It has come to our attention that child labour still exists in some countries. This is a major problem because forcing a child into working long hours for very little pay will seriously affect that child’s development. Something has to be done about this.
Child labour happens because the children of families that are in poverty are forced to work for long hours for very little pay in sometimes dangerous places. They are payed less because children are susceptible to intimidation, so they won’t speak out about the fact that they are getting payed less than they deserve. Child labour is especially harmful towards young girls, since they are extremely vulnerable to physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Girls can also become part of the sex trade, where they are susceptible to bad things such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
There are many different ways in which we can help to put an end to child labour. The first way is to provide more schooling systems to countries that have a high number of child labourers. A child with an education will be able to do a lot more to help their family, since they will have more opportunities for employment, and could even get a job in their country’s government to help change the laws regarding child workers. Another way to help put an end to child labour is to adults the jobs that some children occupy right now. There are about 800 million adults currently unemployed in the world, while there are an estimated 250 million child workers. Something is definitely wrong with this picture. Another way to solve this problem would be to remove the children from their jobs, and to also provide some rehabilitation to them. This may be expensive, but it will get rid of the notion that the child has to work. Laws should also be passed by organizations such as the UN to keep children from being exploited. These laws will also have to be enforced. A boycott could also be place on companies that use children to produce their merchandise. The only problem with this is that it can cause just as much harm because now the children are thrown out onto the dangerous streets.
Something must be done about the epidemic of child labour throughout the world. How is it that in an age of such civilization children are still being forced into doing dangerous and monotonous tasks such as making fireworks or tying knots in a rug. We at CATFO feel that with the help of the Canadian Government, and others we can help put an end to child labour.
Sincerely,
The Members of CATFO
Dear Save the Children,
Dear Save the Children, Our mission at Children are the Future Organization (CATFO) is to help stop child labour worldwide. We are writing to you in hopes that we can join forces in order to put more pressure on the government. Millions and millions of children around the world that are between the ages 4 and 14 are engaged in work activities that most people would not deem as acceptable. Children are forced to work long hours in hazardous conditions with little or no pay. We believe something must be done to stop this and together, we believe that this can be achieved.
Child labour happens around the world, from Africa to the Americas, from Europe to Asia so it is a worldwide problem. In India alone, there are between 70-80 million child labourers, which is over 14% of their entire population. Poverty is one of the main causes of child labour. Families that cannot support themselves often allow their children to go and work for 10, 15, or more hours a day. Even with the long hours they often come home with just pennies. The conditions that these children work in vary, from sweat shops, where all they are allowed to do is make purses by hand to be sold to rich people, to young girls on the street acting as prostitutes, where they are susceptible to both mental and physical abuse, rape, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases.
To end this inhumane practice many steps can be taken. Child labour exists because of poverty and the lack of education that children obtain. Lack of education happens when children are in the situation where they cannot attend school, or because their government does not spend enough money on education. In many cases, countries spend as little as 1% of their national budget on the elementary schooling of children; this is a preposterous sum, especially if the country in question is trying to develop. If more money were spent on education then more children would have the opportunity to become educated, which would better their chances of getting a job that does not treat them as if they were cattle. Although this step alone will not accomplish much. Anyone can help to end this problem. Simply, all they have to do is one of two things. One, refuse to buy any merchandise that is made by children in these conditions, or two, start to place pressure on their government to change their policies concerning child labour, and for their government to put pressure on other governments to change their policies as well. These two things are still not enough; more things include protecting children's rights, and bringing more attention to this growing issue.
CATFO feels that with the help of Save the Children and others that we can end this horror that is happening all around world. We at CATFO are willing to join forces with Save the Child Organization in order for our voices to be heard. Something must be done, something can be done, and something will be done to finally end child labour.
Sincerely,
All members of CATFO