Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The region I choose to research is Eastern and Southern Africa because I have always been fascinated with Africa and I am aware that Africa has been experiencing turmoil for quite some time now.  I also chose this topic because I am interested to learn how UNICEF is helping this region and how the children are being impacted.

I discovered children in this region face severe food shortages, children are being used for armed groups in South Sudan, and many children are misplaced due to poverty and climate changes. What I decided to focus my research on was the children who were being used for their armed groups in South Sudan. UNICEF reported that one hundred and nineteen children were released from this group last week, but there are still more than 19,000 children who still need to return to their families. I was surprised to learn that children as young as age ten could be members of South Sudan’s armed groups. This organization explains that children who live in poverty or are displaced are more likely to be recruited to work in the armed forces (UNICEF, 2011).

These experiences may have an impact on a child’s social and emotional wellbeing and development because these children are being taken from their families and their environments and are being asked to participate as “fighters, cooks, porters, messengers to spies, or they are subjected to sexual exploitation” (UNICEF, 2011) which can be very damaging to a young child. Holt (2019), explains the story of Mary who was forced to join the rebel camp and talks about her experiences of being recruited to armed groups. Holt explains that Mary was able to escape from the group, but still faces flashbacks how the guns being shot by soldiers, the beatings children would experience and the different punishments should would endure (Holt, 2019). These memories will have an everlasting impact on Mary and her emotional development as she carries these anxieties with her to this day. Children who are able to escape the armed groups or are released and taken in by UNICEF are given basic supplies such as clothing and shoes, but are also given reintegration support which will help assist these children into finding their place in their civilian life (UNICEF, 2011). Due to the fact that some children are taken from their home in order to join this group, these children will have a culture shock when returning and could be behind in their development and schooling. These children that return to their civilian life have many barriers to overcome in order to be successful.

Researching this information is very heart wrenching as I could not imagine having to experience this myself, or if my child were taken to join the armed group. Working as an educator we set out to help children, and what UNICEF is accomplishing is noteworthy and is making a difference in these young children’s lives. After reading this information, it puts into perspective my life and the privileges I face each day compared to these children and helps put into perspective that we take our lives for granted at times. Professionally, I have learned that there is so much more I could do to help children. I never truly considered participating in a worldwide organization. However, the more I research and look into these organizations, the more interested I become and my love for working with and helping children grows.

Above is a picture of Mary teaching children in her local school. 

References

Holt, K. (2019). They told me to stop crying or they would kill me. UNICEF Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/stories/they-told-me-stop-crying-south-sudan

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/