Celebrating International Day of the African Child
Every year, the 16th of June marks a special day – the International Day of the African Child. It is a day that commemorates the Soweto Uprising in 1976 where thousands of courageous African school children took to the streets to rally for their rights to quality education and to be taught in their local language, but instead got shot at, killing hundreds and wounding thousands of children.
Today, the International Day of the African Child that is observed every year, is a stark reminder and opportunity for reflection, of continued efforts required to improve the education rights and more of African children.
At Little World Builders, in our hope to combat Child Poverty worldwide, we hope to use our platform to help spread awareness of this special day to the little ones (and parents alike).
To help you get started on this conversation with your kid, we put together a list of educational and meaningful ways to get them involved in this discussion. Read on to learn more!
Read A Book that Features Black Main Characters
A great way to educate kids on complex issues like black history and culture is to expose them to these elements through storytelling! Keen to get started?
Check out Imagine Me Stories (one of our collaborators), a wonderful resource for empowering black children’s literature – with a huge collection of diverse stories and accompanying educational activities suitable for children ages 0 -12. Have a look at their best-selling range here –
[ Aretha Franklin (Little People, BIG DREAMS)]
[Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea]
Learn About Famous Black Children in History (and Friends Around Them)!
One of the amazing ways to introduce young children to issues that affect black children worldwide is to draw parallels between the many incredible black children who have made their mark in history and their friends in school!
It is a fantastic yet simple way to raise awareness of some of the issues that they or friends in school might be facing. Here is a great resource to find out more about incredible black children throughout history and how they overcame the challenges they faced in their day!
Connecting with the African Culture Through Food Another fun way of exposing children to the African culture is through food. By learning about local recipes, researching the history behind those recipes, and what that particular dish means to the local communities, and more, children can learn to embrace cultures different from their own.
Here is a fun recipe to get you started: Malva Pudding – a delicious South African Sweet Dessert that would get any kid excited! Exploring Culture Through Arts and Crafts We at Little World Builders would be the first to agree that arts and crafts is an enjoyable and interactive way to get children exposed to different cultures.
Try out some of these fun projects that would get their creative juices flowing: Painting African Houses, Make An African Mask, Create an African Drum, and more…
Changing the World – One Small Act at A Time
Hopefully, these little activities at home with your kids can help to raise awareness of the inequalities and challenges that other little ones out in the world are facing!
Learn more about Little World Builder’s Child Poverty Mission and the efforts that have been put in place to help make the world a better place for children.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. Why not help make a difference by sharing this article with your friends so that they can, in turn, share this and make a difference!
