In Africa children start working as early as 5yrs old. According to the UN Labour organisation’s data, 1 million children aged between 5-17yrs work in African gold mines. Children also work as domestic servants and street hawkers to the detriment of their mental, physical and emotional well-being and it denies them an education. Except for a few, most African countries have signed up to the UN Child Rights convention so why are we still seeing this prevalence? The convention makes it an offence to involve children in any activity which impacts negatively on their health and well-being. The convention also emphasises the need for the government to protect children from exploitation. Jacobs Well Child Africa is therefore joining forces in the campaign to end child labour and raise awareness of the long-term harm it causes to individuals and the loss to the economy. We are doing this by mainstreaming awareness across schools that the charity works with because ‘school’ remains a focal point at which most children can be present and be protected by offering visibility.
