Blue-Ribbon Drive To Draw Attention To Plight Of Vulnerable Children

In observance of World Children’s Day on November 20, 2022, the Division of Human Services in tandem with the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment will host a Blue-Ribbon Drive, initiated to promote awareness of child protection, togetherness and well-being.

With the theme” Inclusion for Every Child,” the Blue-Ribbon initiative will advocate for the color blue to be worn by every school child and citizen on Friday, November 18, 2022.

Director of Human Services Beverley-Ann Poyotte notes, “For this year’s celebration the Division of Human Services will undertake a blue-ribbon drive. We would like to do it in two ways. We would like to encourage all of our schools on island to select a tree, a shrub or make something resembling a tree and attach a blue-ribbon onto it.”

Going blue on World Children’s Day is representative of UNICEF’s mandate to stand for the rights of every child. According to Poyotte, “Along with that we encourage the schools to undertake their own activities in the school setting to support the growth and development of children. As a national activity, the Division will take up similar activities in the town of Vieux-Fort on Friday November 18th and in Mon Repos on the 25th of November, tying blue ribbons onto trees. We would also like to encourage citizens to do the same from Friday November18th to Sunday November 25th, 2022.”

Based on UNICEF’s statistical data of 2021, an estimated 60 million children have been impacted by COVID-19 and are now living in poverty. As a result, this year’s November 20th celebration is a resolve towards reconstructing a better world for every child.

SOURCE: Ministry of Equity. Headline photo courtesy Charu Chaturvedi (Unsplash.com)