Ghanaian boy calls for conducive environment for development of African children
The 11-year-old Ghanaian school boy, who hit international headlines with his project to raise funds for children in drought-hit Somalia, on Monday called for a conducive atmosphere for the development of children in Africa.
Master Andrew Adansi Bonnah said as he travelled around the continent he had seen that many children in Africa had suffered a lot from wars, corruption and selfish leadership.
He was speaking in Pretoria, South Africa, at a conference on the theme, “Celebrating Universal Children’s Day: 2011-2011; Exposing the Hidden Face of War: The Girl-Child Soldier.”
“It will no longer be our fathers who will be the history makers but now it is we the children, who are the hope of Africa and the leaders of tomorrow who will make the history,” Master Bonnah, said.
He said the theme was relevant and timely since children and, most particularly the girl-child soldiers, remained victims of wars.
“This impedes their growth and development as enshrined in the UN Convention of the Rights of Children.”
Master Bonnah said children needed healthy life to achieve their goals, therefore the need to ensure that children led a regenerative health lifestyle in order to promote a healthy and sickness-free society for their proper upbringing.
He said it had been tried and tested in Dimona, Israel, and Africans could also try it.
Master Bonnah reiterated that 80 per cent of diseases and sicknesses that killed African children and adults were preventable.
“Every country must now have a health paradigm shift to promote regenerative health as an alternative to health care delivery and to develop quality hope for children since there will be less expenditure on curative medicine and can be used to support child development.”
Master Bonnah expressed satisfaction that the day had been set aside since 1954 to address issues that confronted child victims, saying lack of free basic education; lack of accessibility to quality health care; inadequate food security; inadequate shelter; and improper parental care were the challenges the victims faced.
“Indeed, this is the importance of this occasion and the purpose of making all actors and factors responsible for creating these problems put a stop to it, and to ensure that these problems are resolved and don’t resurrect again,” he said.
Master Bonnah said females were the foundation of every society and therefore lamented that they were used as slaves, in child labour, became victims of rape, were maimed, passed away early or underwent perpetual psychological trauma.
“All these, touch my heart and prompted me to come out with an initiative to promote Africa’s restoration forum – a platform for me to address children’s right to food, education, health, shelter, and proper parental care. Hence, the Somali famine and war crises propelled me to embark on the ‘Save Somali children from hunger project’ which has become the first phase of my Africa Restoration Initiative.”
Master Bonnah said his project was doing very well at all levels, adding, people, companies and organizations were making donations and very soon a New Year package would reach the hungry children of Somalia.
“Today, I am in South Africa to address the plight of the girl-child soldier. As I speak, my team and I are expected in the Salt Lake City of Utah, USA, at the invitation of Kidnected World (an NGO) to have a national fundraising campaign for the hungry children of Somalia,” he said.
Source: GNA