Rwanda marked the Day of the African Child this past weekend with a call for collective efforts in raising children.

There was also a call to support the setting up of Early Childhood Development centres. While the day of the African Child has its roots in South Africa, the need to support the growth of children and protect them traverses borders.

Like the saying goes, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ we should not leave the wellbeing of children to teachers only or to chance. The first line of defence when it comes to children is the parents or guardians. But they too need support.

We should all be consciously aware that all children need protection, care and guidance. Because a child is not your own should not absolve any adult of the responsibility to be concerned. If you see a child of school-going age not in school, do something about it.

If you see a child being abused, do something about it. Do for that child something you would want to be done for your own child – alert the authorities or follow up to understand why.

Some parents may be too busy working and trying to make a living. The hustle at times comes at the expense of family duties. While we must work to survive, the well-being of your children must remain a top priority as well.

Early childhood is a critical stage in the development of human beings. The better the care children get is a strong foundation for the child, the community and the country as well.

To give all children the chance for better care, Rwanda has committed to putting up early childhood development centers so that the less privileged children can get quality care too. To achieve this, the government will need a lot of support and contributions from different players. Private companies, non-profit organisations, religious organisations and even individuals should join the cause. We all stand to benefit.