The May contest #2 by sduttaskitchen |Child labour!

While waiting in traffic, I saw a group of hawkers troop into the street, balancing their goods on their heads and shoulders. Among them was a girl about 8 or 9ars old, though her size suggested that she might have been older but stunted. She carried a transparent bucket of water; you could see the condensation dripping down her sun-darkened face. With a well-mastered skill, she moved between vehicles, softly calling on passengers to buy from her. She was convincing; so many did.

Two thoughts gripped me:

First, why would a child that young be hawking during school hours?
Second, how long has she been doing this to consider it as part of life and not a violation of her childhood?

And my answer to the first question was ‘poverty’. Some people would argue that this child maybe living with a wealthy relative, who still chooses to put her through such difficulty rather than allow her to enjoy childhood. It still circles back to poverty, not of money but of opportunity, empathy or even justice. If the child’s parent were to be financially secure, the girl or any other children who are going through that won’t have to live with such relations who fail to protect.

Another factor contributing to child labour which has to be looked into is weak laws and poor enforcement. When there are no laws or poor enforcement of laws regarding child labour, maybe due to corruption or something else, there’ll be a high rate of child labour in the country. To my second thought, I may not know how long she has been hawking, but I know child labour is wrong, and she needs to know that as well.

So then how do we spread awareness?

Through community education
By encouraging whistleblowing of any child labourers
Through TV and radio programmes
Via a one-on-one discussion with parents and guardians on the dangers of labouring a child.
Can child labour be reduced or even stopped? Yes

Here’s how:

Plan your family according to the number of children that you cater for.
The government should enforce laws that prohibit child labour, and defaulters should be punished accordingly.
Free and fair education should be made available to avoid excuses from parents.
Awareness should be done regularly, especially in rural and underserved areas, and dangers of child labour should be made clear.
Poor parents can be empowered so they can care for their families.

Child labour is a crisis that robs children of their innocence, education and future. Every child deserves a childhood to look back on and be proud of.

I invite @basil20, @chilaw and @ninapenda

Cc,
@sduttaskitchen