Celebrating children’s rights, village style

This year, LWF helped facilitate celebrations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in all 50 villages of Ayeyarwaddy Delta, as well as at the township level. The celebrations included performances, art, reading and the distribution of notebooks and other material that lists the rights bestowed in the 1989 convention and provided space to color, draw and write. Families from 18 villages gathered in Kyaung Su village, Bogalye township for a celebration that lasted way past bedtime, residents said.

“The celebration started at 9am and lasted till it started raining at 3 am,” The’ Ei Phyu, accountant of the Youth Group, recalled on November 20, the day after the event. More than 2,000 people joined the festivities at Pyi Lone Chan Thar Pagoda, making it the biggest celebration the village of 110 people had ever held. Besides being fun, the event allowed members of child and youth groups from 18 villages to reinforce their township-wide network and learn about their peers's accomplishments and challenges, Youth Group member Tin Tin Ei said.

"Raising funds for activities can be a big challenge so we talked to other youth groups to find

out how they are coping," Thei Ei Phyu said. Celebrations of the convention continued during the week. It was a topic of discussion and play at the Child Club meeting in Dedaye township’s Ohn Pin village on November 23, which meets twice a month at Tha Kya Mu Ni Pagoda. Close to 100 children attend the club, which is facilitated by the village’s Youth Group as well as its preschool teacher.

Child club members listed their favorite activities as singing, reciting poetry, storytelling, games and learning children’s rights. Win Tha Dar enjoys being the Master of Ceremony at the twice monthly event. The nine-year-old confidently said the most important children’s right is the right to participation. Her friend Khin Thuzar, 12, agreed. Eleven-year-old Thin Thin said the right to protection is the most important of them all, while Ei Morn Win, also 11, picked the right to survival. Despite their different answers the children found no reason to disagree.

Myanmar acceded to the CRC in 1991 and enacted the child law in July 1993. Currently the Government is in the process of reviewing the Child Law. New legislation will raise the age of “minor” to under-18 from under-16. It will also establish a minimum age for employment, ban child marriage and raise the age at which a defendant can face criminal charges. The new legislation is expected to be sent to Parliament in 2014. If passed, it will bring Myanmar’s legislation into harmony with global standards. This is a critical step towards better child protection in the country.