On the 16th June of every year, the international community celebrates for the Day of the African Child, in which the needs and problems of African children are addressed, past plans reviewed and a way forward illuminated. This year's DAC coincides with a time when the ever widening gap between children in rich countries and those in Sub-Saharan Africa is at its peak. In this article, I will explore the situation of Somaliland children, who represent a potential vehicle for transformation and agents of change, in the wake of the world's renewed commitment to promote the conditions of children in this continent.
"Every boy and girl around the world has a right to expect that we will do all we can to ensure that they will enjoy their right to education"
Koffi A. Annan, Former Secretary General of United Nations.
Arday baan ahayoo
Arday baan ahayoo
Ubixii wadankaan ahayoo
Literal translation of that song could be:-
I am a student
I am a student
I am the flower of the country
These were the words that were ringing into my ears as I slowly walked in front of four children, two boys and two girls, who were gracefully sitting by the doorstep of their house in a remarkable afternoon. Dressed beautifully, they had faces, laden with happiness and delight, which indicated the effort and time their parents devoted to put them in such a condition. What interested me was not the rhythmic tone with which they chanted the song, nor the attractive reflections their faces and dressings made. It was something lying way beneath the observable that aroused strong emotions inside me. I deeply felt in my heart that the children, at the age of kindergarten education, were communicating an important message to me and to every concerned member of the community.
I cannot guess what those who accompanied me in the walk perceived, or whether I was the only one who had the built in capacity to understand their language. However it be, their message was moving; it demanded the ears of every sympathetic listener; it made a commitment whose fulfillment was a collective responsibility; it seemed to be the determinant of the future of this society; and underlying it were the necessary ingredients for development and progress.
To me, these simple slogans were determination and dedication from the part of children, but for them to be liable to what they have pledged to their community requires us to give them the right chance and help them overcome their challenges.As my mind started to think about the essence and reality of their words, a series of urgent, answer-demanding questions began to impinge on my conscience. To what extent are they informed about the potential obstacles lying in the long, long way to realizing their commitment? What do they actually know about their predecessors who have already taken the same journey under the same conditions? How do they estimate the magnitude of the social, psychological and financial support they need in order to live up to their expectations? What is the level of trust they have in us fulfilling our role given that they have mastered theirs? And in overall, how optimistic are they about the future?Like hundreds of thousands of children in Somaliland, who constitute a comparably large proportion of the society, these youngsters faced a gloomy future, clouded with misery and uncertainty. Given the fact that they seemed to be from well-off families in local terms and living in urban residence, enjoying many opportunities that their counterparts in rural areas are deprived off, it is not exaggeration to say that the odds were utterly against them.
As an illustration of my point, my thinking took me back to a day, almost fifteen months from now, when I was sitting at a teashop in the center of the town. A slim, bright-eyed young boy, a shoe-polisher, was serving me. While he was busy with his due task, cleaning the shoes and making them shiny as possible so that he could convince me give him the small charge, I was exploring what was going around me. A moment came when my eyes critically gazed at the young boy himself. His shoes were in tatters and his rags were covered with dirty, a characteristic of his mode of making living. Suddenly he looked me up. The unsmiling, determined face which interrupted my probing eyes easily implied how cruel the atmosphere in which this boy grew was.
To my surprise, I noticed that his small possessions beside him included several books. I wondered what he was doing with them. It was not long before my mouth uttered with the question but his answer got its way through his dark lips with no much difficulty. "I am student " he said in a confidence manner. I became extremely eager to know more about what compelled this unlucky child play this dual, opposite role. But he seemed to be in no way hesitant about answering my question.
As I later learned, he was the oldest of a family of six children, living in the suburbs of the town. The father, though in a good health and age, was unemployed, heavy Kat-user, and as I interpreted, of no use to the household financially. His mother, trapped for the care and looking after of the children, sold some biscuits and sweats in front of her house. But the income from this form of down-looked business meant little to a family of eight. To answer my question on how he managed to learn and work at the same time, he told me that he attended school in the morning and worked in the afternoon. To the fall of the night he usually went home with one or two Kilos of ration, plus a small amount of Somaliland shillings. This relieved a lot of burden from the mother, who was lonely struggling with ensuring that their children at least survived. Shockingly enough, he told me that none of his brothers and sisters was attending school.
For a family whose sole-bread winner was a nine-year old shoe polisher, enrolling several children in school was not an easy venture, however promising it may be. That family, with an average income of less than $ 30 a month a sum that must cover all basic needs - found it hard to find money for their children's schooling. School fees, together with the associated hidden costs, were the biggest barriers that prevented that very poor family from building a better future for their youngsters.
The situation of that young unlucky child, though determined, is the rule rather then the exceptional in Somaliland. His case is representative of the harsh life that thousands of children in this country have to endure.The majority of children in Somaliland live under the perils of negligence, poverty, ignorance, diseases, exploitation and lack of basic care. The deleterious impacts of these factors on child's development make any looming hope seem unattainable. With their effects multiplying each time, these misfortunes are transmitted from one generation to the next as if they are an irreversible, congenital part of normal life.Infant and child mortality rates are one of the highest in the world, mounting to figures as high as 125 and 211 per 1000 live births respectively.
Preventable infectious diseases constitute one of the main immediate causes of death among infants and children in this country. Diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections and malaria together account for more than half of these cases. Very low level of immunization- about 30%- which is far from being sufficient to prevent many health complications arising as a result of communicable diseases, seems to be an underlying factor behind many health misfortunes surrounding Somaliland children.
Recurrent droughts and failed rainy seasons led to severe food shortages, which negatively contributed to poor nutritional status in many parts of the country, specially in rural areas, where chronic malnutrition among infants and children is widely prevalent.A large proportion of children in this part of the world do not get the psychosocial and physical welfare needed for effective child development. As a consequence, many live in a state that is adversely affecting their emotional well-being rather than nurturing it.
Despite the fact that the international community made its commitment and reaffirmation that primary education would be a universal phenomena within the short term future, the situation in the ground in Somaliland does not show any indications in favor of the attainment of that goal in the foreseeable outlook. The reality dictates that the majority of children born and bread here are denied of their legitimate right to basic education, let alone the rest of the educational ladder.
A child who is obliged to put up in such a situation is for no reason forced to face the sorrow and bitterness of dark future and is amenable to all forms of social and psychological predators, in addition to being devoid of all the good that go with education. There a flower-to-blossom is to wilt.The different parts of the community suffer these devastating situations in extremely disproportionate manner. Gender disparity in all aspects of children's lives is widening time after time, a fact that is in drastic contrast with the international communities' ambition to eliminate all forms of gender inequality in a decade's time.
Disabled children, with special needs and care, have to sustain these pains and hardships exacerbated by their physical and mental scars. Children with some form of mental or physical retardations have no place in my society, both at family and community levels and they are treated as physical objects rather than human beings who deserve right and respect, and above all, who can positively contribute to their society.
We- the adults, responsible members, educators, officials and all concerned citizens- are the duty bearers who are liable to the situation of the children- the rights holders in this regard. It is our collective and patriotic responsibility to ensure that the needs of young children in Somaliland are well understood and addressed. If our cultural heritage and values are to survive way behind us, we must sow and nurture the seeds of the future flower.
Ridwan Mohamed Osman
Nairobi,
Kenya
For a family whose sole-bread winner was a nine-year old shoe polisher, enrolling several children in school was not an easy venture, however promising it may be. That family, with an average income of less than $ 30 a month a sum that must cover all basic needs - found it hard to find money for their children's schooling. School fees, together with the associated hidden costs, were the biggest barriers that prevented that very poor family from building a better future for their youngsters.
The situation of that young unlucky child, though determined, is the rule rather then the exceptional in Somaliland. His case is representative of the harsh life that thousands of children in this country have to endure.The majority of children in Somaliland live under the perils of negligence, poverty, ignorance, diseases, exploitation and lack of basic care. The deleterious impacts of these factors on child's development make any looming hope seem unattainable. With their effects multiplying each time, these misfortunes are transmitted from one generation to the next as if they are an irreversible, congenital part of normal life.Infant and child mortality rates are one of the highest in the world, mounting to figures as high as 125 and 211 per 1000 live births respectively.
Preventable infectious diseases constitute one of the main immediate causes of death among infants and children in this country. Diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections and malaria together account for more than half of these cases. Very low level of immunization- about 30%- which is far from being sufficient to prevent many health complications arising as a result of communicable diseases, seems to be an underlying factor behind many health misfortunes surrounding Somaliland children.
Recurrent droughts and failed rainy seasons led to severe food shortages, which negatively contributed to poor nutritional status in many parts of the country, specially in rural areas, where chronic malnutrition among infants and children is widely prevalent.A large proportion of children in this part of the world do not get the psychosocial and physical welfare needed for effective child development. As a consequence, many live in a state that is adversely affecting their emotional well-being rather than nurturing it.
Despite the fact that the international community made its commitment and reaffirmation that primary education would be a universal phenomena within the short term future, the situation in the ground in Somaliland does not show any indications in favor of the attainment of that goal in the foreseeable outlook. The reality dictates that the majority of children born and bread here are denied of their legitimate right to basic education, let alone the rest of the educational ladder.
A child who is obliged to put up in such a situation is for no reason forced to face the sorrow and bitterness of dark future and is amenable to all forms of social and psychological predators, in addition to being devoid of all the good that go with education. There a flower-to-blossom is to wilt.The different parts of the community suffer these devastating situations in extremely disproportionate manner. Gender disparity in all aspects of children's lives is widening time after time, a fact that is in drastic contrast with the international communities' ambition to eliminate all forms of gender inequality in a decade's time.
Disabled children, with special needs and care, have to sustain these pains and hardships exacerbated by their physical and mental scars. Children with some form of mental or physical retardations have no place in my society, both at family and community levels and they are treated as physical objects rather than human beings who deserve right and respect, and above all, who can positively contribute to their society.
We- the adults, responsible members, educators, officials and all concerned citizens- are the duty bearers who are liable to the situation of the children- the rights holders in this regard. It is our collective and patriotic responsibility to ensure that the needs of young children in Somaliland are well understood and addressed. If our cultural heritage and values are to survive way behind us, we must sow and nurture the seeds of the future flower.
Ridwan Mohamed Osman
Nairobi,
Kenya
1 comment:
Dear Ridwan,
Many thanks for the best way you articulated your wonderful article. I really appreciated your insightful view towards the neglected force of the future.
Keep up educate our society
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