“Every child has the right to health, education, and protection, and every society has a stake in expanding children’s opportunities in life. Yet, around the world, millions of children are denied a fair chance for no reason other than the country, gender, or circumstances into which they are born.” UN
Covid-19 has taken over media and our minds 24/7 almost for a year now. What if we were as concerned about our children’s wellbeing? What would be the impact? Don’t get me wrong, I take Covid seriously, and yet I have an unpleasant feeling at the bottom of my stomach that we have become to a point where we keep ourselves and our families safe and are forgetting how the children all around the world are doing. Can we even imagine what is the reality in war zones or areas of extreme poverty? I surely can’t even how hard I try.
“Poverty affects children disproportionately. Around the world, one out of five children lives in extreme poverty, living on less than US$1.90 a day. Their families struggle to afford the basic health care and nutrition needed to provide them a strong start. These deprivations leave a lasting imprint; in 2019, 149 million children under the age of five were stunted.” UN
Likely we all have a common understanding, that children and their wellbeing are the future. These children will run the world and if we are not there for them, what will happen? We continue the cycle of inequality. I feel it is rather easy not to think about the reality in the vulnerable groups in our communities when we have more than enough of everything. The lead
ers of our world, mostly white men, are making most of the decisions based on their reality, clearly, of course
, solving hundreds of complicated issues at a time, ending in some sort of consensus, not really servin
g anyone except the rich become richer when we should concentrate more on making the decisions to make the world a bit happier and balanced place instead of more productive and profitable, what mainly makes the poor poorer.
There are gazillion ways to make a difference. No one of us can save the world alone, but if we all do something about it in our own way, with our own skills and capacity, the impact will be tremendous. And I don’t mean we should give only money to charity, but actually find our ways to connect and support our future generation. Starting from our own family, friends, neighbors, local communities, and ending up sharing the good all over the world.
“Violence against children knows no boundaries of culture, class or education. It takes place against children in institutions, in schools, and at home. Peer violence is also a concern, as is the growth in cyberbullying. Children exposed to violence live in isolation, loneliness and fear, not knowing where to turn for help, especially when the perpetrator is someone close. Children’s gender, disability, poverty, nationality or religious origin may all increase the risk of violence with the youngest being especially vulnerable as they are less able to speak up and seek support.” UN
What do you want to do?
Marika <3