20th November: World Children’s Day
Each year on November 20th, World Children’s Day promotes the welfare of children around the world. The day also spreads awareness for issues that children face and celebrates international togetherness.
Human rights don’t just apply to adults. They apply to children as well. Children deserve the right to life, health, education, and even the right to play. Additionally, children’s rights include the right to family life, protection from violence, and not to be discriminated against. The child also has the right for their views to be heard.
Unfortunately, children around the world face many challenging issues. According to Children Incorporated, 385 million children around the world live in poverty. One in four children lives in poverty in the world’s richest countries. An estimated 8,500 children a day die from malnutrition.
Children have a difficult world in which to navigate. It helps to have loving parents or other family members to help them guide the way. Unfortunately, there are millions of children who do not have someone like this in their life. According to UNICEF, 153 million children across the globe are orphans.
Many people come together to celebrate this day. This includes teachers, health care professionals, government leaders, civil society activists, mothers, fathers, media professionals, and religious leaders. These people play an important role to make this day relevant to their communities and countries. Children also celebrate the day by taking over roles in media, politics, and entertainment to highlight issues important to them.