INVOLVING CHILDREN IN HUMANITARIAN AID

One vital venue to develop children's self-esteem, encourage empathy and make our youth problem solvers is involving children in humanitarian aid. A broad exposure of to local and world events and making children part of hands-on solutions is necessary to children’s social, emotional and academic development. Involving youth in humanitarian aid permits children’s own concerns and perspectives to become part of the solution.   

While there is awareness on the principle of children’s participation, meaningful children’s participation in practice is not yet systematically implemented.  It needs to be embed and integrate so that meaningful children’s participation becomes a way of life  at an early stage This requires a shift in attitudes, as well as changes and additions to existing approaches.

This program transfers the responsibility to the children to develop and run a charitable program on their own. It  gives youth a voice as to their perception of world issues that they feel need attention. It permits them to  develop and implement a program in a manner the children see fit- permitting and encouraging them to be part of the solution.  Most importantly, this program requires the children to incorporate humanitarian aid on a daily basis...a way of thinking and acting becomes a part of their daily lives.....not a project they do once a year and put ion the shelf.