CBC-Sports

A day in honour of the African child

June 26, 2009 02:42 PM | Posted by   Anna Rice  

June 16 marked the International Day of the African Child and I was honoured to be involved in a fun-filled day of activities hosted by Right To Play here in Kampala.

The Day of the African Child was established in 1991 as a day to honour the hundreds of black school children who were shot dead or injured by the apartheid government in Soweto, South Africa on June 16, 1976 and throughout the weeks that followed.

The day has become a commemorative event for children all over Africa. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness for the struggles facing African children, most of whom still live in extreme poverty in which their basic needs are not being met.

“Run4Girls”

To honour this occasion here in Kampala, Right To Play and a partner community organization arranged a sports day for more than 500 children from 25 primary schools. The day began with a 4-km run around the neighborhood, undertaken by over 200 boys and girls ranging in age from 5 to 14.

Two participants jog along in the Run4Girls fun run in Kampala. (Photo by Anna Rice)

The run was called “Run4Girls” because the purpose was to promote the equal inclusion of girls into sports within this community.

Anyone who knows me at all knows that the promotion of equal inclusion and equal treatment of girls in sport is something I’m passionate about, so I was thrilled to be asked to run along side these kids to promote this cause.

But this was not just a fun and easy jog around the neighborhood. There were serious prizes at stake. The Top 5 girl and boy runners would get their school fees paid for that term, a prize worth about $30. To most Canadian kids, $30 would barely cover an afternoon at the mall, but in this community $30 could mean a parent’s monthly income.

The race began with a sudden stampede of kids pushing forward across the starting line, most running barefoot on the dusty dirt road. We ran around the hilly neighbourhood and locals minding their daily business looked up and laughed as we ran by. I felt - and must have looked - like a big white giraffe amongst this sea of African kids. When the race was over, the winners were given their prizes and I was really touched by their tears of joy as they received their awards.

Imagine explaining to a Canadian kid that the grand prize for this event was the right to go to school for a few more months. Kids at home complain about being ‘forced’ to go to school, but for kids in Uganda, going to school is a great privilege that they are so grateful for.

Like mixing broccoli into ice cream

After the big race, the runners joined a few hundred more school children on the big field to begin the Right To Play games. All the participating schools have implemented Right To Play programs within their schools, so they were familiar with the games taking place.

The games that Right To Play uses in sport for development programs are specially designed to educate children while they play. The kids have fun playing the games and at the same time the learning happens as a bi-product of the fun.

I say it is a bit like mixing broccoli into ice cream, where the broccoli represents the educational aspects and the ice cream the fun play games which carry the learning messages.

AIDS up close and personal

A lot of the Right To Play games focus on AIDS-related issues. Of course I’ve heard about AIDS and have studied the stats, but until you live in a place where the disease is common, it’s tough to really feel its devastating impact.

What has really hit home these past 10 weeks living here in Uganda is how real AIDS is for people here. As a Canadian, we learn about HIV/AIDS and what it’s about, but few of us know anyone who’s sick or has been directly affected by the illness. Here in Uganda - as elsewhere in Africa - everyone and I mean absolutely every person I’ve met in this country has been touched by this devastating disease.

As the Right To Play games took place across the big dirt field, I was happy to also get my fill of ‘broccoli ice cream’. One class taught me a new song, and as I watched the kids singing it for me, I could see how real the topic was for each of them. To AIDS they sang, asking for forgiveness - forgiveness on behalf of those who fail to appreciate the might of this sickness.

Aids forgive us,
Aids forgive us.

Aids oh please forgive us -
AIDS: can you forgive us.

Father dies and,
Mother’s left to suffer.
Mother dies and,
Children are left to suffer.

Children die now
All the World’s in brackets.

Aids forgive us,
Aids forgive us.

" Previous Post | Main
  •