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    Baruani Ndume  receivingthe fifth International Children’s Peace Prize from

 

Baruani Ndume is the new and the fifth recipient of the international children’s Peace Prize winner. He was awarded the prize by Wangari Maathai, the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize winner in the Netherlands at a ceremony, officiated by Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

 

Baruani is a participant in “Child for Child” radio programme broadcasted by Radio Kwizera in recognition of children’s ability to raise issues that affect them. The programme is sponsored by UNICEF and was initially introduced to advocate for children’s rights in the face of degenerating conditions of children and the neglect of their rights in the refugee camps. Its wide appeal has in the past helped to reunite many children with their parents and families after they were separated by war. It continue to offer a podium upon which communities are sensitized on the need to respect children and to help them grow as good citizens.

 

For Baruani, the award is a good step towards children’s rights. His life experience has been his major inspiration in the programme. Baruani fled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo when he was 7 years old. He lost his parents in the Congo managing to flee the war-torn nation and ending up in the Nyarugusu refugee camp in western Tanzania, where he has lived ever since. With the award, he seeks to further his child protection dream in collaboration with other like-minded individuals and organizations.Over 60,000 other refugees, more than half of whom are children, inhabit the camp.

 

This prestigious award is a recognition of the suffering children in the camps in Tanzania and the organisations that work towards alleviating their problems. In particular, it is a recognition of Radio Kwizera which  identified Baruani’s talents, trained him on production and gave him the chance to participate in the Radio’s “Child for Child” programme that is sponsored by UNICEF.

 

Other winners of the prestigious award include Om Prakasch (2006 winner) and Thandiwe Chama (2007 winner), Mayra Avellar Neves (2008 winner).  While Prakasch put child slavery high on the agenda in India, his homeland, Thandiwe Chama’s struggles for the right for education was instrumental in ushering in a new Education Act in Zambia her country. Mayra Avellar Neves, is still fighting for the safety of children in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The International Children’s Peace Prize is an initiative of the KidsRights Foundation. KidsRights works to improve the situation of vulnerable children all over the world. The foundation helps children via bespoke aid projects and offers them a platform to speak out for their rights. In the words of Desmond Tutu: “KidsRights seeks to give a voice to the voiceless.”

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                      A fight against the killing of Albinism:

                 Mariam (Centre) WITH FAMILY MEMBERS An Albino who had her hand cut by a friend  

 

The biggest challenge in the advocacy for the respect of human rights is people’s ill-gotten traditional beliefs. For Mariam, an albino and many other albinos in Tanzania, the nightmare has been that of  self protection. The myth peddled by ill-informed traditional witches is that with any body part  from an albino, one can make a leap from poverty to riches. This erroneous myth has pitied albinos in the region as many are killed and organs taken to the witches.

Mariam’s hand was chopped  off by a close friend who believed in the peddled belief while she sleeping. Her case was taken up by Radio Kwizera asking assistance and for protection of all albinos in the country and the region. He was taken to hospital, helped to open an accountant where well-wishers could deposit money and helped to get a better and secure accommodation.

The biggest achievement in taking up her case however is seen in the concern taken by governments within the region in assuring all albinos that they shall be protected and respected. These efforts are still embedded in the radio’s programmes, lest we forget!

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When fleeing from a wore-ton place the last thing one wants to hear is the call to return. For the scars and wounds that arise from such situations take long to be cured. The fleeing therefore often live with the images of the war and are seldom convinced of the improving situations back at home. This situation make the displaced to stay longer than they should have in the foreign lands yet the situation would have been better, in some cases, if the correct information is availed to the people.

This recognition made Radio Kwizera, as an implementing partner of UNHCR, to begin a programme that would supply refugees with the right information about their homeland. “Come and see” proramme was designed to have refugees go and see for themselves the improved situation back at home. This saw the number of voluntary repatriation go up with more people expressing optimism over the improved situation. From a high of over 600 000 refugees the number went down to less than 200 000.

  

 

The new office building that house

Radio Kwizera since January 2009   (First photo above) and the old Radio Kwizera Building when it began