For children and youth

Let’s care for every child including the different ones

A group of children in Bam enjoy their free time with together

Ali was sitting in the room, staring at the wall. When Mom opened the door, tears went down her face once she saw her son like that. These days he rarely came out of his room. “He’s right” Mom thought” He has so much trouble moving around in the house. Using a wheelchair is a real burden, just as much as the crutches in such a small house.” She was really upset about this but there wasn’t much she could do.

It was even worse in school. Ali’s classroom was on the second floor so he had to go upstairs with so much trouble. The school caretaker helped him climb the stairs to the class where he had to stay all day long until it was time to go home. During breaks, his only amusement was watching other kids through the window as they ran and laughed in the school yard.

When the bell rang, he was the only kid who had to wait in the class till mom came to pick him up. It was the same trouble going down the stairs. The easiest part was the road from school, even though that wasn’t very easy for him. The sewage channels on the way home didn’t have a bridge for the passage of wheelchair so Ali and his Mom had to take a much longer route to find a safe passage way.

At home, Ali’s only fun was his doing his homework. He just wished it would never finish. It was the only way to get away from his worries. The worst time of the day for him was the afternoon when the neighbors’ children played football in the street and he just couldn’t help weeping. How much he loved to play with them even as the goalkeeper although he loved scoring goals more. Some nights he fell asleep earlier and some nights later but there was one thing that remained the same; his thoughts before sleep. Why should his class be on the second floor so that he has to rely on someone else for climbing the stairs? Why should he have to take the longer way home because there is no bridge on the sewage channels? Why should he always be different from the others? Why?

Which right(s) are at the centre of this case?

The right to a proper health and nutrition
The right to preserve your family relations
The right to play
The right to be protected from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to your health, education or development

Send us your answers at Irn-web-admin@unicef.org. We'll be delighted to hear from you.

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