Sharing the Hope: A Call for the Celebration of the National Children’s Month

By Lynneth D. Sulpico

"Being a child is of the greatest privilege: a hands-on hope for creating a noble future."

Some of us may associate November with children knocking on doors, holding a basket in their hands, screaming at the top of their lungs, “Trick or treat!” To ask for candies that would bring them happiness. Indeed, children are naturally drawn to sweets; in fact, it can even be argued that it is one of their needs, which explains their love for candies. While we may inevitably associate November with children as they ask for candies, fear not because November is the month where we consider not only the children’s needs—in this case, candies—but also their rights. And so we celebrate National Children’s Month!

November marks the annual celebration of “National Children’s Month” in the Philippines. It is held with the utmost commitment to honor Filipino children’s rights, welfare, and significance in our society. (Aurora State College of Technology, 2017)

The National Children’s Month was institutionalized in 2015 under R.A. No. 10661, which prescribes the commemoration of the Philippines’ adopting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989 (Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, 2015). The UNCRC directs that children be protected from any form of violence or abuse and outlines their rights in all aspects of civil, political, economic, social, health, and cultural (Save the Children, n.d.). Thereupon, the act attempts to embed its relevance in the Filipino conscience.

In essence, National Children’s Month narrows down on placing specific emphasis on giving the children access to a healthy environment, a good education, and healthcare. (Aurora State College of Technology, 2017)

The celebration of National Children’s Month aims to succeed in this objective. It ensures a bright future for Filipino children in a way that will preserve and nurture their rights as dignified individuals. Nevertheless, the government still struggles to provide enough resources to maintain children’s rights because the Philippines is a developing country with a fast-growing population of over 100 million people, half of whom are children (“The Situation of Filipino Children and Young People,” 2017).

In particular, if we are to picture the general scheme of things, none of the three objectives children must have access to appear to be adequately met. It is, in fact, radically opposite to the realities that children are currently confronted with. The research of Cauchie et al. (2014) supports this, as half of Manila’s population lives in over 500 slums despite the major cities’ continued growth. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of children are the most affected: they survive through malnutrition, disease, forced labor, violence, and, of course, school dropouts. Although education is a global priority for overcoming poverty, access to formal education is nearly unattainable for street children (Cauchie et al., 2014).

For the most part, it is true that, as Dr. Jose Rizal, our national Philippine hero, wrote, “the youth is the hope of our future.” Being a child is perhaps the greatest privilege as they learn of the issues that society faces right now and be equipped with the opportunity to develop better solutions that would help future generations. They are the ones in charge of the future. Yet, in the scheme of matters, the predicament of children in the Philippines is not one of hope but instead of being in the depth of mere hopelessness.

As November moves forward, everyone is encouraged to take an active role in this event by assisting in furthering the rights of our Filipino children. By sharing with them the hope of a bright future ahead, will they be able to create one. Bound together, we all come in smiles and walk away to the noble future of a mile.