THE AOCF AND THE WEST AFRICAN CHILD

The plight of children in the West African sub-region needs to be given prominence as we seek for a peaceful and prosperous coexistence as neighbors. The story across the sub-region is the same. A vast majority of our children are in a state of destitution as regards their quest for education and basic social services. Many of our children go to school (if they go) as an ad-hoc arrangement. They are not sure if they will end a given academic year, or whether in fact they will be in school the next year. It is a matter of groping in the dark, hoping to find something. Even the parents themselves have no well laid-out plans for their children's education. As much as they hope for a brighter future for their children, the means of ascertaining an un-interrupted academic sojourn for their children is nonexistent for most due to the poor economic state of the sub-region. It is therefore a remarkable feat for many parents when one of their children makes it through high school and goes on to complete college.

The incidence of wars, military coups-d’états, and insurrection in the sub-region only help to further exacerbate the situation. Parents who were struggling in the first place, are reduced to refugees, internally-displaced persons and victims of looting, thereby severely further reducing their capacities to fend for their children. The children themselves are conscripted and made child-soldiers and exposed to drugs and criminal undertakings. On the other hand, many of the children are left as orphans, their parents having been killed as a consequence of these usually fratricidal wars. The female children are raped, introducing them to early and un-planned-for motherhood, reducing the prospects for any advancement in education. The proof of the destitution of our children needs no massive research. It is glaring right before our eyes in the slum communities of our cities, in the hinterland of our countries, right in public view. For example, on a daily basis in Monrovia, one encounters numerous children of school-going age roaming the streets, either as petite peddlers, or simply as wayward kids, unattended. At night, a visit to the various market stalls, store corners, unfinished buildings, drinking spots, ghettos, reveal many of these kids – a testament to their plight.