On May 1, the world celebrated international Labour Day. And the air was filled with reflections on drives of civilization, liberalization and increased campaigns on civil and human rights. But against such a background, realities of dehumanizing practices of human beings against fellow human beings, becomes a paradox. Despite of an exodus of various global partners in development, and diversified humanitarian agencies into Africa, to partner in the reconstruction of our shaken social, economic and political contexts, combined with our domestic efforts. Some primary social injustices like child labor are still prevalent. Many children in Africa and the world at large are found to be involved in worst forms of child labor [WFCL]. According to International Labor Organization (ILO) figures, World wide, about 126 million children, aged between five and seventeen were found to be involved in the worst forms of child labor. ILO indicates that overall, the number of children involved in child labor is estimated to be about 218million. What is more heartbreaking is the children’s revelation that they work primarily to supplement family income, mostly through laboring in family businesses. Children were found to be significantly working in the morning hours, but some 16 percent are reported to be working between midnight and 6 am. Without reasonable doubt, the above findings indicate an appalling social injustice situation of child labor, robbying the children of their rights to education, as most of them are found not to have attended any level of education. Not mentioning suppressing their Devine right to proper growth and development. Another teary revelation associated with this evil of child labor is the fact that 74 million children world wide, who are under fifteen years of age, work under hazardous environments and do dangerous forms of work. Most of them, according to ILO report released in 2007 are being injured due to work, in the short and long run. The injuries and other dangerous work environments, exposed to children include; exposure to gas, fumes or dust and other related work hazards like noise, sexual harassment and dangerous tools. The victims of child labor are, commonly involved in agricultural production activities such as tea picking, cultivation and planting of food crops. However other forms such as stone querring, fishing, lambering, merchandise selling are found to be absorbing some of them, some children are further reported to be duped into smuggling goods from one country to another, mostly in areas around the country’s borders. This is done by business people in a way of dodging customs taxes; according to a child labour activist in Rwanda Godfrey Gakwandi from Kenya Uganda Rwanda Ethiopia Together (KURET) project. Under the supervision of ministry of public service and labor (MIFOTRA), Rwanda in collaboration with KURET, a world vision supported project conducted a validation workshop that kick starts the drafting of the child labor policy, (national policy for elimination of child labor) which is now in the pipeline of being drafted, according to Gakwandi. Gakwandi is the awareness coordinator of KURET project which started in 2004. The 2006 survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund reveals that in United Arab Emirates, children are reported to be denied food and water, so as to be light and function well in camel racing competitions. What is more perplexing is the fact that such competitions have been responsible for a huge boost in tourism. Some children have been injured and others died, some boys are too young, so they are tied on to the camels. Viewing child labour from a domestic perspective, one finds that it is some times not a practice decisively perpetuated by the parents on their children. That is to say, parents have not willingly subjected their little ones to this pathetic situation of child labor. But some of them succumb to it as a desperate means for survival; ‘like how a drowning man can clutch onto a serpent as a means of escape’. According a KURET survey, about 30 percent of the households which involved in child labor are headed by widows. This in away demystifies the claims that parents subject their children to child labor. However this revelation does not justify all parents, because some of them have ignorantly and irrationally put their children through various forms of child labor. To some parents, the subjection of their children to child labor is manifested as a culture they developed overtime, naively citing excuses of indoctrinating a culture of hard work to their children at a young age. However as the English proverb goes that ‘ignorance is no defence’; they are not justified. A considerable number of child labor victims, being made up of orphans, attribute their fate to their selfless quest for survival, since they have no reliable basic support base. In attempt to combat the various social disorders prevalent in Rwanda, multiple interventions have been put in place. Among these include conventions, workshops, policy proposals and formulations and practical implementations of strategies directed at curbing the escalating evil of child labour. The Rwandan government recently ratified to an article 182 in a convention on abolition of exploitative labor. In this, all labour related injustices and exploitation, child labour inclusive were agreed to be abolished in the country. Recently, the government, under the ministry of local government, came up with the national social protection policy, which also highlights and incorporates efforts geared towards curbing social injustices like child labor. World vision under its funded project KURET, has been at the fore front in combating child labour at all levels of society. Their invaluable effort in this war has been manifested in implementing various programs on ground which has greatly impacted positively on the plight of the endangered young children. It has also conducted capacity building of personnel to ensure competent execution of activities geared towards eliminating child labour, carried out research and baseline surveys, resource mobilization, carried out advocacy for children right and reinforced the passage of policies to that cause. Ends
