Throughout this past
school year I had a 6-7 year old student whose caregivers struggled with
poverty and grief, as well as the child. The boy came to school each day
somewhat dirty and some days worse than others. His shoes were falling apart
and sometimes he would wear the same shirts a few days in a row. You could tell
he rarely, if ever, bathed and brushed his teeth. He would constantly complain about belly
aches, tooth aches, head aches, etc. His mother passed away when he was about 3
and at the beginning of the school year his primary caregiver was his paternal
grandmother and his father came in and out of the picture. By the end of the school
year his father was the primary caregiver, however they lived at grandma and
grandpa’s house. This little boy coped as best he could. He talked to me a lot
about his mom, but I got the impression that there was not much talk about her
at home. Some times he would just blurt out, "I miss my mom" or "I wish my mom was here", or "You know my mom's in heaven right?". Most times when he’d talk with me he’d cry. He visited the counselor a
few times but in my opinion he still needed some grief counseling and ways to
cope. I tried to help the process by listening when he would talk about her,
not asking too many questions, but just letting him talk. When he
would cry and wrap his arms around me I would pat his back and tell him nice
things like, “I bet your mom is watching over you” or “I’m sure you miss her,
but you’ll be ok”. I think about him often and hope as he grows he is able to
cope and the pain of losing her becomes less each day.
War in Africa - Uganda
and Sierra Leone
Many children in Africa
are involved in child warfare; some willingly, some forced, some because they
yearn to protect themselves and their family and some because they feel it will
give them the structure they need to survive. Unfortunately many child soldiers
end up living out their childhood through the wars, facing all kinds of threats
and violence, poverty and despair, some even die. “Figures from UNICEF in 2000
show that in the last decade some 2 million children died, 6 million wounded or
disabled, 12 million homeless, and another million orphaned or separated from
their parents as a result of war” (Yina,
2008). Many studies have found that war can affect a child’s emotional,
cognitive, social functioning and development. Children involved in war can
experience depression, anxiety, changes in school performance, and other
personal changes. One of the main stressors of children who experience warfare
is post-traumatic stress disorder. Children who experience this may have
troubles sleeping, relating to others, abuse alcohol and/or drugs, and possibly
commit suicide (Yina, 2008). Some will suffer from a lifetime of poverty
and deprivation, especially those whom are refugees or displaced from their
families. The attitudes and values of children whom experience war are also
affected. Some feel lose hope for the future, some become aggressive, some even
feeling guilty because they’ve been forced to grow up quickly and take on an
adult role. “Children who are denied basic necessities for their physical and
emotional welfare, and natural expressive outlets, are often at risk of ending
up as soldiers for lack of something meaningful to do. And, for child soldiers
in particular, exposure to war eventually alters the framework they use in
making sense of danger, interrupts their moral development, and even makes them
identify with the aggressor, thereby modeling their behavior on powerful,
aggressive individuals” (Yina, 2008).
While there are many
strategies to protecting children from warfare, one of the main protection
pieces put into place is the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child which if
recognized and applied and ensure the protection and safe development of
children across the world. Another way that children of war can be protected is
through the response of the international community, including creating
effective safe areas where civilians and children can be removed from the
conflict zones, providing security and support.
References:
Plunkett, Southall, M. D. (1998). War and children. 78(1), pp.72-77. doi:
10.1136/adc.78.1.72
Yina, M. (2008). Child soldiers in africa: The role of development
communications. 20(1/2),
pp.120-134.
