I choose West and Central Africa. Africa is a country that I have always wanted
to visit and would someday like to do some volunteer work in this country. My research disclosed that children in West
and Central Africa have their rights violated on a daily basis. This is worse
than anywhere else in the world. Nearly two children out of 10 never reach
their fifth birthday. They die from malaria, diarrheal diseases and
vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles.
Malnutrition is widespread in the region. In the Sahel countries, half of the child
mortality is related to under-nutrition in children. 1.1 million children under five will suffer
acute malnutrition, and 3 million will suffer moderate acute malnutrition. Poverty and traditional beliefs keep 40% of
children out of school and girls in particular are penalized the most.
In examining the site, some of the challenges the children of
this region of the world are faced with daily basis are little to none
secondary education or any education at all. A severe lack of adequate housing,
clean drinking water, and sanitary means of waste matter disposal. The majority
of the children and their families live in extreme poverty. If children are
allowed to attend school, they are faced with sexual and other forms of
violence in school. Many of the children
in this region are being exploited and sold into child trafficking, child
labor, children in armed conflicts, child victims of harmful traditional
practices. There are many children who
are orphaned by AIDS. In West and
Central Africa today there are close to 5 million children who have been left
without the caring and protection of one or both of their parents.
Reading this information, I am heart broken. Hearing about the daily struggles of the
people in West and Central Africa puts so much into perspective for me. I take so much for granted and sometimes
don't realize just how good we have it.
I want to do more to help. I
spoke with my husband, and we decided to make a monthly donation to UNICEF to
help these children and families. In my
professional role as an early childhood educator, I can affect the lives of the
young children in my care and ensure they have positive early experiences that
will promote their cognitive, behavioral, and social-emotional development.
Reference: UNICEF (2011). http://www.unicef.org
Keli,
ReplyDeleteYes you are right. These children are living in deplorable conditions and being subjected to so much trauma, aside from the perils of poverty. Human trafficking is a very serious issue. I am so glad to hear you are going to be contributing to UNICEF. I know your contribution will make a positive impact.
It's horrible to hear of the struggles these children face on a daily basis. In the United States we take so much for granted not realizing that the basics we have are considered as luxury in other countries. Education is a big component of changing the future but Africa is facing so many crisis that education is falling to the bottom of the list. How do you decided whether to put more money into vaccines and medicines or educating your children....it's a difficult decision to make.
ReplyDeleteHi Keli,
ReplyDeleteLet me first commend you and your husband for taking action for a cause that you feel so deeply about because we often empathize with certain situations but we fail to take action. You have inspired me to contribute to UNICEF also because they are on the ground actually doing the work to help those that are in dire need. thanks for sharing your blog.
Keli,
ReplyDeleteI applaud you and your husband! We often don't think about how others are living because we are so caught up with our own lives. After reading about Africa I looked around at my own life and realized how blessed I am. Thanks for your post!
Hi Keli
ReplyDeleteIt sadden me to hear of the struggle that the children have to go through and we over here in the United States are taking everything for granted. I would love to one day give to the UNICEF to help the children.
Keli, that is so awesome that you have decided to donate monthly to this cause!!! I remember in high school we did our UNICEF drive all the time and I would go around collecting coins and sometimes even get great donations like 5 dollar bills. It is so wonderful to have the heart of giving! What a great example you set for so many people out there, like your students for example :)!
ReplyDelete