Mombasa Day of African Child

The 2011 day of the African Child celebrations for the Coastal region will be held in Mombasa town today. This year’s theme for the Day of the African Child is ‘all together for urgent action in favour of street children.’

The 2011 observance of this Day seeks to contribute to widespread awareness of the dangers street children face, promote the taking of urgent steps to protect them and determine strategies for providing effective child protection and care.

In 1976, thousands of black school children took to the streets of Soweto, South Africa. They protested the inferior quality of their education and demanded their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot down by security forces.

To honour the memory of those killed and the courage of all those who marched, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on 16 June every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union). The Day also draws attention to the lives of African children today.

While the exact number is unknown, Kenya is estimated to have 300,000 girls and boys living in street conditions. They are the most vulnerable to violence, abuse and neglect.

The definition of a “street child” is much debated, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has suggested that the term applies to children who a) live in urban areas; b) have family ties that are weak or non-existent; c) are forced to develop survival strategies; d) rely on the street as their main place of stay and for whom the street has replaced the family as a place for socialisation; and e) face specific major risks.

The 2011 observance of this Day seeks to contribute to widespread awareness of the dangers street children face, promote the taking of urgent steps to protect them and determine strategies for providing effective child protection and care.