THE AFRICAN CHILD

Struggling to live and survive is a hard task on its own, doing it in Africa is a whole lot worse and do you know the worst way to survive? I'd tell you, it's being an African child born into a poor home. Imagine growing up in a place where you lack the most basic needs like shelter, food, love and toys. Something worse than this is hearing your parents blame you for their misfortune and lack (just because they need to blame something).

You would love to be in school but your parents cannot afford it, so you have to stay back at home playing your life away, that is if you are even lucky enough not to be sent out to work as a maid or an apprentice. The grown poor fathers are suffering, they blame the rich and the government, the children are suffering, scared and yet ask them what they want to be in future and most of them still scream, lawyer, doctor, nurses, engineers etc. So much hope and enthusiasm even in the face of difficulty.

the Voiceless African children, it is claimed that you can get a free education but yet hidden fees that no one talks about erupts (PTA, exam fees, development fees etc). How many of you have to watch your mothers beaten at night by your drunk fathers? How many of you are called worthless and unwanted? How many of you even survive your early years?

Most children born to poor parents in Africa die of various diseases like malaria, typhoid, dysentery, fever, cancer etc. It's a real miracle to survive your teenage years, this period where a war of emotions happens within you, fear of an unknown tomorrow, hatred for your parents, disgust towards the government coupled with your raging emotions.

Other countries talk about depressed people, Africa boasts of a ton of depressed people, young children who fight their depression by venturing into stealing, prostituting etc and most often these children fight this depression by taking drugs. And do you know the bitter truth, even when they are willing to be rehabilitated, there are no avenues, no provision for that. They end up as rascals in the street, some of them get pregnant or impregnate a young adult like themselves and boom!, the cycle is repeated. What about those of them who don't even bother to fight the depression.

Very few lucky ones are brave enough to fight their depression with determination, allowing their depression motivate them to work hard and do something better, they get disgusted by the idea of having to live like their parents and raise their own children the way they were raised. 2 out of 16 children determined to be rich and get their whole family out of poverty but only 10% of that number actually reached the goal, because most time they lacked guidance. And then I am forced to asked who we are to blame, the government or their parents?
A part of me still feels that just a little love, a little motivation and maybe, just maybe this numbers would increase, maybe the children would have hope again, maybe the children would decide to make something out of themselves. Maybe if a little care is show to them, maybe they can do something right and help other children like themselves.

This is for all African children, keep holding on and don't stop trying to reach, jump or stretch a little higher, but don't give up on your goal.