The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) turned 70 last Sunday. To commemorate the milestone, renowned writers across the world have joined the campaign for children’s rights. The Nigerian literati are not left out in the campaign. Along with Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Christina Lamb and Nuruddin Farah, over 19 authors, including Chimamanda Adichie and Abubakar Ibrahim, joined hundreds of others to pen “Tiny Stories” to highlight the kind of world writers want for children. EVELYN OSAGIE writes.
70 years of advocating child rights
THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is 70. The agency, which was established on December 11, 1946, to bring succour to children after the World War II, turned 70 on Sunday. Today, it is the world’s largest children’s organisation, working to bring life-saving aid, long-term support and hope to children whose lives and future are endangered by conflict, crises, poverty, inequality and discrimination.
Despite the progress made for children globally in recent decades, nearly six million of them around the world still die every year from preventable causes – and children from poor households are twice as likely as those from wealthy homes to die before reaching their fifth birthday, according to UNICEF.
“Every child has the right to grow up healthy and strong, to be educated and protected, and to have a fair chance in life. Our commitment to child rights must be matched with action for every child. We need to stop these violations by investing more in reaching the most vulnerable children, or pay the price in slower growth, greater inequality, and less stability,” said UNICEF Nigeria Representative Mohamed Fall.
Writers pen stories for children
In connection with the United Nations Universal Children’s Day and the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) on November 20, and in commemoration of UNICEF’s 70th anniversary, over 200 renowned writers across the world penned and shared their “Tiny Stories” on the theme: What I Want for Every Child.
The First Lady of Finland, Jenni Haukio, introduced the concept, which gained global momentum with writers joining from Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Tagged: #foreverychild initiative, the literary campaign began last month and is being shared on the authors’ own and UNICEF’s social media platforms.
The “Tiny Stories” written by the authors are about seven-line dedicated narratives tailored like a Facebook status update which makes them easy to read and share. Written in over 10 languages and varying in style, the stories advocate that the rights of many children are still neglected.
Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Paulo Coelho, Christina Lamb, Nuruddin Farah and one of the world’s youngest published authors, seven-year-old South African Michelle Nkamankeng, were part of hundreds that penned their “Tiny Stories”.
Their Nigerian counterparts were not left out. Over 19 of them, including widely-acclaimed Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; winner of the NLNG Nigeria Literature Prize, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim; former Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) President Dr Wale Okediran; former ANA General Secretary BM Dzukogi, and activist and journalist Chido Onumah have taken part in the campaign.
The inspiring short story series, UNICEF Nigeria Chief of Communication Doune Porter said, came at a time when there were increasing threats to child rights. “The strategic aim of the initiative is to reach and engage new audiences through mainly social media and digital platforms with stories published by different writers around the world. We hope through this initiative the awareness of child rights globally and locally will increase,” Porter said.
“As writers we are able to advocate through the simplicity of storytelling. With this worthy and necessary campaign, we advocate for the protection of the rights of precious children all over the world,” Adichie said of the initiative.
What writers want for children
They have been advocating for the rights of persons through their works, but chose to join UNICEF’s campaign for a better world for children this year. With courage, anger, love and hope for every child as themes, the stories highlight the kind of life the authors want for children.
Thiong’o wrote: “I want my child to dream of a future of earth and air and water without pollution”.
Adichie’s “Tiny Story” goes thus: “I want every child to have primary healthcare.\I want every child to be protected by adults…And never to be treated like adults.”
Ibrahim’s piece appears to be one of the longest. It reads: “I was shelling some groundnuts earlier when your daughter came to ask me how long it would take for these to grow into trees.” She held out her hand and in her wrinkly palm lay tree orange seeds./ “I told her three to six years. But you know Zahra, she is already dreaming of lying in the shade of the tree on her seventeenth birthday and watching the sun through the leaves.”\He chuckled. “Ayaya!” “Maama, Zahra has always been a dreamer. No one has time to plant trees and lazy under them on her birthday. And you know Alhaji wants the wedding to be in two weeks.”
“She put a hand on her back and grimaced as she lowered herself onto a stool.\ “Well, you see, about this marriage business…\ “Maama, we’ve been through this before. Zahra is 14 and I don’t have the money to send her to school. Can you imagine how much that would cost, with this roof leaking and the rear wall crumbling? Alhaji has promised to pay for her education if he marries her.”\She scoffed. “Which of his two wives has he sponsored to school?” She unknotted the end of her wrapper to reveal a tight package which she threw to him. “I am old. I don’t remember what I was saving that money for. But it might just be that I was saving it for Zahra.”\”Maama… See, I was married off at her age. I had you and your siblings. That was my dream then and I thank God for his favours. But Zahra, her dream is to go to school, plant trees in her father’s house and pluck the fruit by the time she turns 17. You and I will see to it that the girl plants her trees, won’t we?”
Somalian novelist and essayist Farah’s thoughts read thus: “I want every child born anywhere to delight in what life offers these days. This includes immunisation jabs; good schools during their childhood; peace and its dividends at home and out of the home; a comfortable enough life with little or no stress until they can look after themselves. I would want every child to enjoy these and other rights to peace, rights that confirm their dignity, safety and full humanity.”
Multi award-winning journalist Christina Lamb’s piece entitled: Cat’s Cradle, reads: “She comes to me with a hesitant smile and a loop of red thread held up between her fingers. I haven’t done a Cat’s Cradle for more than 30 years. The girl is waiting. She and her family have travelled more than 3,000 miles from their Afghan village where the Taliban threatened to kill her for learning English, to this camp on a Greek island which is sunny and safe but they cannot leave. In the camp they call her Princess because she is always so immaculately turned out and well-mannered. I take the string between my fingertips and manage a simple back and forth and she takes it back smiling and with a skilful move fashions a string butterfly. But when she passes it again and I try to make a Jacob’s Ladder, it has been too many years and the string gets tangled and she walks away a sad princess.”
Shahla Latifi is an Afghan poet and story writer, she wrote: “Fourteen-year-old Sahar had to leave her parents’ home, carried off in the arms of her strange husband. From the depths of her soul, Sahar gained a mystical power and light-to refuse the marriage. She convinced her parents to give her a chance to pursue education. Finally, she was ready to face her reality with self-worth and dignity. She could honestly believe in herself and never give up hope. This was her life. Sahar would endure and survive”.
For Michelle: “My dream for every child is for them to want to dream to achieve the talent they are good at. And I wish every child can go to school because education is important. And I wish for every child a peaceful home, and when a child is sick I wish a person can take care of him/her.
“And I wish every child can have fun with no wars and that all the children who don’t have blankets, socks, jerseys could keep warm. And I wish every child who wants to write a book does not go off-track. And I wish every child can feel safe at home and outdoors, and I don’t want anyone to be harmed. And I want every child to inspire others with their talents and to be themselves without showing off.”
Other Nigerian authors who penned their short stories include Toni Kan, Igoni Barret, Ifeoma Theodre Jnr., Ayo Sogunro, Betty Abah, Ayoola Amale, Sumaila Umaisha, Constance Omawunmi Kola-Lawal, William Ifeanyi Moore, Bolatito Ariyo Osoko, Ifeoma Ezeobi, Kingsley Iweka, Ukamaka Olisakwe, Gbonjubola Sanni, Sadeeq Dzukogi (BM’s son) and Seun Odukoya.