Child is celebrated annually on June 16 to honor the children of the African continent and remember the Soweto massacre, which took place in 1976 in South Africa when thousands of black students in Soweto, Johannesburg, took to the streets to protest against the poor quality of education and the imposition of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in schools.
The demonstration was violently repressed by the police, resulting in the death of more than 400 children and the injury of thousands of others. That’s why in 1991, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), established June 16 as the International Day of the African Child.
The appeal is for everyone to join this cause throughout the year so that our children can have a better, more dignified and fairer future.
