As a child living in the UK my life is very different from that of millions of other children who live in constant danger of war, famine, poverty, child labour, human trafficking and many other threats. I cannot really imagine every difficulty they go through, but I do know that even a child like me can do something to help those children across the world. If millions of children like me try to help at least another child in need, we can surely protect them all and make a difference to their lives.
I am doing this because, if we grow up in a world where these children grow up as deprived adults, we will not have a fair, safe and secure future for the world, no matter where we live on this interconnected planet.
What I have done
I decided to give up my birthday gifts altogether and instead requested friends and family to donate to UNICEF UK for my birthday. This is because I wanted my birthday gifts to help create a better future for me and all other children rather can create more material waste!
What have I achieved
I have raised over £350 for UNICEF UK through my ‘Birthdays for UNICEF’ initiative.
Only if another half a million children like me across the UK raise a similar amount every year instead of receiving gifts (that are mostly plastic anyways) on their birthdays, that end up in landfills within months or even days, charities like UNICEF would have £125 Million to help the estimated 10 million children in danger across the world.
If children from other developed parts of the world join in doing the same, even more children across the world would benefit.