19:00
Viva Review 2010
Kampala, Uganda
Viva + 7 churches + 24 local projects = children with a voice It’s 19:00, and Shida and Aika Birungi are exhilarated but exhausted from an afternoon of dancing and singing to the adults in their community.This year’s performing arts competition saw these two sisters get up on stage with more than 300 other children and use music, drama and poetry to explore a single theme: what makes them feel safe. In order for something to be safe, it must be protected; and in order to be protected, it must be seen to be of value.Yet widespread poverty in Uganda has created a culture where a person’s value lies in what they can help to provide. This leaves children significantly undervalued compared to adults, often resulting in them being mistreated, neglected or simply ignored. So this year a concerted effort has been made to challenge this prejudice and bring together parents, teachers, project workers, church members, community leaders and government representatives to see children given the respect and value they deserve.
such as the arts competition, which have attracted national media and government-level attention, we have also focused locally; educating the people responsible for keeping children safe on a daily basis. Twenty-four projects from within the network have received training on child rights, and been taught very practical ways to prevent discrimination and abuse. Staff from these projects have taken what they learnt and visited families, schools, churches and local authorities, teaching more than 1,200 people about the things children need and ought to have in order to grow up healthy and happy. However, upholding children’s rights takes more than just a willing attitude – in fact Shida and Aika are just one example of children whose families simply cannot afford to give them the education or care they should receive. So we have also been working closely with parents who are struggling to provide for their children, using the network to put them in touch with organisations that can offer micro-finance opportunities, provide help with housing or even assist with school fees. The best thing about Hear the Child is that it has put power into the hands of children themselves. Those who took part in this year’s competition not only had a fun day, but gained a new ability and confidence to stand up for themselves as they realised their own value and worth. The adults in the audience also learnt something new, as many of them recognised for the first time that their country’s children actually have something positive and important to say, and that they deserve to be heard. It was Aika who, at only seven years old, delivered one of the most poignant lines of the day when she sang “I feel safe when you listen to me”. Throughout this year Hear the Child has been working to ensure that even when they don’t have a microphone and a platform, Kampala’s children are listened to, protected and loved.
Working through our city-wide network of projects and churches in Kampala, we have been running an advocacy programme called Hear the Child. Alongside high-profile events
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