It is every parent’s dream to see their children happy and well, Christy Essien Ibokwe of blessed memory, sang in the Yoruba language “my child, may you succeed, it shall be well with you….”, however, some families still struggle for a place to rest their head at night, so celebrating their children and unleashing the blessings of such a day like this, may be the least of their concerns , right now.
Affordable and decent housing is highly important, for kids to have a sound mental and physical health, when this is absent, the child’s well being is disfigured , thereby affecting the general performance of that child.It is difficult for children to harness every given potential in them, when not in safe and sane environment. Study shows that kids who live in such unsettled environments, tend to lose concentration, focus in their academics.
Every child deserves to be housed in a decent shelter, however, they cannot help themselves, as the onus is on the parents to work that out. It is also worthy of note, that due to the low income of some parents, they remain at the mercy of vulnerable environments. Also bearing in mind the helplessness of some homeless kids roaming the streets. A bulk of the over 80 million homeless Nigerians, are youths and kids, this indeed is a pathetic situation.
Today being a day to celebrate children all over the world, unfortunately some of these leaders of tomorrow in very poor houses, don’t even feel any sense of celebration, as they are still not even able to take in fresh air, due to the messy house, they found themselves in. Apparently a child roaming the street homeless, has no business with the beauty of this day.
It is indeed important to further extend a hand, especially in this covid-era, to families that live in slums, more advocacy like what the Housing Development Advocacy Network does, and of course, the issue of affordability is key. It is when the houses are pocket-friendly to the low income earners, that they can purchase or rent.
To avoid the spread of the coronavirus to kids, it is undoubtedly important for this to be looked into. As it would be a disaster, if the virus starts taking its turn with the kids, particularly the susceptible, the slum dwellers and homeless. Both the government and the private body have immense roles to play, with respect to child safety and welfare. Like an African adage says “a child does not only belong to his parents, but the whole community’.
By Peace Anyanwu-Ogedengbe
