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Rudaviro Madziyire
The Day of the African Child was born from the bloodshed and sorrowful memories of the students of Soweto who protested for their right to be taught in their indigenous languages in school.
The Soweto police barricaded the road along their route and responded to the protest by firing gun shots.
In this confusion and chaos, a young boy named Hector Pieterson was the first to be shot and he died on the spot.
My future and chance to be heard was born from the tears of these children
So Mother Africa, teach me to dream and I will become
Give me a chance of a lifetime, a door of opportunity and I will thrive
Shield me in your arms from the beast of early child marriage
It is silently eyeing me, ready to feast on me
Shield me in your arms from the vultures of drug abuse
They are stalking me like ghosts, almost ready to grab me out of your arms
Fulfil your promise and eliminate harmful practises affecting me
Like the chigadza mapfihwa and kuzvarira practices
I reached 13 years of age with the intention of dragging my family name out of the mud but you crushed that when you introduced me to a monster called child marriage
Please Mother Africa, give me a chance to bloom and blossom
Lead me by example, for children learn from what they live
As I write this today, my voice is speaking for all African children
Eliminate all those harmful practices stopping me from reaching my goal
Rudaviro Madziyire is a Grade Seven learner at Chancellor Junior School in Mutare
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