World Day Against Child Labour
The problem of child labour
Totally unimaginable for us, it is common for children, mostly in Africa and Asia. There is probably no need to explain why young children should not do work intended for adults. It is often very physically exhausting even for adults. Unfortunately, these poor families cannot afford to pay for their children's education and are often forced to let them work as well, because every helping hand that earns a little money is useful.
When and why we commemorate this day
World Day Against Child Labour, which is held every year on 12 June through an initiative of the UN and the ILO (International Labour Organisation). Last year, around 170 million children were forced to work in African and Asian countries. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has not contributed much to this. Often children work for days on end and the financial reward for their work often does not even cover the basic necessities of life. Most children work in agriculture, services and industry and are aged between 5 and 14. These children are at risk of both physical and psychological harm at work. Their rights are restricted, they are unable to receive an education, and this cycle of poverty is then passed on from one generation to the next.
How you can help
You can help by caring and supporting poor families with a donation. Whether financially or by buying anything from the Unicef e-shop, anything counts.
In everyday life, you can then buy products with the Fair Trade label. These are usually coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, cane sugar, cereals, rice, etc. Fair Trade means that no children worked in the production of the products and that everyone involved in the production was paid fairly.
Join us in supporting children and together let us give them the opportunity to live a life of dignity, just as our children can live, at least in part.
