INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN, 2023

April 12, marked the International Day for Street Children. Basic Rights Counsel Initiative in collaboration with other NGOs organized a One Thousand (1,000) Person March to create awareness of the plight faced by street children in Cross River State.

This day signifies the resilience and strength of the One Hundred and Fifty Million (150,000,000) street children around the globe and recognizes the dedication and support of those working on the street to help these children. 

This year’s theme: Keeping Street-Connected Children Safe, focuses on what makes these children safe and unsafe. It also focuses on what the government, organizations and the populace can do to ensure these children are safe and protected.

At the end of the march, the Programme Coordinator of BRCI, thanked all who participated in the march. She emphasized on the importance of the day for street children and what it sought to achieve. She spoke on the vulnerable state of street children and the duty of everyone especially the government to ensure the protection of these children.  The representatives of Coalition of Youth Serving NGOs, Street Priest and Onyx Foundation, also spoke on the significance of the day and the rationale behind the celebration.

The event concluded with feeding the children and dancing.

There is an urgent need to commit to protecting the rights of these children by fully implementing the Laws that protects their rights, providing them with access to social and economic justice as well as strengthening the Ministries responsible for responding to their basic needs.

Our gratitude goes to our sponsor, Safe Child Africa  for their continuous support.

Also, we thank the following organizations for their support towards making yesterday’s event a success: Street Priest, Coalition of Youth Serving NGOs, Department of Public Health, University of Calabar, Calabar, Medical Women Association of Nigeria, African Child Foundation, Onyx Foundation Africa, Calabar Fun Hub, We the People, CrossRiverWatch, Nigerian Tribune