Boko Haram fallouts: UNICEF takes up plight of children on social media

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has launched a social media campaign to draw attention to the “devastating impact” on Children of Boko Haram’s bloody drive to establish an Islamic caliphate in the Lake Chad area.

The Fund said last week that Boko Haram assaults – along with military and civilian reprisals – had forced more than 800,000 children out of their homes and a normal life. Some are victims of enslavement and rape at the hands of the group based in northeast Nigeria.

The social media campaign uses the hashtag #bringbackourchildhood. “As part of this drive, UNICEF is using Snapchat – a social platform where messages disappear – to highlight the plight of the hundreds of thousands of children who are missing out on their childhoods as a result of the conflict,” the Fund said in a statement.

“To tell the stories of the children who have fled the violence, UNICEF and leading Snapchat artists will share images based on drawings from children in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

“The artwork reflects what children miss from home and the emotional wounds and suffering they have endured, including seeing their parents and siblings killed, tortured or abducted.

“The public will also be invited to share what they would miss most if they were forced from home – either on Snapchat, or on other social channels using the hashtag #bringbackourchildhood.”

UNICEF also launched a global campaign to raise money to respond to the crisis, which is one of the worst affecting children around the world at the moment.

“UNICEF has received only 15 per cent of the US$26.5 million required for its humanitarian response in Nigeria for 2015, and no more than 17 per cent for its overall humanitarian funding appeal for Cameroon, 2 per cent for Niger and 1 per cent for Chad,” it said.

Here is how you can participate in the campaign: On Snapchat? Add @UNICEF and send them a snap showing what you would miss the most if you were forced to leave your home. Not on Snapchat? Send UNICEF a comment about what you would miss on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #BringBackOurChildhood