Switzerland More than 3,700 kids testing the streets

Project : Regional Office 20 Nov 2011 | child rights

Lausanne, Switzerland, November 20th, 2011: Over 3,700 school kids and members of youth groups in Switzerland experienced the life of children living on the streets on Child Rights Day. Most of the young shoe shiners have benefited from the activities and awareness-raising campaigns of Terre des hommes.

The 150 groups throughout Switzerland, including 3,700 boys and girls tried to catch the eye of passers-by as they did odd jobs on the streets, drawing attention to the fate of the millions of children with no shelter, and appealing to their generosity.

2,600 schoolchildren and scouts met the facilitators from Tdh to get to know the lot of the most disadvantaged children and the rights of the child, as laid down in the Convention of the United Nations. “This awareness raising is greatly appreciated: even more so this year”, says Rocco R. Maglio, head of national programmes at Tdh. “The role-play allows the youngsters to put themselves in the shoes of the kids who live on the streets. We bring up the topic of child rights, which schoolchildren hardly ever have a chance to deal with otherwise.” This way the odd jobs action does not ‘exploit’ the youngsters, but rather encourages a real return of educational value.

The article was republished from tdh.ch.