Theme of the Day of the African Child 2012: “The Rights of Children with Disabilities: The Duty to Protect, Respect, Promote and Fulfill”.
A 17-year-old, who lost his sight at the age of ten due to river blindness, speaks for many of Africa’s children with disabilities when he says: “I thought it was the end of my world, but with education, I am hopeful that I will be useful in society and not be a beggar in the streets.” Bai Kamara is enrolled at the UNICEF-supported Educational Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired in the capital Freetown where work is underway to put the Sierra Leone Child Rights Act into Braille.
Millions of children in Africa live with some sort of disability. On the Day of the African Child 2012, UNICEF calls on families, communities and governments throughout the continent to protect children with disabilities from discrimination, violence and neglect, and to provide them with access to all the services they need to grow up healthy and live up to their potential.
Read more http://allafrica.com
