Plan International Malawi and Save The Children launches project to combat child labor in malawi amidst poverty concerns and soil pollution risks
European head of delegation to Malawi Rune Skinnebach says poverty is one of the factors fueling child labor in the country.
Speaking at Liwera primary school, in the area of Traditional Authority Chitukura in Lilongwe, during the launch of a three-year project called Joining Forces for Africa: Acting to end child labor, Skinnebach described the presence of an artisan mining site in the area as an act of short-sightedness citing that the use of mercury is risking soil pollution.
“The act of digging the soil and treating it with mercury with the hope of finding gold is the behavior of poor people,” said Skennebach
Skinnebach has urged the country to invest in the children so that they have a joyful childhood while improving access to education which will lead then to become responsible adults who will take this country out of poverty.
“With this project, we expect to scale up the upholding and respect of human rights and mostly protect vulnerable groups of children from exploitation,” said Skennebach.
Country director for Save the Children Ashirbir Debebe, one of the implementing partners for the project, says the project will address the root causes of child labor both at the household and national level.
“We will look at the contributing factors and develop a comprehensive response to address the issues by empowering the families that have been greatly affected,” said Debebe.
Debebe further says they will help in mainstreaming policies and regulations that can be used to curb the malpractice.
“Child labor is the manifestation of other existing social challenges, and we will be working to address those existing challenges in the communities,” said Debebe.
On her part, the incoming country director for Plan International Malawi, Mwape Mulumbi expressed shock at the population of children involved in child labor in Malawi.
“A lot of children are not going to school but if you listen to them, they have dreams which can be attained if they attend school, but this is just a mere dream as they are being faced with shocks that make it hard for them to attend school like any other normal child,” said Mulumbi.
Mulumbi says children deserve to know what their rights are and what the community needs to do for them to achieve their potential.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Labor Wezzi Kayira reiterated government’s commitment to ending child labor in the country.
“Government-enacted laws that are meant to protect children from exploitation from all forms of hazardous work,” said Kayira.
Currently, about 43 percent of children in Malawi are involved in child labor.
The project Joining Forces for Africa: Acting to end child labor will be implemented in two districts of Ntchisi and Lilongwe with funding from the European Union.
