This week I had to study what kinds of challenges children are struggling with around the world. I chose to take a closer look at children living in Latin America and the Caribbean. I chose this area because I do not know anything about this region. The rest of the world is making the news every night, but it seems to be rather quiet south of our country. All of my research was taken from the UNICEF website.
I learned about a lot of challenges that children in this region are confronting. About 60% of children under the age of 12 live in poverty. HIV and Aids is wiping out the region, and the Caribbean is the second largest region with Aids. One out of every five children suffers from chronic malnutrition. About 85,000 children die each year due to violence in the home. Natural disasters are common in this region. Children are still struggling from the big the natural disaster in Haiti two years ago. About two million children mostly girls are sexually exploited. Many times it is at home. It seems as though these children do not even have a fair chance at life.
I can only imagine how these experiences are taking a toll on children’s emotional wellbeing and development. Children probably feel neglected, alone, and hopeless. Derman Sparks & Edwards also stated that children may feel shame, self-limitation, and self-hate. Children may feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Thankfully programs like UNICEF are offering these children hope by providing help with the donations of many Americans like you and I.
This assignment forced me to reflect on a lot of things. Personally, my heart just ached when I read all of these statistics. It seems like these children do not even have a chance at survival with all of the challenges ahead of them. I want to share this site with others when they begin to complain about the smallest things in life. Professionally, my eyes have been opened. I have seen with my own eyes children living in straw huts in China, but I cannot even begin to fathom all of this in Latin America. As a teacher, I would love to teach my students about what other students are struggling with around the world. I would also like to invite them to help. We could have a coin drive to send to UNICEF and we could collect donations. I realize now that I have not only been called to be a teacher, but I have been called to be a child advocate as well and speak up for those who cannot.
Stacey, I chose the same region and like you, my heart ached. I love your idea of having a coin drive for Unicef. They usually collect around Halloween but I don't know if they do it throughout the school year.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent I can't imagine the intensity of suffering that parents of these children facing hunger, violence and sexual abuse might be facing. When you learn about things like this, is when you actually think about how fortunate you are living in a country that offers so many resources to low income children and their families, and because we are blessed with so many resources we should all be open to help others in need.
ReplyDeleteThank you for information shared in your blog.
Stacey,
ReplyDeleteI think it would be great to teach students more about other countries. Sometimes we forget how priviledged we are compared to others. Collecting for Unicef is a great cause and can help many children in different countires. It is also a great way to edcucate others on how much a little care can go. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.