Children call for greater role in building a safer, greener world

As the world marked the International Day of Peace on Monday, the occasion offered a reminder of the need to protect children and build a safer future for them.

Yet for millions of children, particularly in Africa, threats to their well-being remain part of everyday life, from environmental degradation and climate change to violations of their rights.

For Michelle Mueni, a Grade 10 student at Dandora Secondary School in Nairobi, environmental challenges are not an abstract concern. They are right outside her classroom.

Beside her school stands the Dandora dumpsite, about 12-hectare landfill that has for decades received vast quantities of waste, exposing children and other residents in the surrounding community to an environment that raises concerns about their health and well-being.

Established in 1975 with support from the World Bank, the dumpsite was officially declared full in 2001. Yet it continues to receive waste, underscoring the gap between official declarations and the reality faced by communities living alongside it.

"The smell from the dumpsite affects learners' concentration and health," she said, adding that insecurity is also a major concern in the area.

Kajsa Dahlström, founder of Globetree, a platform that brings children and adults together to discuss issues affecting the future, expressed disappointment that the dumpsite remains in operation.

"It's ironic that the dumpsite is eight kilometers away from the center where the world speaks about the environment," she said.

Brayan Mungai, founder of Sauti ya Mtoto wa Dandora, which seeks to empower vulnerable children through their talents, said children need greater space to express their feelings and ideas.

"Every child is gifted differently and if their opinions are shut down, they enter into a state of withdrawal and will never express their opinions," he said.

"Grown-ups should give children hope. They don't have to inherit a broken world; a world they have no reason to protect."

Mungai said peace for children means living without war and division, sharing ideas and working together.

He argued that children should not only be protected during conflicts but also included in peacebuilding efforts, noting that wars are started by adults.

"Children's insight could help us understand how world peace can be attained in various simple ways," he said.

William Omondi, an acrobatic teacher at Children's Garden Home and School, a Nairobi-based rescue center and school for vulnerable children, said poverty and limited opportunities expose many young people to difficult choices, including drug abuse.

"Due to poor backgrounds that limit many children and young adults from pursuing their career dreams, many of them enter into depression and consequently to drug abuse," he said, urging the government to make education accessible to such children.

Omondi, who was abandoned by his parents when he was young and later supported by the children's home, urged young people to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams regardless of their circumstances.

Jesse Ekesa, legal assistant at the Kenya Alliance for the Advancement of Children, said children are among the groups most affected by political instability, war and crime and should therefore be included in discussions about peace and the future.

"Protecting them, keeping them safe and including them in talks about peace can encourage them to know the state of their world, global politics and share their concerns," he said.

Ekesa said children should be given a greater role in shaping their communities and the wider world.

"Children should be the first priority in every single planning, every single programming, and every single activity that we intend to do as the international community," he said.

"They are a big player in the world of peace, environmentalism, and basically any aspect of life within the society and international community."