September 20, 2022

World Children's Day

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Lamin opens his eyes. He can see it raining through the glassless window - yet it is almost 25° C here in Myanmar almost 25° C so early in the morning. His mother is already standing next to him with a small bowl of rice in her hand. She sits down on the hard wooden floor next to her eight-year-old son and tells him to get up. Lamin pushes the matted blanket off his body, stands up, walks out of the house and quickly washes his face in the washing bowl. He then sits down in front of the house with his mother and two siblings and eats breakfast. His stomach actually craves more food, but he knows that the family has little to eat at the moment and so he doesn't ask for a second helping.

His father left an hour ago to get to work. Just over two years ago, Lamin would have gone to school with his brother and sister. But since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the military coup in his country, many educational institutions have closed. More than half of the children are therefore at home helping their parents with their work. So these three set off together to help a fisherman with his work in the neighboring village. The journey there is arduous and leads over muddy paths, some of which are heavily flooded due to the monsoon season that has just ended. They will now spend until midday on the wooden boat, gutting the fish they have caught and sorting them into boxes.

When Lamin starts his short lunch break and shares some rice again, Toni - a good 8,000 kilometers away - is also woken up by his mother. She draws the curtains. It's raining for him today too. However, it will stay fresh all day on these first fall days of the year. The eight-year-old struggles out of his cozy bed. He simply doesn't feel like going to school today. His siblings are already waiting in the bright, warm bathroom. They are all still a little sleepy, but the prospect of breakfast revives their spirits a little and finally they all appear at the laid table. There is muesli, yogurt, fruit, bread and various spreads. Toni's father has already left for work, so he eats alone with his siblings and mother. He would prefer to eat only yogurt with honey, but his mother sometimes persuades him to have at least a little bread or muesli to fortify him for the morning at school. After brushing their teeth, these three children also set off together. On their backs is a school bag with a snack. It takes them just under three minutes to get to the bus stop, where a school bus picks them up, takes them to school and drives them home again at lunchtime.

By the time Toni is munching on a pile of steaming noodles and grumbling about doing far too much homework, Lamin is already lying on the floor again under his matted blanket and dreaming. He dreams of the time when he could still go to school and learn so many important things.

Two eight-year-old boys whose lives have a lot in common. Two eight-year-old boys who still have their whole lives ahead of them. Two eight-year-old boys who - despite their many similarities - already realize that their lives will be fundamentally different in the future.

The different conditions in which the world's children grow up have increased sharply again in recent years. The pandemic and national and international political crises have drastically worsened poverty in many regions of the world. Failing harvests, floods and fires caused by the changing climate have further exacerbated the food and housing situation in many places.

On today's World Children's Day, it is therefore important to become aware of this inequality and to give the children of this world more respect and dignity - both in our own country and worldwide.

We try our best to help at least a small number of these children. So that boys like Lamin can look to the future with a little hope.

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