More children than ever enjoy the Day of the African Child

Once again the air was filled with the happy sounds of children from fifteen schools in the Warwick and Leamington area celebrating our links with schools in Sierra Leone. There were sounds of drums, dance, songs and sports, whilst in quieter corners of St Margaret’s Junior School, Whitnash, pupils were making peace trees and listening to a storyteller.

The children heard how The International Day of the African Child honours the children who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976, advocating for their right to quality education. It serves as a platform to raise awareness about the ongoing challenges faced by children in Africa and to promote their rights.

The day was arranged as a series of workshop sessions: drumming, singing, dancing, sports, art and storytelling, spread throughout the school and its field and woodland. By a masterpiece of timetabling, all of the children from all the schools rotated through the workshops. They also paraded round the field displaying banners that proclaimed their twinning with schools in Bo, Sierra Leone.

To catch a glimpse of the day’s activities, see the photo gallery here.

In a grand finale attended by local VIPs the children all came together to sing and dance. They also handed petitions for the MP asking the government to increase its assistance for education in Africa. During their art workshops they made peace trees and these were gathered up to be send to their twin schools.

It was a day that the children will remember. One World Link’s Education Coordinator, Liz Garrett, congratulated St Margaret’s Junior School on their organisation and thanked them for the use of their facilities for the day.