This Unit of Inquiry is about children’s rights; how and why some of the children in the world aren’t getting their rights properly in their living situation, and instead put in child labor, fighting in war, slaves etc. For this unit our key concepts are responsibility and causation. So far I have learned many facts and information such as children around the world are being treated unfairly, mostly in the underdeveloped countries like Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Libya etc.
We are recently reading a book called Iqbal. I don’t know the end story of this book yet, but Iqbal is a child slave working at a carpet factory in Lahore. He helps children escape from child labor. The conditions there is very harsh, so it’s really tough to live. I have learned and seen the conditions in other countries from my previous experience. Unlike Hong Kong where I live, children here are treated properly, there are laws and regulations to protect the children’s rights. Children recieve proper education, medical care, welfare, government subsidies..etc. We are protected from mistreated and abused.
However, there are many countries in the world such as Iraq, Africa, Syria, North Korea etc. their children are not that fortunate and they are suffering from war, starvation, child labor, child prostitution, child crime, drug abuse etc. I have learned many organizations like UNICEF, Free The Children, ChilOut, Defense for Children International and much more that are helping and providing necessary needs and aids to these unfortunate children as much as they can.
I think the most important thing I’ve discovered in this unit is that there are child heroes who try to help others, like Ryan Hrejiac who helped to build a well to provide clean and fresh water by getting the money from donation of other people. Ryan was just an ordinary kid he started to raise money for the well and he had to raise 2000 Canadian Dollars. He did chores, he got help from his neighbors and he then reached the target of 2000 dollars. They made a well in Uganda which has helped many people. The most surprising thing I’ve learned in this unit is how many child heroes can take their initiative to help. It is astonishing because they took action, not many children or even adults would do it. I admire these child heroes, they set a good example for us to learn and follow. They give us courage to help others.
I think the most important thing that I’ve learned so far is that children’s rights should be protected and cared. I have learned from my previous grade that children are the future. If they are grown up properly and educated properly, they will make a big difference, they will bring the world to a better place. Unfortunately, there are many children suffering from abused and mistreated, and they need help from others. For example Craig Kielburger, he saw on a news article about a boy who was murdered because he started a fight against child labor. Craig was mad about it and since then he founded the charitable organization, Free The Children, which are fighting against child labor.
If I could join an organization to help and to make a difference in the lives of children, I would join The CNN Freedom Project, because they push beyond borders and try to help people all around the world from Morocco to Pakistan, one of their main focuses is child slavery. The reason they picked that subject because many children are suffering from child slavery. The project is to free the abused children around the world, they are giving the children their own rights. They already have made a big difference. It might not be widely known but it soon will be, because it has already helped many children. They also focus on other subjects like drugs abuse etc. They show a TV series on CNN about it where a journalist goes to a country and look into the growing problems like children rights – they then “Go Beyond Borders” and investigate and challenge the people denying them. they sometimes win and sometime lose. In one incident they successfully freed the children from child labor, so it was pretty much a win and in another case they tried to find more about young drugs addicts, but they got threatened and they had to leave, so it was a loss.
Most charity projects or organizations take it very seriously to help the children. In some ways that they support the children’s rights by spreading the words, making protests, advertising, taking actions to help…. However, some selfish people, greedy businessmen and bad leaders would deny the children rights by making them work nonstop, leaving them starve, hitting them, forcing them to work no matter how young they are, making them go to war… and these children are being abused.
I am thinking of doing article 7 in the convention of the rights of the child for PSA which is a public service announcement. In article 7 it states that “Children and young people have the right to a name and a nationality.” “Children and young people have the right to be cared for by both parents.” This unit makes me feels curious and sad because I am learning about children rights. Sometimes I feel sorry for the children if they are being abused. I also feel sorry for unprivileged children too because they don’t have what most of us have. This is a very interesting unit. It makes me think sometimes that equality is not easy to get. How we can find the balance. Some parties must do more for others to fill in the gap.
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