International Day of the African Child

I learned something today... well, to be honest, I learned an awful lot today, the classes I'm in are pretty intense, and quite interesting.  But today isn't about me.  Today is the International Day of the African Child.  Unlike so many other "international days", this one isn't just some feel-good day with an arbitrarily chosen date.
Today is the anniversary of the Soweto Uprising in 1976 when thousands of school children marched to protest the poor quality education they were receiving, and to demand the right to be taught in their own language.  More than a hundred school children were shot and killed that day, and as they continued to rally for change, thousands were injured in the next two weeks.  Now the day is a day to honor the memory of those who were killed and to bring attention to the lives of African Children today.

As I am joining up with Mercy Ships, and now have access to their database of photos, I thought I'd illustrate this with a few photos of those they've helped, and get you thinking about the outcast children in Africa...