In Burkina Faso, children ride for equity
Did you know that Africa’s biggest cycling race is held in Burkina Faso every year? The Tour du Faso is a 10-day road bicycle race, this year, from October 28th to November 6th, more than 4 million people attended the event throughout the country. UNICEF Burkina Faso, official partner of the Tour du Faso took this opportunity to spread the word about equity.
It was a very hot day of November in Dédougou, Boucle du Mouhoun region but Mathieu, Kadidiatou, Fatim, Tahirou, Andrea, Fatimata, Samiratou, Amos, Yacouba, Mohamed, our equity champions were ready to ride.
“I love riding my bicycle, I feel free, I can visit my friends, help my parents run errands or like today, ride to show that we, children, matter and we can change the world” said nine year old Kadidiatou Sanogo.
They all worked and pushed very hard to finish the race. Nine year old Amos Badia, stood on the side very disappointed because his bicycle’s chain broke. But Amos didn’t know, the main goal was not to win but to participate. All our equity champions won a brand new bicycle, and a string backpack which brought back a smile to all the children, especially Amos.
Providing a fair chance in life doesn’t just benefit children. It allows the whole of society to profit from their potential and, in turn, boosts social and economic progress. Evidence proves that more equitable societies have better growth prospects and are more prosperous and stable. Achieving equity means that societies have to address the underlying drivers of inequity that often appear even before a child is born.
In 2015, world leaders pledged their commitment to a more equitable world by signing on to the Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 10 calls explicitly for a more equitable world, both within countries as well as between them. The first step toward this goal is to ensure that all children — the building blocks of the future — have an equal start in life.
