Day of the African Child

This morning i went to Entebbe Works Grounds to see the celebrations marking the 19th annual Day of the African Child. Many area primary schools went, including Nkumba Primary in their bright pink uniforms. It always makes me smile to see big groups of different primary schools. They look like a moving rainbow in their colorful uniforms.

2010 Day of the African Child theme:

Planning and Budgeting for the well being of the child: A Collective Responsibility for all."

Heres some information directly from the Ugandan brochure:

"60% of Ugandan children (5.7 million) live below the poverty line, making them very vulnerable to other violations of their rights. This highlights the challenge in planning though they are the majority of Uganda's population; they are largely not involved in decision-making processes. Their plight has to be prioritised by those who are responsible for planning and budgeting for their wellbeing."

"...primary school enrollment is at 90% although there are challenges around retention, with only 47% able to complete primary seven(although this is an improvement from 22% in 2003.) The drop out rate has remained high, affecting girls more. There is concern about the 16% (about 1.3 million children aged 6-12 years) of the children out of school. Most children out of school are likely to be orphans."

Feel free to look up more general information about today:
http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=527&language_id=1
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/722793