Day of the African child celebrated in Juba
By Amoko Robert
June 17, 2011 (JUBA) – The Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare in South Sudan, Agnes Kwaje Lasuba, said Thursday that education was the regional governments first priority for children in Southern Sudan as it is the key to building a nation. South Sudan becomes independent July 9.
The minister was speaking at the commemoration of the African Child Day under the theme “Together for Urgent Actions in favour of South Sudanese Children”. The event held at Nyakuron Cultural Centre Juba, in Juba the regional capital, was attended by the South Sudan Minister of Youth and Sport and other top government dignitaries including legislators.
Minister Kwaje concurred with the theme adopted by the Executive Council of the African Union for 2011: “All together for Urgent Actions in Favour of Street Children”.
Addressing the gathering, Minister Kwaje said that, the history of the day of African Child dates back to 1976 where thousands of black African school children in Soweto, South Africa protested against the inferior quality of education they received.
She said the children demanded their rights to quality education similar to that given to white children. The Apartheid regime “responded by killing hundreds of them and thousands injured”, she added.
Kwaje said “as we celebrate this day, lets pause and reflect on the massacre of south Sudan children, there fathers and mothers during the twenty one years of civil war”.
The minister explained that the day is a reminder of what needs to be done in terms of full realisation of the rights of children.
“There is an urgent need to create an environment that will allow children to have their rights to grow and thrive, government, international institutions, communities and parents to unite their efforts and stop the root causes which send children to streets.”
“It’s estimated the civil war left fifty thousand children orphaned and one hundred and seventy thousand separated from there biological parents”, she stressed.
Sudan’s civil war (1983-2005) led to the death’s of over 2 million and displaced around four million people.
Kwaje said some of the causes force children on the streets of South Sudan are poverty, migration from rural areas and population growth. Many families in South Sudan are unable to provide a daily meal for their children, she said.
She added that unemployment needed to be addressed and better social security provided to families. The minister also said that alcoholism and neglect forced some children onto the streets.
The minister said that many children drop out from school because their parents cannot afford to pay school fees.
“Currently in South Sudan cultural ties are strong, no family can reject a child of a relative be it orphan or street kid, such caring people should be supported by government and children agencies”.
“Let’s us listen to the children, offer them services, like education, skills and mentor them to be responsible citizens”.
Kwaje said that her ministry cannot resolve the plague of street children alone but she said it demands concerted efforts from all stakeholders to stop children living on the streets.
“The major priorities of Ministry of Gender Child, and Social Welfare were to make sure the rights of the child is included in the southern Sudan transitional constitution of 2011 which was done.”
The other task is the implementation of the Child Act 2008, which she described it as a legal frame work to strengthen the mechanisms to promote children’s welfare.
The Minister calls upon the UNICEF to produce more copies of the Child Act 2008 so they could be distributed to all members of the South Sudan Legislative Assembly.
“The Republic of South Sudan [ROSS] should have no children without parental care on the streets”, she said.
Kwaje concluded by saying that children in South Sudan suffer from hunger, diseases, violence, abduction, abuse.
(ST)