World Children’s Day:
Juan Day at a Time
BY PAMELA JENN AMPARO | NOVEMBER 21, 2023
Photo: Stella Mae Marcos
Filipino children happily pose as they take a break from playing in the streets | via Pamela Jenn Amparo
Hearing children laugh and be themselves brings nothing but genuine happiness to anyone. When you look closer, some of them actively play with each other free from all kinds of prejudice, while some of them are being played by an unjust system. Regardless of their conditions, this month should be a reminder that children all over the world deserve unconditional love, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, and economic status.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has marked every 20th of November to commemorate the annual World Children’s Day, which intends to celebrate the life of children worldwide. Attributed from the “Convention on the Rights of the Child,” it highly recognizes that children’s rights have always been human rights.
UNICEF’s aim in celebrating World Children’s Day is to guide the youth and raise their awareness of various inhumane issues they face daily. Together with the volunteers, they will prioritize children’s rights and establish a secured future for them.
Children’s Rights Being Wronged
It’s easy to recognize basic human rights that every child should receive: being able to eat healthy, attend school, socialize with peers, and thrive in a safe, liberated, and loving environment. However, this is not the case for every Filipino child.
In 2022, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) declared the SOCCSKSARGEN region to have the highest child labor cases in the country, with a rate of 12.3%. International children’s rights non-governmental organization Humanium and the Department of Science and Technology - Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) stated that since 2021, the Philippines' mortality rates are too high, wherein one out of six infants and young children have vitamin A deficiency (VAD).
When you thought it could not get any worse, Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI) leader Jey Rence ‘Senior Agila’ Quilario and 12 other members are being criminally charged due to deprivation of human rights to its jurisdiction—especially on children. They are currently facing Qualified Trafficking in Persons, Facilitation of Child Marriage, and Child Abuse filed by the Department of Justice this November.
The aforementioned cases and committed crimes against children are just a few of what these innocent minds have to face every day.
Growing up, we have been taught that children should only be tended to with unconditional love and care, for they are still in their developing stages. But with all the verbal, physical, and emotional abuse they have to go through each day, a child’s smile would already be replaced with taunting cries and haunting memories of the abusive touch they are forcibly conditioned to go through.
With all of these happening in front of their naive eyes, how will they go outside, play, and dream like a normal child without the presence of fear?
All for Juan’s Child and Juan’s Child for All
With the current alarming statistical data and cases, the immediate need to amplify help and humanitarian aid is vital to save the children. Different organizations stepped up and dedicated events aiming to prioritize the Filipino youth.
First off, the anticipated 2023 charitable ball, Make-A-Wish Philippines’ Wish Ball: Where Stars Align, was held on April 29. The event was organized by Make-A-Wish Philippines and aimed to grant any wish ranging from educational supplies, electronic gadgets, and toys to their young beneficiaries. The foundation has held several fundraising events for Filipino children with critical illnesses for over 23 years.
During the ball’s opening, Ms. Aleah Ortiz, the Executive Director of Make-A-Wish Philippines, extended the children’s gratitude to multiple sponsors or wish granters.
“My heart is overwhelmed with joy because we are all gathered here to make more wishes come true […] Your presence right now is the start of your journey as wish granters, genies, or wish heroes to hundreds, thousands more kids,” said Ortiz during her opening remarks.
On the other hand, Yuchengco Museum and the Guitar Friends collaborated to organize a fundraising concert last October 26 called “Mind and Soul: A Musical Celebration of Mental Health,” a musical classical concert aimed to raise mental health awareness and help people with mental illnesses. The concert’s collected funds will go to the Family Wellness Center Foundation Inc., a non-profit chemical and substance treatment facility that aims to rehabilitate client’s well-being as well as their relationship with their families.
Lastly, Sorok Uni Foundation has added another school for their Adopt-A-School program. Recently, they have been calling for educational supply donations from all over the country aiming to provide the students of Guitong Elementary School Tulaleng Extension Class at Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. Most of the pupils are part of the Tadyawan Mangyan Tribe who have a thin-line choice between schooling or working for survival.
“The program seeks to enhance the capacity of the adopted schools to empower young Filipino children in order to be equipped and inspired enough to finish their studies,” said Sorok Uni Foundation in their TikTok post.
With almost 52 million children in the Philippines, it’s not an easy feat to raise awareness of all issues they face, as well as to help them in one go. But through every little step from the volunteers, this cause is surely heading to something brighter for the children.
We were all once a little child, too—full of hope, energy, and dreams. Somehow, it’s our duty to stand up for the innocent eyes and pure minds who have just started to figure out this thing called life. As World Children’s Day commences, we dream of the day that every day would be children's day.
Ang ngiti mo ay ngiti rin dapat nila.
