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DAY OF AFRICAN CHILD
CELEBRATION 2019
VENUE
ST. CAMILLUS DALA KIYE GROUNDS
THEME
“Humanitarian action in Africa: Children’s rights first.”
DATE
14TH
JUNE 2019
Introduction
International Day of the African Child celebration has been marked since 1991 on 16th June
every year in memory of the 16th June 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa. At that
time, students marched in protest against the poor quality of education they received and
demanded to be taught in their own languages. St. Camillus Dala Kiye being one of the
organizations caring for the OVC marks this day together with the rest of the world yearly. This
year, Dala Kiye celebrated the day earlier on 14th June. The theme of the year was
“Humanitarian action in Africa: Children’s rights first.” There are so many humanitarian crises
that lead to violation of children’s rights like war, earthquakes and floods. These violations
include failure to provide education, health or an adequate standard of living for children.
Therefore, every year organizations working with children and the government are urged to
join hands to evaluate the viability of their policies to cater for children in vulnerable situations,
including children with disabilities, to ensure that their rights are upheld. Present at the
occasion were invited guests from different regions within Karungu, 15 schools each having 20
pupils and two teachers. The schools included; (B.L.Tezza primary. B.L.Tezza special school for
the deaf, St. Mary’s Boys Kiranda, Kiranda girls, B.L.Tezza secondary school, Agolomuok, Gunga,
Kopala, Aringo, Kaduro, Paullo Odendo, Wachara, Marjan Junior and Nyamanga. ) other people
present were Camillian novices and their Master, Kopala and Agolomuok caregivers, partners,
St. Camillus Staffs, Dala Kiye staffs and other community members.
Celebration
School children from different invited schools arrived at Dala Kiye grounds to start the
celebration mid morning. The day was started off by an opening prayer from Fr. John Kariuki
who welcomed everyone to the celebration and gave a few remarks after praying. In his
remarks, he gave an overview of the day’s celebration. He defined the day as commemorating
the fallen innocent souls of South Africa who yearned for education. He gave a brief history of
the Soweto Uprising and reminded children of how important education is. He concluded by
urging all children to continue working hard in school and never gives up on their dreams.
The able master of ceremony then took the mantle of interchanging speeches with
entertainment for the better part of the morning session. Speeches were delivered by St.
Camillus novices who talked about the identity of the African children and the love all Africans
should have amongst themselves. Two children, a boy and a girl from St. Mary’s Boys Kiranda
and Kiranda girls respectively also delivered brief talks on the day’s theme. The children talked
passionately of the atrocities being committed by some elders in denying children access to
education and urged the audience to help report such cases so that help could reach such
children.
On the part of the entertainments, the children showed their skills through different
performances in form of dancing, singing, performing drama, football skill demonstrations and
poetry. The caregivers too entertained the gathering by presenting plays according to the day’s
theme. At 1pm everyone took a break to get some bites. All teachers, caregivers, guests and
staff got their lunch from the dining hall as the children took their refreshments.
The afternoon session was purely entertainment and a football march between B.L.Tezza
primary boys and St. Mary’s boys. The march between the young boys concluded with B.L.Tezza
boys emerging victorious. This victory was much celebrated with a modern dance battle among
the children.
At the end of the day, presentation of awards was done by Dala Kiye social workers. All children
who performed according to the theme of the day were appreciated by being given bars soap,
toothpastes, tooth brushes, exercise books and pens. The winning football team took the ball
home.
Closing remarks were given by Fr. Emilio Balliana who appreciated and thanked all the pupils for
coming to mark the day at Dala Kiye. He wished the pupils well in their studies and urged them
to continue working hard in school. He also thanked the teachers and Dala Kiye staff for
ensuring the day was successful. He then closed with a word of prayer.
Report compiled by:
Angwanga Sharon
Social Worker.
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