Child Labor

Somalia, Yemen, and India

Introduction

Childhood.... What does it really mean?

"What one loves in childhood stays in the heart forever" - Mary Jo Putney

Childhood is considered a peaceful stage in which all individuals experience. It's a child's most desired and memorable period of time. Children's lives are shaped based on childhood, and so it should only be right they all deserve a pleasing one. What was childhood for us? When Watching TV with family? Building LEGO with your siblings? Running around outside in the sun? Well for many children around the world this isn't the case.

What is Child Labor? What are its effects?

"Envy is wealth, but not the work which it is earned"

Child Labor is when children are put into any type of occupation which ruins the childhood of an individual and gets in the way of a child's education. It causes children to face physical, and mental harm, and exposes them to hazardous environments and long working hours. Children usually work to provide for their families, repay parents' debt, and even for survival. Poverty is the number one reason child labor exists. Unfortunately children do not meet their rights, but have no choice as labor may be their only source of income. They can't go to school, as their priority is to earn, and that leaves many children uneducated. Education is vital in the world we live in now, so it proves child labor is having a definite negative impact. Children also face consequences to their health, different cancers, respiratory disease, and asbestosis are common in places where children deal with chemicals. When children who are not yet fully developed are involved in heavy duty labor, it can often lead to exhaustion and malnutrition, due to the unbearable conditions, and insufficient funds, for the means of food and water.

Status of child laborers worldwide

General Facts

200 million+ children in child poverty currently
73 million child laborers under the age of 10
Over 120 million children involved with hazardous work-environments
It takes away a child's potential and dignity
Interferes with children's rights and education
Work hours can be up to 14 hours per day!
Almost 60% of all child laborers take part in agriculture
Unfortunately only one out of every child is paid
25 million people are living in forced labor and 6.3 million of them are children
Top 10 countries with child labor are: Eritrea, Somalia, Congo, Myanmar, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and Yemen

Yemen

More than 1.3 million child laborers in Yemen
17% of Yemen's children are in labor
Types of Labor: working in mines, working with plastics, with fireworks, fishing, and of course agriculture
97% of all child laborers' parents are illiterate, which explains how education is not being provided to children who need it.
469,000 in the age group of 5-11

Somalia

3/4 of the kids in Somalia are not able to go to school-
42% of all Somali children are forced into working in brutal environments
main types of labor in Somalia are: cleaners and helping family business
60% of Somalis live on less than $2 a day, which makes child labor almost a must for survival.
43.15% of Somalia's population is under the age of 15, and 45% percent of those people are in labor.

india

12-13 million child laborers just in India
Child labor population is India is greater than Belgium's whole population
Many children work to repay family debt which they are not responsible for
Child labor work types: carpet weavers, factories, mines, stone cutting, farming, beedi rolling, construction, fireworks +matches, cleaning, wood selling + collecting, shoe polishing, and lastly bottles collection- which alone is 46% of what children do.
There has been a dramatic fall of the amount of child laborers in India in the past two decades

What can we do to help?

Every decision matters when it comes to making a difference. Even if that decision is small, it could end up saving a life some place else. I hope it's been made clear that a child is meant to learn, not earn. The size of our support can be as small as informing people, to as large as removing children from working in your company. This issue cannot be fixed instantly, but we can at least do something about it. Donating is a great way to help, as any amount can benefit these children who barely even get paid. Multiple donations can add up to one big factor of a solution. Don't forget that poverty is what causes child labor, and the basic approach to poverty, is donating. If you were to be a company owner, there is a lot you are able to do to help. The answer is obvious, which is by stopping and identifying hazardous work, checking the ages of your employees, removing children from hazardous work etc. Below are 2 links of reliable websites which can be trusted to donate to Help The Children!

Unicef Children - rated 84.39/100 for a charity organization by Charity Navigator

Save the Children- Child Exploitation - rated 88.3/100 for a charity organization by Charity Navigator

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