This morning, the Members of the National Assembly were moved by an Address presented by Miss Tannie Samedi in commemoration for the United Nations World Children's Day. The Address to the House is part of global commemorations of World Children’s Day that was celebrated last Friday on the 20th of November, 2020, whereby leaders of the world were asked to give children a voice for that occasion. Giving children a voice is an important component of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which Seychelles has signed.
The first child to address the house was Miss Shayanne Hoareau from Beau Vallon secondary school in 2018 and Mr Misael Bristol from the Mont Fleuri secondary school in 2019. Miss Samedi is officially the third child to address the National Assembly in the history of the Institution, and makes it more historical as well by being the first disabled child to do so.
The speech that Ms Samedi delivered, pointed out several issues that not only her, but other disabled children of Seychelles face on a daily basis. She took this opportunity to ask all who were listening to take these matters to heart and find the best solutions for her and the others moving forward.
After she had concluded her speech, the Leader of Government Business, Hon. Bernard Georges, the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Sebastien Pillay and Hon. Naddy Zialor took the opportunity to share their thoughts on what was said.
Hon. Georges expressed his appreciation for the speech delivered by Tannie and he noted that he was in fact marveled by the strength that both Tannie and her mother has. He seized the moment to point out that we should all come together to find solutions for children like Tannie. Furthermore, he mentioned that we do have a long way to go but that he is hopeful that we can make the necessary changes and not leave any child with special needs behind.
Hon. Pillay on the other hand felt that Tannie reminded everyone that though life may be hard sometimes, we should all be able to surmount the trials and keep the joy of life and have compassion for one another. He wishes that everyone that listened to Tannie’s speech would take her as an example to take their education seriously. Moreover, he has stated that he will make sure that all that Tannie has shared in the Assembly does not go unheard, but rather, he will support her cause.
Hon. Zialor was the last one to share his thoughts. He felt beyond proud to have Tannie addressing the House, as he is also a person with a disability. For Hon. Zialor, this was a moment to reiterate the points that were put forward in the speech. He urged everyone to look closer at society’s needs for children with disability. He proclaimed that when he looks at Tannie, “it is not her that has a disability, but it is the world around her that has a disability”. The children’s needs are not being met the way they should, and he urged that more resources are made available to facilitate their lives.
