International Day of the African Child: A call for solidarity and commitment from the authorities to ensure education for all children in Luwowoshi
By Tatiana Ballay - Communications officer
Luwowoshi, a community in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, celebrated the International Day of the African Child. It was an event marked by exemplary mobilisation, reflecting the importance attached to this day.
On 18 June 2024, the Saint Vincent primary school in Luwowoshi in the Lubumbashi sub-commune was the setting for celebrating the International Day of the African Child. On the programme: a special day bringing together education inspectors, members of the children's tribunal, the representative of the mayor of the annex commune, the head of the child protection police, World Vision agents and many other members of the community, including parents and children.
The ceremony opened with a prayer, followed by playing the national anthem. Alicia, a young emissary from the Luwowoshi Children's Committee, moved the assembly by representing the voice of her peers with a message of welcome.
Alexandre Mwikewu, Head of the Gender, Family and Children Division, underlined the importance of the event: "Our gathering celebrates the importance of the protection and well-being of every child on the African continent. This year's theme 'Education for all children in Africa: the time has come' is a plea. Many African children are deprived of this fundamental right. This is unacceptable. As fervent defenders of children, we are determined to rectify this situation with the invaluable support of organisations like World Vision."
Josué, representative of the Ambassade des Enfants et Jeunes de la RDC (AEJ RDC), briefly described the history of this day dedicated to children. The Luwowoshi Children's Committee presented a moving play denouncing the lack of public schools in Luwowoshi and the abuse of children that leads to them dropping out of school.
A plea from the Children's Committee was presented to the representative of the local authority's Gender, Family, and Children division, calling on the authorities to respond to all the children's recommendations.
The event was also marked by the distribution of exercise books to 200 children in anticipation of the start of the new school year, demonstrating World Vision's support for education.
The ceremony ended with a call to action from Deogratias, headmaster of a primary school in Luwowoshi: "What is our role in protecting our children? Every child has the right to a quality education and we hope that the government will take into account the difficulties faced by the children of Luwowoshi. A big thank you to World Vision for this commendable initiative for the children of Luwowoshi and the surrounding municipality of Lubumbashi".
The celebration of the International Day of the African Child in Luwowoshi marks the commitment of community actors to spare no effort to ensure the education and protection of all children.