The International Day of the African Child has been celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organisation of African Unity now the African Union.The day commemorates the 1976 massacre of Soweto children, who merely took to the streets to demand their right to racism-free education, in the then apartheid South Africa.

In Sierra Leone various children's organizations across the country join their counterparts the world over to commemorate the day. The president of the Children Magazine Foundation, Saidu Paul Kamara has said that their organization is planning to hold radio and television programmes to discuss and educate children on the day's essence . The discussions will also draw attention to the challenges faced by children in Sierra Leone. Children Magazine Foundation will also distribute food and non-food items to children in slum communities and others living in deprived situations.

A national dialogue forum for children nationwide is being organized by the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs, based on this year’s theme.

The African committee of experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child have set the theme 'All Together for Urgent Action in favour of Street Children’ to mark this 21st edition of the commemoration of the Day of the African Child.

According to the experts, by street children, they mean 'any boy or girl under adult age for whom the street has become home and/or their source of livelihood'.

The experts noted that the day seeks to draw the attention of all actors involved in improving the condition of children on the continent and to unite their efforts to combat the ills that plague the daily lives of children. They also said it is an occasion for governments, international institutions and communities to deal with this delicate condition of children by organising activities to promote the rights of the child.

They added that Africa is one of the regions in the world with the highest poverty level and where survival chances for children are among the lowest. So in deciding to lay emphasis this year on a specific category of children, the committee intends to draw the attention of African societies to the serious threat posed to their stability and cohesion.

The celebration is an opportunity to mobilise all efforts towards the welfare of children who constitute the backbone of the African continent’s future.