We share this space and place that we know as Planet Earth with approximately 7,911,804,100 souls — 50.48% or 3,970,23,390 are males, 49.58% or 3,904,727,342 are females. At least 1.98 billion of these souls are children. Our Children are the souls who will replace us when our journey as spiritual beings manifesting a human experience on Planet Earth ends and our transition to Ancestors begins. According to the United Nations Children Fund (www.unicef.org) (“UNICEF”), approximately 1,000,000,000 children throughout our global village lack access to basic necessities — clean water and nutrition. UNICEF estimates that 1.1 billion children live in poverty and the Coronavirus pandemic has plunged an additional 150,000,000 children into poverty. The World Bank (https://www.worldbank.org) has estimated that two-thirds of our global village’s children who reside in Sub-Saharan Africa live in households where the average daily income is US$1.90. According to the World Bank, one-fifth of the world’s children occupy households in Southern Asia that are experiencing extreme poverty. In a communique entitled, “1 In 6 Children Lives In Extreme Poverty, World Bank-UNICEF Analysis Shows”, published on 20 October 2020 by The World Bank at https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/1 0/20/l-in-6-children-lives-in-extreme-poverty-world-bank-unicef-analysis-shows, the World Bank’s Global Director of Poverty Ms. Carolina-Sánchez-Páramo, had this to say:
“The fact that one in six children were living in extreme poverty and that 50% of the global extreme poor were children even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic is of grave concern to us all. Extreme poverty deprives hundreds of millions of children of the opportunity to reach their full potential, in terms of physical and cognitive development, and threatens their ability to get good jobs in adulthood. In the wake of the massive economic disruption caused by the pandemic, it is more crucial than ever that governments support poor households with children now and rebuild their human capital during recovery.”
Mental health of children throughout our global village was the sole focus of the State Of The World’s Children Report released in October 2021 by UNICEF (https://www.unicef.org/media/108161/file-sowc-2021-full-report-english.pdf):
“The relationship between poverty and mental health is a two-way street. Poverty can lead to mental health conditions, and mental health conditions can lead to poverty. Globally, nearly 20 per cent of children younger than 5 live in extreme poverty.
• Gender norms can impact the mental health of both girls and boys. Girls may face restrictive stereotypes about work, education and family as well as the risk of intimate partner violence; boys may experience pressure to suppress emotions and to experiment with substance use.
- Children are far too often on the front lines in humanitarian crises — 415 million in 2018, each exposed to stress and trauma. The impact of such crises can differ from child to child, with some showing resilience and others experiencing extreme and lasting distress. There are multiple reports of abuse of children in institutions, a high proportion of whom have disabilities, including developmental or mental health disabilities. There is also extensive evidence of the continued use of shackling of children and young people with serious mental health conditions, and of the use of coercion and restraint in mental health services. There is wide concern about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. Research indicates some increases in stress and anxiety among children and adolescents. The mental health of caregivers, especially young mothers, is also a concern.”
According to the World Health Organization (www.who.int), approximately 10% of children and adolescents throughout our global village are struggling with a mental disorder. In a fact sheet entitled, “Adolescent Mental Health” (https://www.who.int/news-room-fact-sheets/detal/adolescent-mental-health) published on 17 November 2021, the World Health Organization weighed in on exactly how serious an issue mental disorder is for Our Children — the “Next Generation of Leaders, Husbands, Fathers, Wives, and Mothers”:
· Globally, one in seven 10–19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 13% of the global burden of disease in this age group.
· Depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.
· Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15–19 year-olds.
· The consequences of failing to address adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults.
What about education? How are the world’s Children — our “Next Generation Of Leaders, Husbands, Fathers, Wives, and Mothers” doing in school? According to “Right To Education: Situation Around The World” published by Humanium, an international organization created in 2008 that addresses violations of children’s rights (https://www.humanium.org/en/right-to-education), at least 72,000,000 children throughout our global village who are of primary education age are not attending or enrolled in school. For added measures, at least 759,000,000 adults — many of whom are parents of these 72,000,000 young souls who are not attending or enrolled in school — are illiterate and in desperate need of tools to improve their own living conditions and the living conditions of Our Children. It seems that Sub-Saharan Africa has at least approximately 32,000,000 children of primary school age who are uneducated, while Central and Eastern Asia and the Pacific has at least approximately 27,000,000 children of primary school age who are uneducated.
UNICEF reports that there are at least 250,000 children — Boys and Girls — who are child soldiers throughout our global village. These young souls become spies, soldiers, cooks, porters, guards, and messengers, and domestic and sexual slaves. It is estimated that children in at least 20 nations around the world that include Colombia, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Iraq, the Philippines, Somalia, Southern Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are recruited and employed by armed forces or armed groups employ boys to participate in armed conflicts. These young souls are forced to witness or perpetrate heinous acts of torture and violence. UNICEF estimates that 40% of child soldiers are under the age of fourteen.
Let’s talk about homelessness and Our Children. According to Humanium (https://www.humanium.org), at least 120,000,000 of the world’s 1.98 billion children are homeless and living on the streets of cities in nations throughout our global village. It is estimated that at least respectively 30,000,000 children in the Continent of Africa and Asia are homeless and living on the streets, while in South America at least 60,000,000 children are homeless and living on the streets of cities there. These souls are not going to school, do not have access to proper and adequate hygiene which greatly comprises their health, and do not receive a daily nutritious and balanced diet.
Just when you think conditions could not get worse for the world’s 1.98 billion souls who are children — Our Children — Boys and Girls, UNICEF reports that at least 1,000,000 of these souls are in prison. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration for children in the world. In Brazil and other Latin American nations, Our Children who find themselves caught up in Brazil’s and Latin America’s legal system spend their days and nights in overcrowded prisons where a severe lack of access to health care, sanitation, and high quality food exists. Education is not made available to these young souls during their incarceration. In the United States, children as young as 13 years of age are serving life without parole sentences. Children in the United States as young as eight years of age can be charged as an adult and ordered by courts to serve long terms of imprisonment in an adult prison.
Who shall replace us when we make our transition to Ancestors? One million souls who during their childhood spent days and nights in overcrowded prisons with little or no access to proper hygiene, sanitation, health care, education, and healthy food? Boys and Girls who were recruited as child soldiers in at least 20 nations throughout our global village who witnessed or participated in heinous acts of torture and violence? The approximately 120,000,000 souls during their journey from childhood to adulthood who were street children, roaming the streets in cities and villages throughout our global village begging for food and money with no access to proper hygiene, and a safe place to sleep at night?
Who shall replace us when our journey as spiritual beings having a human experience ends on Planet Earth? Souls — approximately 72,000,000 — throughout our global village who are illiterate because they never attended school or received a proper education during their childhood and lack the skills and knowledge needed to become gainfully employed? Upon reaching adulthood, how will these souls support themselves financially? Will they pursue illegal economic options and succumb to the gravitational pull of street crime? Do we want Leaders, Husbands, Fathers, Wives, and Mothers to replace us who have not had an opportunity to heal from depression, ADHD, anxiety, and behavioral disorders they struggled with during their childhood?:
Who shall replace us?
