Stanley set to Bring Ugandan Child Rights to Chichester

READ ABOUT OUR CHILD RIGHTS APPROACH

​10-year-old Stanley Wilkes will be travelling to Uganda this October half term on behalf of his school student council, to learn from some inspiring children who are changing their communities in the slums surrounding Jinja.

Stanley is a member of his student council at Jessie Younghusband primary school in Chichester, and his Dad works for Children on the Edge. Recently, Stanley found out about three ‘Child Rights Clubs’ supported by Children on the Edge in Uganda and all the incredible things they have done to make their communities cleaner, safer and more fun.
​
He decided he wanted to find out exactly how and why these children have made such a difference to this situation, and what he could learn to inspire his own Student Council at home in Chichester.

 “What happens to some of the families in Jinja is devastating and in some cases against child and human rights. For example, the children are exposed to diseases and illness but rarely given protection.” - Stanley

Stanley meeting with his Student Council to get their questions.

​
​After meeting with his fellow counsellors on the 9th October to hear all their questions, he’ll be travelling to Uganda in half term next week, to spend time with the children in Jinja, bringing back his findings for the next council meeting and presenting them on the 25th November in school assembly.
This will be just five days after Universal Children's Day (celebrated annually on the 20th November), which this year is celebrating 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Stanley’s Dad, Ben says “We feel this is a great way to bring child rights alive, exploring the nuances of child rights in different cultures, in a way that is led by children themselves”.

In the last year, child rights clubs supported by Children on the Edge in Uganda have been trained on the prevention of child abuse and child labour and have conducted their own workshops with hundreds of local children to educate them about rights and responsibilities. From arranging community cleaning days, to stopping physical punishment and ensuring their friends can access school, these children are making a tangible difference.
​
Stanley is looking forward to finding out what motivates these children to do what they do, how they create these kinds of changes and what advice they might give him to take home. Other local schools have already expressed an interest in sharing the ideas that come back, so the achievements of the Ugandan Child Rights Clubs are already set to have international influence.

RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER

ReaD MORE ABOUT THE CHILD RIGHTS CLUBS