Writers Fortnight 4 – Save the Children; UNICEF

In this talk I learnt more about the types of issues and severity children can experience, and the help and support that they should all equally acquire. Ms Hellens (councillor) was a psychotherapist living in Kenya, passionate about advocating for children’s rights and protection. She wanted to ensure that policies and procedures to protect children against abuse were secure in Kenya. Kenya had a high HIV rate with poverty and lack of education, so it is evident that much was to be done. Ms Hellens said that working with such difficulty in this LEDC was “worth it, to positively impact a child’s life.” although living in Singapore, this addressed the issue of Children’s abuse and unequal rights globally. Ms Hellens initially interviewed affected children to understand their experiences and stories, aiming to educate all people and train them to work and change children’s lives positively. Ms Hellens came upon drastic experiences that some children faced- such as a 12 year old sexually harassed by her uncle. It shocked me to what extent children could be abused. To prove this the child had stated that whenever she would retell the story, she was “re living the trauma”. Another case was that a child had been locked in a washing machine as a punishment- in which a lot of moral support and care appeared necessary. Such extreme cases of human behaviour appeared shocking and most definitely proved to Ms Hellens that something was to be done. We see how her job of educating people and spreading the message of this issue was crucial, to develop trust amongst these children and adults.

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Overall Ms Hellen’s story shook me as living in Singapore we don’t necessarily take awareness or concern of all the issues happening to kids of our age, externally. Such stories that were told really stuck to us and we see why people such as Ms Hellens appear necessary in such countries in order to build peace and trust between all, and most importantly advocate for rights for all children. From Ms Hellen’s experiences she has always loved working with children, which is why today at UWCSEA she is a councillor, as similarly in a sense to Kenya, she is trying to do her best to provide well being and serenity for all children. We see how despite the different kinds of cases, countries and people she has worked with, the reoccurring theme of equal rights for children remains core to what she works and advocates for.

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