One of the most rewarding things for me is to work with children. Hear their stories, listen to their opinions, witness their progress and enter their world, even if just for an hour or so.
One of the saddest things for me is to see how little respect the world still has for children. How much we still violate their rights, and how little knowledge we, and them, have about rights. Human rights and Children's rights.
I am lucky enough to be a part of an amazing group of people who work towards raising awareness on this topic: making children - and by consequence adults - aware that they have rights. That they have a voice. And that their voice needs to be heard.
Even when we know about the general concept of human rights, we still forget (or simply don't know) what we are really talking about.
The right to freedom of choice, for example. Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it? I get to choose what I think is right for me. Then why are there so many cases of violence against people who chose to love someone from the same gender? Or why are we still judged (or judging someone) based on a political vote?
And when it comes to Children's rights... Are we aware that there are more than 40 articles clearly stating what they should be able to do? Do we keep in mind that a child has the right for protection? That it is our duty as adults, to protect a child?
Do we respect their right to play and rest, when we stuff their schedules with activity after activity?
Do we respect the fundamental right to RESPECT each other no matter our religion, color of our skin, gender, age or sexual orientation? And are we teaching our kids that exact principle?
I am amazed at how little knowledge there is around the topic, but I couldn't be prouder to be a part of Child of Play and to have the opportunity to shed a light on this subject. For the good of our children and for the good of the planet.
One of the saddest things for me is to see how little respect the world still has for children. How much we still violate their rights, and how little knowledge we, and them, have about rights. Human rights and Children's rights.
I am lucky enough to be a part of an amazing group of people who work towards raising awareness on this topic: making children - and by consequence adults - aware that they have rights. That they have a voice. And that their voice needs to be heard.
Even when we know about the general concept of human rights, we still forget (or simply don't know) what we are really talking about.
The right to freedom of choice, for example. Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it? I get to choose what I think is right for me. Then why are there so many cases of violence against people who chose to love someone from the same gender? Or why are we still judged (or judging someone) based on a political vote?
And when it comes to Children's rights... Are we aware that there are more than 40 articles clearly stating what they should be able to do? Do we keep in mind that a child has the right for protection? That it is our duty as adults, to protect a child?
Do we respect their right to play and rest, when we stuff their schedules with activity after activity?
Do we respect the fundamental right to RESPECT each other no matter our religion, color of our skin, gender, age or sexual orientation? And are we teaching our kids that exact principle?
I am amazed at how little knowledge there is around the topic, but I couldn't be prouder to be a part of Child of Play and to have the opportunity to shed a light on this subject. For the good of our children and for the good of the planet.