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.