Oftentimes, the boy child is neglected, abandoned and left to erupt on the society that unmade him.
This year’s commemoration is another wakeup call to identify with myraids of challenges the boy child faces- lack iof parental care, lack of the right kind of mentorship, cultural biases, sexual harassment, violence, child labour, street begging, among others.
The significance of this important day in global calendar can not be overemphasized and yet underscores the need to refocus attention of this set of vulnerable class, who will require constant guidance, reassurance and and parental affirmation to rise up to the challenges ahead of them.
Brief History:
May 16th is International Day of the Boy Child. It was founded in 2018 by Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, a university lecturer from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It focuses on boys and their well-being, their needs to feel happy, healthy, and valued within family and community.
In a letter to government leaders and NGOs, Teelucksingh says, “On the media, there are regular incidents in which young, misguided boys and teenagers are involved in crime and violence. If a boy child is neglected or fed a diet of hate and violence it is obvious he will develop into a teenager who is misguided and confused. There is an urgent need to focus on the home and school in order to save the boy child.”
On this note, every parent, especially the fathers should rise and accord the boys child his right of place, by themselves exemplifying the kind of responsible citizens they want to see in their boys, who will fill the next generation gap.
While others shriek responsibility to boy child at home, there are fathers who have braved the odds to influence and impart in their boys lifetime virtues.
Fatherhood is a call to responsibility and an extra work to make the society work, because its failure is the failure of the home front.
The boy child is a representation of energy, liveliness, apart from the very fact that the future is embedded in him to shape,lead and transform the family and society.
On this special day, we identify with boys who are facing life challenges because of the parental neglects they suffer. While at the same time, kudos to parents and indeed fathers who demonstrated more than a passing interest in character formation of their boys by being irresistibly committed to their welfare.
We urge governments at all levels to ensure good and qualitative education that accommodate the boy child enough, to ward of crimes and mitigate the menace of having an army of rudderless and lawless youths tomorrow, who for lack of care on the part of government and failed family foundation take to negative living.
We congratulate every well-behaved, obedient and amenable boy child as we join the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s International Day of the Boy Child or Day of the Boy Child in our society.
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