Stella Damasus: GET OVER IT!

Thursday 19 January 2017

GET OVER IT!

I was reading a magazine recently and stumbled on a story that caught my attention.
People who know me very well can tell you that when there is something about women and children, my interest is always heightened.

So, there I was reading about a protest that was organized by parents of a middle school here in America. This protest was born out of the complaints of the students who felt their rights were being violated, and the school authorities did not care too much about them.
This got me charged up already because I do not tolerate injustice especially when children are involved. I continued to read this article only to find out that the problem was with the kind of food and drinks they were serving them.

First, the kids complained that they reduced the size of the "SODAS" in their vending machine. In Nigeria where I come from we call them MINERAL or SOFT DRINK (don't judge us).
Anyway they were complaining that the SODAS had been reduced, they were given more vegetables and the food was generally too healthy to deal with.

What??????? Too healthy? Are you kidding me right now? Too healthy?

What are they supposed to give them to eat in school?
Do they want to be stuffed with burgers, beef, sugar and cheese everyday?
The worst part of it is the fact that the parents went up in arms about this and started a protest.
Let me get this right, your kids are in a public school funded by the government; they try to feed your children with better options to cut down on child obesity and you are protesting?
Wow!

This shocked me so much and then took my mind to a time when I visited LIBERIA in Africa. There was an amazing orphanage that I visited which had a school for the orphans. At that time they didn't have a roof, neither did they have doors but were eager and determined to educate the children. Their tenacity and determination made me decide to do all I could to help them.

After a few years I got pictures of their progress, but even that was no where near good enough for kids to learn. I am still trying to do what I can to help them because all these kids want to do is learn and have the same opportunities as others.

The only difference between these kids and some overindulged children in the developed world is where they were born.

Imagine swapping their positions right now by bringing the kids from Africa to America and vice versa. Who do you think will survive better and make the most of their opportunities?
Sometimes people need to see what others are going through in other parts of the world, so that they can value where they are and the privileges they have.

My 14 year old uses computers for work and can create things that seem like magic to me. My kids can produce music, make movies, edit, write computer codes and so many things that even graduates in some other parts of the world cannot attempt.
Tell me who should be protesting and crying out.

The spoilt children in developed countries should have the opportunity to travel to some places and see how their counterparts struggle to even get to school. See how the lack of food can even deprive a community of education. When you are hungry how can you learn?

Please stop the whining and just GET OVER IT. If you don't like the food that is available in your school then take what you like from your home.