Child Labor
in Africa
Background Information
According the The World Book, child slavery is the employment of children as wagers earners.
Abuse of child laber has been here since ancient times, children have worked to help support their families, espically on farms.
The Cause
The cause of child labor is there are many poor families that can not be supported by the parents alone. So the child have to go out and work too.
The Effect
The effect on child labor in africa is that millions are child are being exposed to a harsh industry of bone-grinding, chemical altering labor. When they are in the mines they are not in school. So millions of children are not getting their proper education.
The Solution
Places all across the world are providing services to help these children.
Child labor of Africa`s Goldmines
Around one million children are being forced to mine in these goldmines. Their ages range from 5-17, they are assigned to small scale goldmines in Africa(United Nations` International Labor Organization). Child labor is illegal but enforcment of it is lacking. The U.S. Dept. of Labor is trying its best to stop this, they started funding a 4 year $5 million project. They are trying to get kids out of the mines and into school. It is such a problem because working in these mines, espically child, is a major risk. "Mining is one of the worst forms of child labor because of the risks of injury and death and the long-term health consequences from constant exposure to dust, toxic chemicals, and heavy manual labor."