Child activist Aminata Palmer of Sierra Leone

Aminata Palmer is an 11-year old girl who lives in Sierra Leone. According to Aminata, the leaders of her country believe that children should be seen, but not heard. However, Aminata advocates, “If you love children, you can listen to children”. In order to promote Child Survival and Development (CSD) issues, Aminata has become an active member of the Children’s Forum Network, as well as Voices of Youth. She has also served as hostess of the 2005 National Excellence Award, an annual event facilitated by CFN in which children who have excelled in various disciplines, including academia, the arts, sports and advocacy, are acknowledged and awarded a certificate by the children themselves.


Issues
Aminata has been involved in many child-to-child sensitization and advocacy activities that aim to promote Child Survival and Development (CSD) issues such as quality basic education and the education of the girl child, HIV/AIDS, child exploitation, improved health care facilities and poverty. Issues such as quality basic education and the education of the girl child are especially important to Aminata.  She states that, “If a child has the right to go to school, [he/she] will be responsible to study and get good grades and eventually do something good for the community – these are the worlds’ future leaders”.

Activities
In 2003, Aminata joined the St. Joseph’s Primary School branch of the Children’s Forum Network (CFN), and became an active member of the organization’s drama group.  The CFN often uses drama to convey messages on the rights and wellbeing of children to peers as well as adults in schools, institutions and communities. Aminata is also an active member of the Western Area CFN and is currently a member of the executive board serving as Public Relations Officer. In order to try and educate citizens, mothers, guardians, and stakeholders about the rights of children, Aminata also participates in the Voice of Children (VOC) radio program, ‘Our World’, in Sierra Leone. In 2005, she attended the C8 in Gleneagles where she participated in outlining the current problems affecting children, and made recommendations on how to make sure these problems were brought to the attention of national leaders.

Future Challenges
While Aminata acknowledges that some progress has been made, she also reminds us that challenges still remain. For instance, the CFN has been trying to write a newsletter since 2003, but does not have the funding to do so. “There is nobody to guide us, and we don’t have materials, paper, etc to use”, says Aminata. She also expresses a feeling of frustration about speaking openly in Sierra Leone about children’s rights, because she does not feel as though the leaders pay her the attention that she deserves. She feels that people really listen to her when she is outside of Sierra Leone, and she hopes that in the future ministers within her own country will afford her this kind of respect and willingness to take action.