As
part of activities marking the 30th anniversary commemoration of the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), members of the National
Steering Committee have been engaging special needs on children of the UNCRC
which will be held on Wednesday 20 November, at Qcity.
The
committee, comprising child focused institutions like the Department of Social
Welfare, ChildFund The Gambia, SOS Children’s Village The Gambia and Child
Protection Alliance, is reaching out to students at GOVI and others in a bid to
ensure that no child is discriminated against and that the voices of all
children are heard.
At
the Kanifing-based Gambia Organisation for the Visually Impaired (GOVI),
members of the Voice of the Young interacted with the students, reminding them
about their right to education, participation in issues affecting them, and
their overall protection from abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Fana
Maram Gaye, Social Welfare officer at the Department of Social Welfare said
there have been tremendous efforts by the government and global child
protection stakeholders for the celebration of the 30 years anniversary of the
UNCRC.
The
government, through the Department of Social Welfare and the leading task force
are collaborating to commemorate the day. “We are conducting events such as
school outreach to tell children with disabilities that they matter to the
society and to give them the platform to discuss what is affecting them. They
are also given the opportunity to tell how they want stakeholders to address
their problems and we believe that the school outreach is essential in
contributing to the success of this commemoration,’’ Ms Gaye said.
She
called on all child protection stakeholders to jointly celebrate the day as the
UNCRC has brought about the existence of the children Act which is protecting
all children in the Gambia.
