Child Labour, the Law and poverty

The Laws of Malawi state that children under 18 are entitled to protection from exploitation and forms of work which will interfere with their education or harm their physical, mental or moral development; and children under the age of 14 must not earn a wage.  Malawi is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the ILO Conventions 138 and 182 (Eldring, 2003, FAFO paper 16). Despite this Malawi has the highest Child Labour rate in Southern Africa (Plan Malawi, 2009). Almost 90% of child labour occurs in the agricultural sector – which predominates in the districts of Mulanje, Thyolo and Phalombe. Many residents of these 3 districts are recruited to migrate to the Northern and Central regions’ tobacco estates, where the whole family must work, including children, to meet their new contractual obligations. The tea and tobacco farming industry of Malawi employs children in the worst forms of child labour (i.e. those likely to harm their health, safety or morals). A recent survey by Plan Malawi revealed that most children employed in the tobacco sector were motivated to work in order to help to provide for their families – most of which were headed either by grandparents, sick or disabled parents who found it difficult to provide for the family independently. Thus we can deduce that poverty, and specifically extreme poverty resultant from illness and early death of traditional wage earners (regularly caused by HIV and AIDS) are key factors exacerbating the problem of child labour. Unfortunately, in Malawi 74% of the population is in poverty .

Child Labour and AIDS

AIDS increases child labour and child labour increases AIDS. To expand on this, AIDS, as a sexually transmitted disease, removes the most productive demographic from the population, leaving families less able to provide for themselves. Thus child labour becomes a short-term solution to the financial situation, but as a result children miss out on full education, cannot gain well paid employment, and are trapped in a cycle. Child labour exacerbates the spread of AIDS as child labourers can be exposed through rape or sexual abuse. Reduced levels of education have been shown to increase the likelihood of risky sexual behaviour. A poor young woman may feel obliged to have unsafe sex with a partner as he is her only source of money or food, and she must please him. A higher level of educational attainment can increase self-esteem – and is also likely to improve career prospects. Thus young women can achieve economic independence. This level of career is unusual for rural women. The purpose of this project is not to directly mitigate the spread of AIDS (other areas of our work cover this), but rather to de-link AIDS affected families from child labour as an inevitable consequence by providing alternative Income Generating Activities (IGAs). The National AIDS Commission, along with numerous national and international NGOs, is working to limit the spread of AIDS in Malawi. Our work will not duplicate this work, rather we will identify and acknowledge it, while focusing on economic empowerment to reduce the requirement for child labour and the spread of AIDS.

Overall objective

To reduce the prevalence of child labour in the districts of Mulanje, Thyolo and Phalombe through training and economic empowerment.

Specific objectives

• To allow 500 families to become economically independent of child labour by improving and diversifying their income.
• To provide motivational, educational an communicable training to 1500 vulnerable children who are at risk of dropping out of school due to poverty and prevalence of child labour in their area.
• To train members of 5 Parents and Teachers Associations (PTAs) in counseling vulnerable families.
• To remove 40 children from child labour and place in education.
• To establish 6 Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs)

 

Activities

• Train families currently affected by child labour and provide them with the start-up equipment required to enable further income generating activities, and thus reduce the need for child labour.
• Establish and support VSLAs to provide further opportunities for entrepreneurialism
• Provide materials, training and support to vulnerable school children to encourage them to stay in school
• Identify and work with businesses currently employing children to persuade them to change their practices through an amnesty where they can seek assistance to change without persecution.

 

 

• 500 families assisted to become economically independent of child labour
• 1500 vulnerable children trained and assisted to stay in school
• 5 PTAs trained to provide guidance to vulnerable families
• 40 children directly removed from child labour and placed in education.
• 6 VSLAs established
• Some private companies will be offered amnesty to release child labourers