Impacts on Early Emotional Development

When I went to the UNICEF website, the area of the world that I chose was The Middle East and North Africa because this is a part of the world I hear a lot about when it comes to violence, children, and the women in these countries fighting for their human rights, and rights to be who and what they want to be, but are limited for many different reasons. When I was reading about this particular region, some of the challenges that children are facing in this part of the world is the violence, not being able to continue or enroll into school, or having the chance to possibly drop out and not get an education. What was most striking to me is that in Nigeria and the near region, over 800,000 children have been forced to flea their homes because of the violence in Nigeria. In the surrounding countries of Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, the amount of children who are leaving their homes and fleeing has doubled in the last year. What was most alarming to me is that a UNICEF Regional Director stated that “The abduction of more than 200 girls in Chibok is only one of endless tragedies being replicated on an epic scale across Nigeria and the region,” says Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “Scores of girls and boys have gone missing in Nigeria – abducted, recruited by armed groups, attacked, used as weapons, or forced to flee violence. They have the right to get their childhoods back” (UNICEF, 2015).

This kind of trauma and stress to children can make them feel as if there is not safe place to be a child, to be loved by parents, and that adults can use them in any way they see fit, even if it means the well-being of the child is in jeopardy. This can cause sadness, confusion, and mislead children to think that there is no future for them to look forward to. This has opened by eyes both professionally as well as personally. I feel like I was truly blessed to have the opportunities I had as a child and as an adult, but when I see what other children around the world go through, it makes me feel so sad. We can take things for granted, and the children who really need and want an education, to feel safe, and to know that they are loved by the adults in their life. It makes me want to continue to advocate for children and be an advocate for the children within my classroom.

Resources:

Dakar, G. (2015). UNICEF. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/media/media_81518.html