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'What I Want for You — and Every Child in America'
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- Category: Youth News
- Created on Friday, 17 July 2009 00:00
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'What I Want for You — and Every Child in America'
By President-elect Barack Obama
{sidebar id=11 align=right}On Tuesday, Barack Obama was sworn in as our 44th President. On this historic occasion, PARADE asked the President, who is also a devoted family man, to get personal and tell us what he wants for his children. Here, he shares his letter to them…
Dear Malia and Sasha,
I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.
When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.
I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.
{sidebar id=10 align=right}I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.
Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country—but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free—that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.
That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.
She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better—and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.
I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much—although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
These are the things I want for you—to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.
I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.
Love, Dad
Credit Parade.com, 18 January 2009
No commentsA Teenage Girl Murdered By Convicted Killer
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- Category: Youth News
- Created on Wednesday, 24 June 2009 00:00
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A Teenage Girl Murdered By Convicted Killer
A teenage girl was murdered by convicted killer Peter Tobin within one year of his wife leaving him, a court has heard.
The jury in the trial of murdered 18-year-old A-level student Dinah McNicol heard that Scottish teenager Vicky Hamilton, 15, was murdered by Tobin after going missing in February 1991 from Bathgate, Edinburgh, where he once lived.
Giving evidence, Tobin's ex-wife, Cathy Wilson, told Chelmsford Crown Court they had met in 1986 when both were living in Brighton, Sussex. She told how their son Daniel was born in December 1987 and how they moved to Bathgate in 1989.
She said she left Tobin in April 1990 and moved to Portsmouth, Hampshire with their child. Tobin continued to live in Bathgate until he moved to Margate, Kent, in March 1991.
Ms Wilson said Tobin continued to have access to their son and would travel to Hampshire to collect him.
The court was told that after he sexually assaulted and murdered Miss Hamilton, Tobin transported her body to Margate and buried it in the back garden of one of his former homes.
Miss Hamilton's remains were found at the property in November 2007 alongside those of Miss McNicol.
Tobin - who also has a conviction for indecently assaulting two 14-year-old girls in the mid-1990s - was convicted of Miss Hamilton's murder and is serving a life sentence.
Miss McNicol, from Tillingham, Essex, vanished in August 1991 after attending a music festival in Liphook, Hampshire. She had met a man called David Tremlett at the gig and made her way home with him by hitching lifts.
Following one of the rides, Mr Tremlett said he got out of a green car driven by a man in his late 30s or early 40s with straw-coloured, wavy hair near Junction 8 of the M25 close to Reigate, Surrey, on Monday, August 6, 1991, and left Miss McNichol in the front seat to carry on her journey.
Mr Tremlett said he tried to call her later several times but got no answer.
Prosecutors say Tobin had a propensity to target, drug and sexually abuse girls. He denies killing Miss McNicol.
Source: ITN News, Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Department of Social Welfare to Prosecute Abuses
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- Category: Youth News
- Created on Sunday, 19 April 2009 00:00
- Hits: 3935
Department of Social Welfare to Prosecute Abuses
By Fiifi Koomson
The Department of Social Welfare says it is taking steps to prosecute the directors of certain orphanages.
The move, according to the department, has become necessary as it has been revealed that many of the orphanages are flouting regulations.
Following this the department says it has suspended the registration of new orphanages. According to officials, many orphanages in the country, as reported by Myjoyonline Wednesday, 15 April 2009, have for years received and fostered children whose identities and families are known; a situation which it says is illegal. For example, as many as 28 of the 32 children picked from the Peace and Love Orphanage at Adenta belonging to actress Grace Omaboe, the report added, have known families.
The Peace and Love Orphanage was closed down in February 2009 by the Department of Social Welfare, following the discovery of alleged sexual abuses involving children, some as young as six months.
The department says it is now concentrating on ensuring that existing orphanages and foster homes comply with regulations. The coordinator of the Care Reform Initiative at the Department of Social Welfare Helena Obeng Asamoah in an interview with Joy News said the move has become necessary because some of the orphanages have been flouting regulations.
The coordinator hinted that some orphanages are currently being investigated for certain suspicious activities.
Credit Myjoyonline.com
'African Children Need More Support'
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- Category: Youth News
- Created on Sunday, 10 May 2009 00:00
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'African Children Need More Support'
By BBC News Online's community affairs reporter Cindi John.
The little girl in the photo taped on the wall behind Debbie Ariyo's desk is not her own nine-year-old daughter, but eight-year old Victoria Climbie.
Victoria from Ivory Coast suffered months of abuse and neglect at the hands of her carers in the UK before her death in February 2000.
With her face battered and scarred, Victoria's picture is as far from a happy family portrait as you could possibly get.
But Debbie Ariyo said shocking though the photo is, that image and another of an African child sold into slavery sum up what her organisation - Africans Unite Against Child Abuse (Afruca) - is fighting against.
On Wednesday, Afruca is holding its first major conference to examine the challenges in the UK facing children newly arrived from Africa.
It will explore the roles of schools, social services and community groups in helping such children cope with their new lives.
Ms Ariyo said that as well as childcare experts and a Home Office representative the conference would also be attended by family members of some of the children in cases which led her to set up Afruca last year.
She said: "It was right after the death of Damilola Taylor and the conviction of the people who killed Victoria Climbie that I decided to do something to help.
"And also we had other children like Jude Akapa being attacked and killed.
Ms Ariyo added that as yet Afruca had not secured public funding and was being run by herself on a part-time basis with the support of volunteers.
Domestic servants
The Afruca conference comes in the wake of a report by for the British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering which suggested that up to 10,000 west African children were in private foster care.
Ms Ariyo, who is of Nigerian heritage, said private fostering arrangements were well established in African culture - she herself had been briefly put into foster care as a young child by her parents to enable them to study.
But she believed the practice was increasingly being abused by some Africans in the UK.
She said: "There are many Africans in this country who turn back to Africa to get help around the house in the form of a child.
"It's increasingly common for children to be turned into domestic servants."
Such cases as well as the growing trade in trafficking of young children for sexual exploitation would also be on the agenda of Wednesday's conference she added.
Ms Ariyo said a recurring theme to come from their consultation with members of the African community was the need for better support networks.
"The parents have to make ends meet, they have to combine so many jobs to make enough to look after themselves and their children.
"It means they're not always there for the children so if a particular child is having problems at school they might not realise."
Children also needed to be prepared better for their new environment and to face potential problems like the bullying experienced by Jude Akapa and others, Ms Ariyo added.
But Ms Ariyo said Afruca's most important task was to raise awareness of the problems within the African community and overcome pockets of resistance to talking openly about the difficult issues involved.
Credit BBC
Child Rights Abuse Up In Central Region
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- Category: Youth News
- Created on Wednesday, 08 April 2009 00:00
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Child Rights Abuse Up In Central Region
A total of 573 children's rights abuse related cases were reported at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAG) in the Central Region last year.
The problem also ranks highest in the overall number of 1,261 cases recorded during the period, Mr Joseph Alex Donkor, Regional Principal Registration manager of CHRAJ, said on Tuesday.
He said Twifo Praso and Dunkwa-On-Offin, in the Twifo-Hemang-Lower and Upper Denkyira districts recorded the highest of 88 and 77 cases respectively, followed by Breman Asikuma in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa district with 68 cases.
He expressed concern about the high rate of child abuse cases in the Region and advised parents to be considerate when punishing or disciplining their children.
He noted that the situation was not any different in Ajumako in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam district where 64 cases were recorded, followed by Abura Dunkwa in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese district with 55 cases.
He said 49 cases of child abuse cases were recorded in Agona Swedru, 31 each in CapeCoast and Mfantseman districts, while Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) and Gomoa districts had 29 cases each with Awutu-Senya recording 24 cases.
Mr Donkor said parental neglect and child beating also featured prominently. Other cases recorded bordered on spousal maintenance and property rights.
Credit GNA/Ghana