Executive Director of Pumpkins Foundation, and television personality Baisiwa Dowuona Hammond has said it is crucial to the nation’s future to train children to be more tolerant of each other as that will breed a compassionate network of the future generation.

She said that, there should be less talk and more action with regards to the future of children in the country adding that it is of importance to create the adequate atmosphere for children to thrive in and become responsible adults.

“Are the children really the future of our country? Do we believe in it or we just talk? If indeed the children are supposed to be the future of the country, why are we not creating the necessary conducive environment for them, to ensure that they would have everything in place and then grow up to be more responsible adults,” she quizzed.

“You can imagine if we have children today who have been natured the way that I talk about, they definitely will grow up to be more responsible adults, because they know the issues concerning the deprived. I have a very strong belief that if we as a people ensure that is done, we are going to have a future leadership that all the things that we all need as a country is taken care of and not just for a cross section of the populace,” she mentioned.

Speaking during the 2017 National Children’s Day event held in Accra, Madam Dowuona Hammond said closing the gap of discrimination between the rich and the poor in our schools and teaching the children to be each other’s keeper are some ways to assure the future of responsible people.

She noted that more emphasis should be placed on closing the gap of discrimination that has gradually been assimilated in our schools and sensitize the children to appreciate one another no matter their background.

“We are looking at how best we can bridge the gap of discrimination between the rich kids and the poor kids. In my own experience working in a lot of these schools, international schools, you realize for these kids they don’t have to worry to get anything. They seem to care very less about what goes on in a lot of the deprived communities. And for me the focus has been the fact that we have allowed that gap between the grassroots and those who are blessed with the flamboyance, to widen,” she mentioned.

“How best can we close that gap? The best way for me is to see how best we can empower the children themselves to begin to lend a hand to one another, to begin to do stuffs for each other, to begin to want to mingle and network, share ideas, talk about their lives, because they all come from different homes, different backgrounds and then in the end we are looking at a more compassionate network of all future generations,” she explained.

Pumpkins Foundation, a non-government organization, is focused on promoting the general well-being of poor and needy children and adding value to the lives of the less privileged children in the city and rural areas. The foundation held the 2017 edition of National Children’s Day event Friday, September 1, in Accra.