Monday photo: Day of the African Child

Elizabeth Kiem is the online producer of unicefusa.org.

Every year, June 16 is commemorated throughout Africa and around the world as the Day of the African Child, in honor of the children who bravely stood for their rights during the 1976 Soweto uprising.

Our Monday photo captures the changes that have since altered the lives of children in Soweto, where the struggle against Apartheid has been replaced with many other struggles: poverty, HIV-AIDS and violence.

UNICEF South Africa/2010/Hearfield

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo singing with children in Soweto.

 

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and world-famous singer Angelique Kidjo visited Soweto on the eve of the 2010 World Cup, which is being held in an African country for the first time in history.

Given soccer’s enormous popularity across Africa, the World Cup — in which six African teams are competing — is certainly a cause for celebration among many African children.

UNICEF is joining the party, setting up special open-air screenings of the matches in remote areas where there is no electricity or broadcast connection. But UNICEF is also using the occasion — during which millions are assembled – to advocate for child rights and to inform the world of the particular risks facing the children of South Africa today.

Celebrate Day of the African Child on June 16. Learn more about UNICEF’s World Cup campaigns, and help us make every day safer, brighter and healthier for the next generation.