Today is for the African Child

Today is the International Day of the African Child, being the commemoration of the 1976 Soweto uprising when schoolchildren in South Africa marched to demand their right to better education. Nearly fifty years on, millions of children across Africa continue to dream and demand the same, a right to education, opportunity and a future they can be proud of. 

At Chance for Childhood, we work alongside these children every day. Children who are not defined by what they lack, but by who they are, who they are becoming and the strength of the communities that work with them. 

We have seen the physical and mental transformation that happens when the right tools and support are in place. In Ghana, through our Best Start Together project, we’ve seen teachers transform their practice and make their classrooms more inclusive for every child. 

Time and again, what stands out is how the right support at the right time can change the entire trajectory of a child and their family. One such example is Remy in Rwanda. 

Remy is six years old and lives in Huye district, Rwanda. When we first met him in 2023, he could only crawl to get around. Cerebral Palsy had made every movement difficult. Remy is not a child defined by his diagnosis. He is a child who wanted to move, to play, to keep up with the world around him. 

Through our CBIS project in partnership with UNICEF, we were able to provide physiotherapy support  and today, he walks, runs and interacts with his friends. 

The Big Pig Project, our livelihood support programme, provided a pig to his family, strengthening their livelihood and their capacity to care for Remy. Remy’s father told us: “To have a domestic animal in our family is a dream come true.” 

Remy’s story is a reminder of what this day is about, and it is one of many. 

We are helping to create the conditions that allow dreams to come true. Across Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children with disabilities and special educational needs are gaining access to education and the tools they need to learn. Adolescent mothers are breaking through cycles of poverty and building a future for themselves and their children. Books, solar lamps and literacy classes are reaching children who had none of those things. Families are being equipped with the economic support they need to thrive. 

Every child deserves a chance, but not every child has one yet. Today belongs to the African child who is curious, resilient and full of possibility, and that is worth celebrating. 

Want to hear more stories like Remy’s, told with the care and dignity every child deserves? Sign up to our newsletter below for updates on how our work is transforming the lives of children across Africa.