Girl launches campaign to improve children's lives

A 12 year-old girl has become the new face of a campaign to improve the lives of children in Ethiopia. Leah Abebe, who is in grade five at her primary school, told a conference in Addis Ababa last week that children are the future of the country. The campaign – called Say Yes for Children - is an international project launched by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in April 2001. "It is us, the children of today, who will become the teachers, doctors, engineers, judges, and national leaders of tomorrow," Leah told the conference in Ethiopia. "We require care and support in order to become educated adults...Yet, in our surroundings, we witness children being insulted, beaten, and abused. There are also many orphans who spend their nights on the street." So far more than 50,000 pledges have been collected from schoolchildren in Ethiopia. They will form part of the millions collected internationally and will be presented before the UN's Special Session on Children in May - which aims to improve the lives of children worldwide. Children and adults around the world are speaking out on ten "imperative actions" that will improve the lives of children. Among them are issues such as putting children first, fighting HIV/AIDS, an end to harming and exploiting children, educating every child, protecting them from war, fighting poverty and listening to children. Under the campaign, supported by the Education Bureau in Addis Ababa "children’s rights clubs" have been set up youngsters so that they can learn about their rights and responsibilities. Ibrahim Jabr of UNICEF praised the efforts of the children involved, and welcomed their vision of a better future for children of Ethiopia and the world. In particular, he said, Ethiopian children needed a "louder voice" within the UN Special Session. "We need more children to speak up about the future," he added. "The world can only change for the better with children."