Through the thick of the night, the 24 years old distressed mother of 3 finally sighted in relief thou it was going to be a short night as it had always been. The noise from the beer parlor right across the house and the BTS plant adjacent the 30 man face me I face you compound they now call home kept them up at night. She could not tell what actually frustrated them even more as they finally fell asleep. She sadly watched them (her children) as they helplessly toss and turn in their six spring ‘sleep and die’ bed with no covering except for the wrapper she managed to lay on the side by the youngest of them. Even as adorable as they were created to look one could still feel their sadness and total discomfort.
Its indeed a dull somber colour; far beyond words can explain how their innocence is gradually stolen away. Our children bear the burden of being in lack, of not having the necessities of life. They battle to ensure respect for their innocence has been long forgotten.
Ideally, children are created to have zero worries. Supposedly, they were just meant to wake up in the morning and watch their parents take it from there. They are made to simply be adored, loved, trained and appreciated.
In their initial job description, words like ‘worry and huzzle’ were totally out of it. Everything was just supposed to be ‘my mummy will or my daddy has’. The society has changed, and the life of the child have been short and pathetic. In some instances, our children have found solace in others other than their parents.
Sadly, they grow to start taking responsibility even before they understand the meaning of their names. They become parents even while they still are kids; they become representatives of others even when they have not taken up the real ages to represent themselves. Gifts of biscuits and sweets no longer catch their fancy as money does. Their mind is distorted with wishful thinking instead of the basic courses of sleep 101, learning 102 and play 103.
It is a dull somber colour as their teary eye looks up to their parents to take up their parental responsibilities of providing them a decent meal instead of the ‘nothing’ or in ‘better’ cases the unhealthy diets they come back to after walking miles to attend the only affordable community school.
It is a dull somber colour when you see them all big and small helplessly running after moving cars on our high ways just to hawk bread, fish, eggs and anything their circumstances have caused them to sell.
They are just left to wander around defense less and weak in a society filled with injustice, violence and social instability just to mention but a few.
And each time you set your eyes on them, what you see is an obvious cry of helplessness. Seemly pleading with you and I to ‘please do better’.
So it may take sleepless nights, endless plans and strategy, failed jobs and businesses.
It may even cost us expensive dinners; beautiful cloths and a life of present luxury but by all decent means possible please do better, if not for our sake, for the sake of the child.
It’s far better to make meaning from this imbalance now than later when we ought to be giving results. After all, what’s the importance of acquiring wealth if you can’t impact lives. Statistically, there is sufficient resources in Nigeria to give us all an average comfortable life so please work towards adding value to our immediate family, society and the world at learge. Say no to greed.
#don’t stop until your bad becomes good, your good better, your better best and your best becomes excellent.
#join the struggle to protect their innocence.
#join the struggle to secure them a better future.
# join the struggle to be the voice of the voiceless.
#join the struggle to let children just be children.
# I Palang Faith Mallo and I stand with Dapar Aid

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A Dull Somber Colour: Childhood Far From Pleasant – Palang Faith Mallo