When was the last time you asked a child what they thought about an issue affecting them?

Last month, I sat with a group of children in a small village outside Arusha, Tanzania. We were discussing plans for a new community centre, and I expected polite nods and shy smiles. What I got instead were thoughtful questions about operating hours, concerns about safety for girls walking home after dark, and practical suggestions for a homework area with adequate lighting.

I was humbled, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Children are the world’s most underutilized experts on childhood.

In a country where 43% of the population is under 15 years old, Tanzania’s future quite literally belongs to its children. Yet their perspectives are systematically excluded from decisions about education, healthcare, community development, and child protection policies. This isn’t just a moral oversight—it’s a practical one that leads to ineffective programs and wasted resources.

When schools are designed without student input, we get classrooms that don’t facilitate learning. When health initiatives ignore adolescent perspectives, we get services teens won’t use. When community programs overlook children’s safety concerns, we get facilities that go underutilized.

Research from the University of Dar es Salaam shows that youth-informed programs enjoy 65% higher success rates than those developed solely by adults. This isn’t merely about making children feel included—it’s about effectiveness, sustainability, and return on investment.

At the I Want to Be Foundation, our Sauti Sahihi Advocacy Network is built on this understanding. We’re training youth ambassadors, creating platforms for children’s voices, and bridging the gap between young people and policymakers. But we’re also integrating youth perspectives across all our programs, recognizing that the experts on what children need are often the children themselves.

The cost of silence is too high—both for children and for the effectiveness of the programs designed to serve them. By amplifying young voices, we don’t diminish adult expertise; we enhance it with crucial perspectives that would otherwise remain unheard.

Next time you’re developing a program, policy, or initiative that affects children, ask yourself: “Have I consulted the experts?” If you haven’t spoken directly with the young people you aim to serve, you’re missing vital insights that no amount of adult planning can replace.

Children have plenty to say. The question is: are we ready to listen?

Want to learn more about child-led advocacy? Explore our Sauti Sahihi Advocacy Network or contact us to arrange a conversation with our youth ambassadors.