Child Participation

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.