Accelerate processes of protection, development and equal opportunities for children in Africa by 2030
Special Thanks
We thank God for the gift of life and for his protection. The Day of the African Child was successfully celebrated thanks to his love.
I want to thank all the people who joined us in one way or another, to celebrate this important day. Every year we gather at Dala Kiye to celebrate this event and you have always been very supportive. Thank you very much.
Our lively teachers continue with the same spirit and motivation to guide and instruct the kids to teach them songs and dances to entertain guests on this day.
A thank you goes to all the guests, children and not, for participating in giving educational speeches. Apart from educational entertainment, the speeches helped us to understand deeply how important this day is for all African children.
The effort and commitment to the organization of this event by the staff of Dala Kiye was remarkable. I would like to thank them for their excellent work. Finally, a special thanks goes to the “We World Kenya Foundation”. Your financial support on this day is highly recognized. We always appreciate your support.
F. Emilio Balliana
Program Director
Background
The day of the African child is celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991 when it was introduced by the organization “Africa Unity”. This day is in memory of all those children who participated in the Soweto uprising in 1976. This day also aims to create greater awareness of the need to improve the educational level of African children.
Come Dala Kiye has always been concerned with ensuring an education for our children.
Celebrating this day means always keeping in mind that more needs to be done in the education sector to help children. This year’s theme was: “Accelerating the processes of protection, development and equal opportunities for children in Africa by 2030”.
This theme provided a clear vision on the subject of education. However, there is still a need to provide more opportunities for children to have access to education. Every child has the right to education and this year’s theme has foreseen the implementation and realization of this purpose by 2030.
The children and guests present at the ceremony wore a white hat that had the theme imprinted on it. to symbolically remember the commitment made. The courtyard of the Dala kiye was filled with children from nearby schools accompanied by their teachers, parents and other guests. The crowd present at the celebration recalled how much the theme of the education of African children is felt.
While waiting for the celebrations to begin, the film “Sarafina” was screened. The film was produced in the wake of the Soweto uprising and shows what South African children have done to gain access to a good education. The film was broadcast to remind everyone of the pain and suffering suffered to make school education accessible to all the children of Africa, to ensure that all this was not done in vain. Thanks to them the schools were opened.
The celebration of this day began with a prayer by Father Elphas Kolia, subsequently the Coordinator of program Dala Kiye took the stage to welcome and thank the attendees. He also explained to those present the details of the day’s program.
Opening the activities was the speech of one of the guest children. In her speech, the girl mentioned the benefits that a girl has by having the opportunity to access school and receive an education. You stated how destructive it can be for a nation to have an uneducated population. She encouraged parents to protect and safeguard the interests of children, providing for their needs and avoiding conduct that causes children to skip classes. In conclusion, you thanked the NGOs for the enormous work they have done to promote the school education of children. She especially thanked Dala Kiye for taking care of the children and taking care of them. Only access to education is able to eradicate the pain and suffering suffered by children.
After his speech, the children who had prepared a presentation for the event lined up at the registration desk. Compared to other events, the Day of the African Child is the most fun for children as it assumes their involvement throughout the celebration. They have the opportunity to organize themselves and take the reins of the event.
The children had prepared many performances to entertain the guests. For the first time there was a display of acrobatics. The students of the secondary B.L. Tezza performed demonstrating their acrobatic skills. They carefully balanced their bodies on each other, demonstrating that they possessed a flexibility that the crowd present had never seen before. This show opened the series of entertainment that followed.
Some children recited poems, sang and danced in order to encourage the population to promote education. They also participated in games that referred to the theme of the event. To cheer the guests, traditional dances and other shows held by young artists.
Among the shows, speeches were made by some guests including our mayor. To close the talks was a child who stressed the importance of education and shared with viewers the problem of the future reserved for those who do not attend school: fish market vendors or drivers of “boda boda”. This was a call for all parents, children and authorities to get children back on the right path of education.
The day was dedicated entirely to children. they had a lot of fun. They were the directors of the day actively participating with numerous activities.
At one o’clock, the ceremony was interrupted for the lunch break. As usual, all the children received bread and drinks and the guests ate lunch in the refectory. After lunch, the guests gathered near the football field to watch the first match played between B.L. Tezza and Sori. It was a hard-fought and difficult match but as in all fights, there is always a winner and the victory went to Sori’s team. The next match saw the children of the Rabuor primary school clash against the primary school Paul Odendo . The young boys proved their skills on the pitch and Rabuor beat Paul Odendo 2-1. The winners of the two games then clashed for the final match. The two teams were very well prepared and neither team wanted to give up. After a lot of time and effort and following a penalty, Rabuor was able to take the victory home.
The girls were not left behind. After the warm-up, the girls of the primary school netball team from Wachara and Gunga have tested their strength. The fight between the two teams ended with Wachara’s victory.
After the demonstration of primary school children, it was the turn of the secondary school teams. the football team of secondary school B.L. Tezza played against that of Rabuor and shortly after the first won 4-1. Meanwhile, the netball meetings between the girls went on. The match between the women’s team of secondary school B.L. Tezza against Rabuor closed the sporting moment of this day giving the victory to B.L. Tezza.
The last part of the event was dedicated to the distribution of prizes to all the wonderful children who participated and entertained guests until the end. They were thanked with notebooks, pens, soaps, cookies, balls, shoe polish, toothpaste and toothbrushes. The children arrived at the end of the day happy and amazed at the fantastic event.
A final prayer was pronounced by Father Reuben to conclude this day; all the guests and children left the Dala Kiye to return to their homes.
Report by
Angwanga Awuor Sharon, Social Worker
