children - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

South African study shows the power of sharing daily experiences for teachers to learn how to include all learners

GLOBALLY, more than 258 million children and young people between the ages of 6 and 17 are not in school. In South Africa, the figure stands at 232,000 for children aged between 7 and 17. The main reasons they’re not attending school are related to the quality of education, financial constraints, disability and child or teenage pregnancy. The notion of inclusive education focuses on ensuring that all children attend school and receive a good education. The first is a challenge for governments. The second is a challenge for teachers – but they don’t often get the support they need. Wacango…

Apr

2024

By ALESSANDRA PRIORESCHI

Read, sing, dance and funny faces: expert tips on how you can help your baby’s development through play

HEALTH

PLAY is how children learn about the world, explore their environments, and engage in physical activity. It’s also essential in nurturing children’s social, emotional and cognitive capabilities and is an important component of bonding with caregivers. Playtime for children is as important for their development as exercise is for adult health. Guidelines have been developed in South Africa, which closely follow international guidelines, for how much sleep, physical activity and sedentary time children should get each day from when they are born. Children under the age of two should spend as much tummy time – time spent on their tummies…

Feb

2024

By LIN TAYLOR

Children most at risk as measles cases soar from Ethiopia to Yemen

HEALTH

The urgency of Abdirizak Ahmed's efforts to fight a measles outbreak in Ethiopia hit home last month when two of the aid worker's colleagues lost children to the disease, which is making a comeback from Africa to India and Britain. "Both boys died before they reached the 13th month or 14th month of life ... It's devastating," said Abdirizak, who works for charity Save the Children in the Horn of Africa country, which reported 10,000 cases in 2023 - the world's highest toll after Yemen, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and India, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data. COVID-19 disrupted routine vaccinations against measles globally in…

Jan

2024

By ANN MBUTHIA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Her passion for dance transformed Moesha Tajiri’s life. Now she’s changing the lives of hundreds of children

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, MULTIMEDIA

ON any given day, Moesha Kibibi Tajiri's house, located in the heart of scenic Madaraka Estate in Nairobi, can be home to as many as 30 children, all eager to welcome visitors with the greeting, “feel at home.” It may be a crowd, Tajiri is quick to explain, but these are just some of the over a thousand she has "adopted", country-wide. “I have four types of kids: orphans, children from mentally unstable parents, special needs children and those coming from vulnerable spaces. I pay rent to 14 different houses in different ghettos in the country. And despite all challenges,…

Jan

2024

By FADI SHANA and MOHAMMED SALEM

In Gaza, a family suffer painful wait for children’s bodies

WORLD

DAUBED in red paint on a fallen wall, the names Omar, Abdullah and Massa mark the spot where the three children were buried alive by an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip in November, their relatives say. Mohammad Abu Aweidah, an uncle of the missing children, said he visits the rubble of the home in Rafah every day in the "hope one can pull out their bodies, or take a last look at their remains". "We pray to God that we will be able to pull them out and see them," said Abu Aweidah. They were among 16 children killed in…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

My parents are from two different African countries: study shows how this shapes identity

CULTURE

MORE than a third of migration in sub-Saharan Africa happens within the continent. This mixing of people means that some children have parents of different national origins. Yet not enough is known about the lives of these children: how they form their identity and what impact migration has on them. The majority of research on second-generation African immigrants focuses on understanding their experiences in the global north. Our research looked at the less studied African context, where the majority of African migration occurs. We are sociologists who study migration and identity and we have seen that studies tend to take…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

HIV-positive parents in Zimbabwe struggle to manage their children’s education – study shows how

HEALTH

OVER the past three decades, researchers have explored various aspects of the impact of the HIV pandemic. One focus area has been children who have lost their parents to AIDS. Less attention has been given to children who are raised by parents living with HIV. This group has become much bigger as more people have access to antiretroviral therapy and are therefore expected to raise their children. TATENDA ZINYEMBA, Researcher of Economics, Health, and Governance, United Nations University Our research in Zimbabwe looked at the effects the HIV status of parents had on their children’s education. In Zimbabwe, the current…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 pandemic policies overlooked long-term needs of children

HEALTH

RESEARCHERS from South Africa, the UK, and Brazil recently conducted a study on the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people, particularly those from disadvantaged households. Their research highlights that the pandemic has deepened existing inequalities, with children and young people’s voices and needs not being considered in policy decisions. The study conducted by researchers from the University of the Free State (UFS) and the University of Fort Hare in South Africa; the University College London, the University of Birmingham, and Nottingham Trent University in the UK; and the University of São Paulo in Brazil, found that pandemic policy…

May

2023

By AMINDEH BLAISE ATABONG

Former tennis pro helps children shine on court in Cameroon

TENNIS

SIX years since weeping over a lost match, Manantsop Delisle, 14, is excelling at a Cameroonian tennis academy for underprivileged young players whose founder offered her free training after being impressed by her dedication to the game. Now she wakes up at 5 a.m. every day to start a round of workouts, practice sessions, and school classes alongside nine other girls and 22 boys boarding at the Oyebog Tennis Academy in the town of Souza. "My idol is Serena Williams, I dream of being like her," Delisle said after training. She caught the eye of former national champion Joseph Oyebog…

May

2023

By KHALID ABDELAZIZ and MOHAMED NOURELDIN

Heavy fighting in Khartoum; Sudan’s children caught in conflict, UN says

NEWS

FIERCE fighting persisted in Sudan despite a truce agreement as U.S. intelligence said rival forces were trying to gain the upper hand ahead of possible negotiations and the U.N. warned of the violence's devastating toll on children. Despite multiple ceasefire declarations, the two sides appeared to be battling for control of territory in the capital Khartoum ahead of proposed talks, though the leaders of both factions have shown little public willingness to negotiate after more than two weeks of fighting. The Sudanese army on Thursday sought to dislodge the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force from its positions near central Khartoum in…