Goodbye Little Orange Box

These are comments we received on our tumblr regarding the Halloween orange box campaign. There is a reason as to why we have not been seeing those boxes lately. Unfortunately, the little boxes we fondly remembered are no longer a Halloween tradition in Canada. A yearly Trick-or-Treat routine that began in 1995, ended its 50 years tradition in 2006. Why? Canadians had donated an average of $3 million a year for the final 15 years in its campaign. Can you imagine $3 million worth of pennies, nickles and dimes? The campaign ended as "rolling pennies is very labour intensive." UNICEF was one of the first organizations we encountered at an young age, how do you think the withdrawal of the campaign will impact children's views of helping someone "like themselves?"

Investing in Young Girls

The bad news: 31 million primary school aged girls were not enrolled in school

The good news: more girls than ever are attending school 

When you educate young girls, you are placing a long term investment back into the community. October 11 is the International Day of the Girl Child. This year's focus is Innovating for Girls' Education. Countries around the world are getting creative by thinking outside the box to create innovated programs to break down the barriers of girls' education. An innovation is more than providing girls the basic tools necessary for school: it is about providing them the opportunity to be heard, and a chance to reach their full potential. Below is a video of how some countries are creating innovated way to solve the problem of girl's unequal access to education.

Girl Power!

"There are approximately 57 million children of primary school age who are not in school, including 32 million girls and almost 30 million children living in situations of conflict. Moreover, many children do not complete primary school - in developing countries only 87 out of every 100 children complete their primary education. Seventy-one million children of lower secondary age are out of school, and millions of young people are not provided the education and training to develop the skills and competencies needed for a successful transition to adult life and decent jobs" (UNICEF, 2013)

From as far as I can remember, I have always been in school. I was at school more than I am at home. I stayed late after school just because I could. I graduated from elementary school, went on to high school and will soon graduate from my second program in college. I have close to 20 years of school experience and there most likely will be more ahead of me. Growing up, I always thought the right to education was universal. However, i was wrong. Because of their gender, something that was not their choice, some girls are not allowed to have proper or higher education in their country. 

As a student and a female, it pains me to see that there are girls around the world who are unable to attend school. I cannot understand what it is like to live in a society where I am not allowed to learn due to my gender. I mean, it does sound silly, right? Not being able to attend school because of my gender... Well, it is true and it is happening around the world. UNICEF is currently promoting the rights of education for girls in developing countries. UNICEF and their partners are committed to ensuring girls get obtain an education by overcoming barriers by helping girls play an active role in their own learning and achievements.

Informing Children of Their Rights

A common theme from the comments we've been receiving have been revolving around the Little Orange Box.  From the comments and discussions from classmates, many remember taking home the donation box but few remember the underlining reason as to why the donations were important or the role UNICEF played in promoting children rights. We feel that this time of year would be a great opportunity to inform children of their rights and privileges, however from experience, educators and caregivers are overlooking rights that may not be more well-known.

Article 5: Your family has the responsibility to help you learn to exercise your rights, and to ensure that your rights are protected.

Article 42: You have the right to know your rights! Adults should know about these rights and help you learn about them, too.

If we are not informing children of their rights, are we, as adults, violating their rights? How does one pass on this knowledge in a child friendly way? Are we not informing because we feel that children will not understand the extent of the content or simply because we did not know these rights existed?

Convention on the Rights of the Child

We know that UNICEF advocates for the rights of the children, but what are their rights?
The set of basic human rights standards are minimum privileges and freedoms that all children under the age of 18 are entitled too. The Rights are listed under the United Nations Conventions of the Rights of the Child. The Convention is a set of universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations that almost every country has agreed to. The Convention was created as a result of world leaders beginning to recognize that children under the 18 years of age needed special care and protection different from adults. The legally binding international instrument made the world recognized that children, too, are entitled to basic human rights. The Convention contains 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. Below is an overview of how the Convention protects children.

Every child is entitled to:

• the right of survival
• to develop to the fullest
• to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation
• to participate fully in family, cultural and social life

The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in:

• health care
• education
• legal, civil and social services

The four core principles of the Convention are:

• non-discrimination
• devotion to the best interests of the child
• the right to life, survival and development
• respect for the views of the child 

Reference:
UNICEF. (2013, April 4). Convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/crc/

 

Little Orange Box

Growing up, the only memory I had of UNICEF was the little orange box that was given to us on the day of Halloween. We were to bring it with us as we go door-to-door filling our goodie bag with candies and knickknacks. I remember teachers telling the class to “Ask your neighbours to donate a nickel or dime while you are tricking-or-treating.” The next school day, we were to return the box back to the teacher. At the beginning of the school day, we would discuss topics such as, what we found in our goodie bag, the costumes we saw, and how we stayed safe and visible from passing vehicles. Looking back upon those cold and frightful nights, I never learned or understood why I had to bring the little orange box along with me. That was as far as my knowledge of UNICEF went… it really was not much.

It was not until recently that we knew the impact UNICEF made in developing and developed counties over the course of more than 50 years. The little money I was able to receive from generous neighbours contributed to a larger population of children and families in need of an assistance and/or support that I was unaware of. UNICEF’s work is truly incomparable to any other organizations as they are active in over 90 countries. Visit UNICEF’s interactive Foreign Affairs map to see some of the counties they are currently aiding to reduce poverty and providing humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people in crisis.

What was a memory you had of UNICEF while growing up? How did your memory contribute to your overall knowledge of UNICEF?

Trick-or-Treat!

We all have that one thing on our minds this upcoming month. What's that you may ask? Halloween, of course!

UNICEF's tradition of Trick-or-Treat allows children around the world to go door to door to raise money and awareness for children who faces challenges in the global world.

This campaign helps UNICEF raise millions of dollars to provide medicine, better nutrition, safe water, education, emergency relief & other support in more than 150 countries.

Today, millions of children participate in Halloween -related fund raising campaigns in the US, Hong Kong and Canada

BUT did you know that children go beyond trick or treating and costumes and candies?
Children take on educational events that help gain a better understanding of child rights and the challenges around the world that children face. The great part is that children are learning at tender ages how to make a change in the world but how to raise awareness for other children.

 Isn't that great? Children supporting and advocating for other children in the global world?

Please visit Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF for more information.