PROTECT CHILDREN’S RIGHTS TO SECURE NATION’S FUTURE
As the future of humanity, children do have inalienable rights, and the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) clearly sets out what those rights are.
Numerous reports have been published over the years, revealing shocking details of some children in Tanzania being exploited as expendable labour in dangerous environments.
For instance, minors , some as young as seven, are being lured in large numbers into backbreaking labour in small-scale mining across the country.
Behind this unfortunate trend are factors such as high school dropout rates, abject poverty, broken families, low prioritisation of education and peer influence.
The scenario is that the future of society is under threat if we continue to fail to provide our children with protection.
According to the CRC, children’s rights include that of association with both parents and human identity, as well as basic physical protection, food, universal state-paid education, healthcare, and protection of the child’s civil rights.
Others are freedom from discrimination on the basis of the child’s race/colour, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, ethnicity, or other characteristics.
The Convention defines a child as “any human being below the age of eighteen years – unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier”.
When children are involved in work they are not supposed to do, they are exposed to various dangers, including injuries, diseases, sexual exploitation, low or no pay for work done, and drug and alcohol abuse.
The government must move fast to end child exploitation and abuse.
The family institution must also be strengthened, with parents and guardians being roped into fulfilling their familial obligations.
Children must be kept in school to study instead of being exploited for menial tasks. Let us secure the future of our nation by keeping every child in school.
CONSERVE THE ENVIRONMENT
Experts have warned that some parts of Tanzania could turn into desert in a few decades because of unrestrained felling of trees, which deprives them of forest cover.
The situation is especially dire in many catchment areas, which have been laid bare, thus greatly reducing the amount of rainfall flowing into rivers and reservoirs. The result is a shortage of clean and safe water.
Various forms of pollution are also having a disastrous effect on the environment. Factories continue to discharge toxic effluent into water sources despite efforts being made to bring the culprits to book. People living in affected areas are often afflicted by a myriad of health problems.
People knowingly or unknowingly engage in activities that are harmful to the environment, but the common goal is short-term monetary gain. The consequences are usually felt for generations and in some cases are irreversible.
While education and sensitisation are key, tougher rules and regulations and strict enforcement of the law are needed to check environmental degradation
