The Day of the African Child (DAC) was instituted in 1991 by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU in memory of the 16th June 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa. Students then, marched protesting the poor-quality education they received, and demanded learning to be in their languages. The government responded with brutal force killing hundreds of school children.
The Day of the African Child is celebrated to commemorate these children and the brave action they took to defend their rights. This also serves to celebrate the children of Africa as well as inspire a moderate replication and action towards addressing the challenges that children in Africa face on a daily basis.
Kenya and other African countries celebrated the Day of African Child on 16th June 2023 with the national celebrations held in Mungachi Primary School in Nambale Sub-county in Busia County. Busia Beyond Crime organization, as a child rights defender joined the other stakeholders in marking this day at the venue.
In line with this year’s theme “The rights of the child in the digital environment”, BBC has embarked on addressing one of the most pressing challenges facing African children today thus, a lack of access to digital technology. The organization therefore, in collaboration with the Children’s Department, is using its football space and Nyumba Kumi to sensitize the community and encourage all stakeholders, especially policymakers to enact and amend laws to protect the rights of children in the digital space, especially on social media. African children have been abused, bullied and even recruited, and trained in violent extremism. We also sensitized children on cybercrime, cyber terrorism, and cyber security.
