HOSTS of the brightest smiles to brains,

Heirs of colorful identities,

Hope of the land of riches, 

The African Child.

While chasing such a rich identity, the African child is still at risk of starvation, war, the harsh life in a refugee camp, female genital mutilation (FGM), malnutrition, etc. Most African children are raised to endure a cacophony of unjust practices because, as a society, we cling to identifying the circumstances of an African child as their fate; often caging one’s story with cultural and societal procedures. While to some degree every child is invariably dealt the hand of their context’s baggage, the uniquely deleterious circumstances that African children face can hamper their ability to grow into the instrumental change makers that every nation wishes its young population to blossom into, and are thus worth further investigation.

"A baby girl, educated or not, has to chart her path into a successful household business;

"A baby boy, educated or not, has to be subjected to gun violence and carry the tribe’s pride.”

Such instances have been smoothly incorporated into most societies’ ways of life, giving zero room to protest, contrast, and speak out a truth that bears heavy scars of millions of children whose suffering is not heard. When parliamentarians, ministers, spokespeople, and presidents of the continent sit around the table to discuss issues of their nations, are the cries of the millions of girls at risk of FGM at the hands of their relatives not loud enough? Is the whimpering of a newborn in a refugee camp gasping for air over a treatable disease not heartbreaking enough? 

In the western media, the pictures of the dirty, belly-swollen, short, dark-skinned child, yes do depict a painful reality; but that is what it is, a reality, that has had a process to arrive at; a process that encompasses poor investments, the corruption that is at its peak, early marriages, parents who are never informed about birth control measures, poverty, etc. And given that this reality doesn’t come from the aether, it can be changed. It is a reality that needs collective efforts of the African nations to strategize and build a new world that is free of harm to the African Child. We need not wait on the mercy of the outside world, to own our way out; out of diseases, out of war, out of unjust practices against the most vulnerable. 

As Rwanda finalizes its preparations to host the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), I wholeheartedly hope for discourse energy that prioritizes owning the key to problems of the states that will converge in Kigali for the meeting. Above all, I hope for discussions that allow all economic, political, and social issues to be scrutinized and held relevant to children, women, and other marginalized groups. I hope for thoughtful strategies that spread and stretch the platform of the following African Union(AU) clauses on children (Concept of 2022 DAC): 

The African Children’s Charter which calls on States to ‘take all appropriate measures to eliminate harmful social and cultural practices affecting the welfare, dignity, normal growth and development of the child’.

The AU campaign to end child marriage that was launched in 2014 and was initially meant to last for two years, targeting Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.

The AU continental initiative to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

The AU Ten-Year Action Plan on the Eradication of Child Labour, Forced Labour, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in Africa.

An overall realization and enjoyment of children’s rights on the continent.

Finally, as the world celebrates the International Day of the African Child, let’s resonate with 2022’s theme: "Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy & Practice since 2013.” It’s time we stop excusing harmful cultural practices against the African Child: let the girls go to school, open up the world to those who still regard education as irrelevant, and prioritize security over tribe supremacy.

To one born to the African land (the energetic student, the opinionated being, the ball full of life), you deserve health, peace, love, knowledge, a voice, and role models. I celebrate you, I see you, but above all I understand you. 

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