How we organize ourselves

What is Unicef?

The United Nations Children's Fund helps children and moms in developing countries. Better known as UNICEF, it was founded by the United Nations in 1946. For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been working to make sure children have a chance to grow up and reach their potential. Celebrities team up with UNICEF to support its efforts. UNICEF works in over 160 countries. You can also read more about how the United Nations works to try to achieve world peace.

Child Welfare

Foundling institutions run by churches once provided care for orphans and abandoned children. With the Industrial Revolution and the problem of child labor, public child welfare programs sponsored by the community became important. Child welfare goes beyond caring for orphans and disabled children. You may have even benefitted from child welfare programs like free school lunches and community child health clinics. Children's courts, foster families, Head Start, and UNICEF are other forms of child welfare.

International Children’s Day

In 1925, the World Conference for the Well-Being of Children set up International Children’s Day. This came right after the League of Nations agreed on the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. This was a set of five rules for all countries to follow to give children the best life. Click on the links in the picture to read the five rules. The International Children’s Day was a day for supporting and protecting children. The world, and some parts of the United States, honor this day in June.

When Can I Go to Work?

If you are of school age, your primary job right now is getting the best education you can. The more you learn now, the more doors will open up to you later. You can still pick up extra chores or odd jobs for pay, but child labor laws protect you from being forced to work at jobs that are inappropriate for minors. Child labor laws were written years ago because many children were taken advantage of and forced to work in dangerous environments or work for very long hours, preventing them from attending school.