Child Participation
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Through my experience
I want to show you
what goes on in the mind of a child
who lives away from her family
and how things change and how her life changes
when she goes back to her home.
I lived in an institution for five years.
The time I spent there seemed to me
to be an eternity.
I felt as if I were living in a labyrinth
where I could not find the light.
It was just the hope that the day would come
when I could get back home that gave me strength.
It seemed to me that
beyond the institution's gate
there was a different world,
a world where I could only live for
two days a week - Saturdays or Sundays,
when my mum would take me home.
At home the walls seemed to be warmer
and the bed seemed to be softer.
An institution cannot be anybody's home.
There you lack the love and education you need.
My biggest dream was
to go back home
and this dream has come true.
I have gone back home
where I felt differently.
I know now that
I can rely on the love
and the education I need.
I am so glad to be back
with my family and my sister
and I'd like this to carry on forever!
I have been attending
the village school for two years now.
To start with, it was very difficult for me,
I thought I would be different
from the other children.
But it was not
as I thought it would happen.
My schoolmates and my teachers
were very nice with me.
They offered me help
and they carried on supporting me.
They helped me prepare my homework,
they carried my backpack.
The school I'm attending
has created an environment
where help, love, understanding
and friendship are natural occurrences.
As of now
the fear, the lack of bravery,
anxiety and other hardships
are all behind me.
I feel that I belong not just
to my family, but to the community.
I have attended two conferences already.
And I have spoken to a number of people
about how important it is
that each child's rights are
being respected.
Now I know that a child needs to be happy.
I have learned that help,
understanding and love with and from
those people around me
are very important.
If we want to strive for a better world
we have to convey these values further.