📰 *HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY TO EVERY DREAMER, EVERY BAREFOOT STEP* 🎉 Today, May 27th, we pause as a nation to celebrate the joy, innocence, and immeasurable potential of our children. *Happy Children's Day* — to the dreamers, the doers, and the tiny warriors navigating a world too big for their small feet. Here in Epe, we are reminded daily that every child is a story yet to be told, a light waiting to shine. And yet, so many of them walk through life without the most basic symbol of dignity: shoes on their feet. As an organization committed to youth development and child welfare, the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Epe Local Branch, stands firm in the belief that no child should have to dream barefoot. We believe in their dreams — and we believe in their right to dream with pride. Children aren’t just our future — they are our now. And how we treat them today becomes the legacy we write tomorrow. They may not remember everything we say, but they will always remember how we made them feel — safe, seen, and supported. As the world marks this day with joy and festivities, our hearts also carry a deep burden: hundreds of children in Epe are still without sandals. They woke up today, eager to celebrate… but many did so with bare feet. _Let us remember the words of *Janusz Korczak*, a Polish educator and children's rights advocate:_ - *“Children are not the people of tomorrow, but people today. They have a right to be taken seriously…”* - *“What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits.”* We owe it to them to ensure that their pursuits are not hindered by poverty, by neglect, or by something as preventable as the lack of footwear. Let love walk beside them — right down to their feet. *HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY* ✨ *From all of us at NYCN, Epe.*