End Violence Against Children; UNICEF Crys Out

  To mark the last  Children’s Day celebration, thousands of people
from all over Nigeria marched to shine a spotlight on
the plight of the millions of children who suffer violence
every year in Nigeria, calling on communities to break
the culture of silence. The Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey (carried
out by the National Population Commission, with the
support of UNICEF and US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention), launched by Government of Nigeria in
September 2015, highlighted the prevalence of sexual,
physical, and emotional violence suffered by children in
Nigeria.
The survey estimates that half of all children in Nigeria
experience physical violence, one in four girls and one
in ten boys experience sexual violence and one in six
girls and one in five boys experience emotional
violence before they reach the age of 18 years.
The majority of children never tell anyone what has
happened to them. Less than 4% get the help they need
to recover.
“This culture of silence must be broken”, said
Oluwadamilola Apotieri-Abdulai, Convener of the
iMarch4Children and Executive Director of Playback
Nigeria.
“At the launch of the Presidential Year of Action to End
Violence Against Children on 15th September 2015, His
Excellency President Buhari called upon every Nigerian
to play their part to END VIOLENCE AGAINST
CHILDREN in Nigeria.

#iMarch4Children is our response to raise social
awareness of this acute problem facing millions of
children and to mobilize communities to take action”.
Playback Nigeria, with the support of UNICEF, has
partnered with Civil Society Organizations across 12
Nigeria states and the FCT to march for children.
The #iMarch4Children art-based project took
place in Lagos, Kaduna, Gombe, Cross River, Plateau,
Ebonyi, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Delta, Rivers State,
Kebbi State and Abuja on the 27th of May 2016 by 8am,
bringing together children and young people of different
age groups and backgrounds, religious and cultural
leaders, the general public, celebrities and public
figures who have been identified as #iMarch4Children
Ambassadors.

All participants were dressed in a way that depicts the
impact of violence against children, in order to shed a
light on the silent suffering of millions of Nigerian
children.


A communique was delivered to the Government
in each state and at the Federal level on behalf of the
CSOs after which a Die-In activity was conducted,
a process which involved participants to lay on their
back to reflect on millions of children that have died as
a result of violence against children.

A daily tweet-meet was launched on social media
with different stakeholders tweeting on issues related
to VAC on the official social media platform for the
march and campaign @iMarch4Children and
@end_vac.
“No one Ministry or Organization can effectively
address violence against children alone”, said Jean
Gough, Representative UNICEF Nigeria, “Violence
against children can only be ended through a united
and concerted effort by Government, CSOs, religious
and traditional leaders, the media, communities and
families”.

The nation-wide #iMarch4Children was anchored
by Playback Nigeria, with support from UNICEF as part
of the Year of Action to End Violence Against Children.
Implementing partners across states include media
Advocacy and Development Initiative (MADinitaitive),
Budget Transparency and Accountability Initiative
Nigeria (BTAN), Nigerian Child Advocacy Initiative.

About Playback Nigeria
Playback Nigeria is an art-based organization
dedicated to using interactive arts for psychosocial
support, community interaction, enhancement,
development and capacity building.
It is one of the leading organizations in promoting
mental health awareness, community engagement and
alternative therapy through art in Nigeria, Playback
Nigeria runs interventions in fields including: sanitation
and hygiene; transitional justice; human rights; refugee
and immigrant support; disaster recovery; climate
change; HIV/AIDS education; conflict resolution;

good
governance; and development.

Albino Foundation To FGN Give Us Genuine Free Education

the Albino
Foundation has called on the federal Government to
provide genuine free education and free health care
delivery for every Nigerian child.
The President of the Foundation, Jake Epelle who made
the call in an interview with Kapital FM in Abuja called
on the Government to fully implement the Child Right
Act.
Speaking on this year’s theme “Conflicts and Crisis in
Africa; Protecting all Children’s Right”, Mr Epelle said
all hands need to be on deck in advocacy and
sensitizing the public on the Child Right Act to protect
the right of the Nigerian Child.
“The child needs to be properly
sensitized, the Parents need to be
properly sensitized, the society
needs to be properly sensitized on
the rights and privileges of the child
and what should be done and can be
done interns of crisis and conflicts
moments.The child Right Act is very
good but it is not fully implemented,
the member states should implement
the Act and take precaution
measures in safe guarding the right
of the African Child,”he said.
He called on all concerned stakeholders to come up
with a holistic approach in solving the problem of child
labour,which he said is a major problem that needs an
urgent approach.
Speaking on some of the challenges faced by an albino

child to include, health hazard(skin cancer),
stigmatization, lack of education, parental challenges
and low political will on the side of the government to
look into their challenges, Epelle said the Foundation
will continue to partner the government, stakeholders
and the media in protecting the right of every Albino
child in the country.
The Day of the African Child is celebrated every year
since 1991, when it was first initiated by the
Organisation of African Unity.
It honours those who participated in the Soweto
Uprising in 1976 on that day and raises awareness of
the continuing need for improvement of the education
provided to African children.

2-Year-Old Boy Dragged Into Water By Aligator Has Been Found

Following the incident which took place on Tuesday
night, Orange County dive team found Lane Graves’
body intact about 1:45 p.m., not far from where he was

grabbed said Sheriff Jerry Demings  “Of course, the autopsy has to confirm that, but there is likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator,” Demings said. Demings said.

He said the body was found in 6 feet of murky water 10

to 15 yards from where the boy was attacked.

The fact that the body was found intact makes sense,

said Jeff Corwin, host of “Ocean Mysteries” on ABC.

Authorities Search For Boy Dragged Away By Alligator

“

That gator came in, grabbed that

boy, pulled him, the dad startled that

gator, the gator let him go and then

the boy drowned,” he said.

Alligators don’t swim that far — they sink into the

murky water and lurk there — which explains why the

father did not see the boy when he jumped into the

water to try and save him, Corwin said.

The boy’s parents are from Elkhorn, Nebraska, and

were identified as Matt and Melissa Graves.

“The Graves family appreciates the support they have

received and have asked for privacy as they grieve the

loss of their son,” the sheriff’s department tweeted.