“The biggest man you ever saw was once a baby”, Bob Marley.
These are probably the wisest words ever said to make the case for children. It appears almost inconceivable that a man considered a dagga smoker by most could literally close the debate by summarizing all the clichés used to advance the need for safe and good childhood, e.g. children are the future leaders, the shrubs of today are tomorrow’s forest and so on.
These words crossed my mind around 16:00 hours on some idle Tuesday as I sat in a bus on my way home. These very words sparked a chain of activities. As I sat in the bus I saw a bunch of ragged children huddled in the trench by the roadside. This was obviously in efforts to keep warm as it was the middle of the cold season.
Impulsively, I decided I was going to fulfill my long held desire to adopt a child or more. I have always felt that would be a noble contribution on my part and a step towards creating a better life for at least some child.
I began to take this seriously in the days that followed. I made inquiring phone calls to relevant authorities and began to financially and emotionally prepare myself. Suddenly, another sight of children, these in large numbers fighting and tugging at each other’s torn clothes thwarted my vigour. The magnitude of the problem at hand came to the fore and how my action would have little or no impact on this situation hit me strongly. I had too many confusing questions. I developed a sense of helplessness.
My reflection led me to try and understand the situation of children, the magnitude and the possible answers.
EVERY ADULT WAS A CHILD
Why is advocacy and lobbying for children’s rights not easier? Ideally, no child should lack essential needs. This is because of the mere fact that we have all been children before. We all know those things which we longed for, appreciated or those which we could not have done without as children. We know also those things which if they had happened or if they did happen may have or actually jeopardized our lives.
The starting point is that everyone desires that certain things be done for him/her. Thus, the golden rule arises to implore to the consciousness of everyone to do those very things to others that one desires be done to him/her. If you are a child you can hardly do anything for others or yourself. This should, however, by no means be a problem because childhood is only a phase of brewing potential which everyone goes through en-route a fully productive adult life. How productive one’s adult life is, is determined largely by the foundation on which it is built. Therefore, it is entirely inevitable that the adult population do to children what they wish be done to them.
THE CONTEXT OF CHILDREN TODAY
The pressures of modern life, more so in the case of Zambia, where the stress on family life triggered by shrinking or absent wages, the resulting non-presence of parents because of their efforts to make ends meet is in no way impacting positively on children.
It goes without saying that poverty is the primary problem many Zambian families and consequently children have to grapple with. It is probably the fueling factor of most of the problems facing children today. These problems are surely enormous, including:
- Child mortality rates are extremely high owing mostly to poor sanitary and health conditions.
- Child defilement has been reported to be occurring at alarming rates.
- The number of children on the street is swelling daily.
- Child labour and exposure to indecent or improper environments is the order of the day.
- Early marriages are rife, resulting in school drop out, death during child birth and so on.
- In countries at war, child soldiers and gang rape of young girls is occurring.
WHAT WE ARE NEGLECTING?
Children, like everybody else, need more than just physical needs of food and clothing. Psychosocial support should be brought into the picture. This becomes imperative in situations where the child is orphaned. The loss of parents has the effect of making children traumatized and stigmatized especially in cases where the loss is caused by HIV/ AIDS. We, however, seem to be stuck in the age old assumption that “children have no problems.” This is a cultural failure to appreciate psycho-social intervention is retrogressive but surely a deliberate policy and funds committed to this by the concerned authorities would not be unwelcome.
The effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on children cannot be over emphasized. The epidemic is tearing away at the social, cultural and economic fabric of families. Children are at the centre of this. In the case of infected children, to date no ARVs have been tailored for children. This is an indication of less concern manufacturers, scientists and policy makers place on children. We too (the general public) are equally guilty as we have kept quiet about this unacceptable reality.
Numerous studies have shown that education has vast incalculable returns for individuals, societies and economies. Education gives children a chance to fulfill their potential and enjoy a rich meaningful life which they otherwise would not have. Despite this being factual and easily observable, approximately 15% of Zambian children miss out on school completely.
Over shadowing of children appears to be a global trend as even some of the worlds richest nations like the USA which can afford to feed all of its children falls short of doing so. As UNICEF study (1993) reports, “It is a dramatic feature of the US public policy to intervene on behalf of the elderly and not children.”
THE ANSWER
Every child, whether born in the first world or third world, in a city or village, in a mansion, a shack, or under a tree has as much chance of success in life as the other. The big question is: what distorts this equality? The answer may not be so simple and may not come from me. It is unquestionable though that we are not doing enough for our children.
Have we forgotten the old saying that good bridges are built on strong foundations, in this case the foundation being childhood? To confirm this, government plans and policies hardly ever explicitly discuss options to counter the pressures and provide safety and opportunity for children.
Recently, the Zambian government introduced national service training camps targeting “street kids,” free primary and basic education for all children. These are commendable initiatives. However, consideration of who absorbs the indirect costs must be made. These may prohibit children, especially the poor from accessing these services. This is shown in the recent report by the JCTR on the cost of “free education” in Zambia.
It still remains highly questionable why the rights based approach is not being strongly supported in our country. This demands incorporation of social, economic and cultural rights in the Zambian Constitution’s Bill of Rights so that provision of education, health care and other such vital services for children are clearly spelled out. This will offer the best opportunity to secure the leaders’ commitment to provision of children’s necessities.
The UNICEF report, 2005, talks of a protective environment that is made up of interconnected elements that individually and collectively work to protect children. This for me would be steps towards the answer.
CONCLUSION
After bringing all this to light my mind became cloudy. Many more questions arouse. Will adopting one child make any meaningful impact on the situation of children as a whole? Is it just wishful thinking? Is it a superficial act to gratify myself by believing I have done something to correct the situation of children? Or should I be paying more attention to the deeper issues like the causes, the hindrances and the universal solutions?
The one thing I knew needed no questioning was that we are yesterday’s children who became today’s adults. In the same light today’s children will become tomorrow’s adults. What conditions prevail during this transition will determine what kind of world we leave behind and may well be used to measure the success of our existence.
Chilufya Chileshe
JCTR Staff
