Always, always say NO to child labor
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| A volunteer with boys and girls in the educational center of Peru. |
In Peru the 21.8% of boys and girls cannot be what they are: children. And it is that this country is the one that leads the ranking of child labor in all of Latin America, followed by Bolivia and Paraguay. Says the 2018 report on child labor of the International Labor Organization.
On the International Day against Child Labor from Tumaini we want to send a clear message: enough is enough! Those are the figures, but how is this situation lived in the day to day of thousands of children? We have consulted three of the projects with whom we collaborate in Peru. These are the answers.
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| Boys and girls in the school Iquitos. |
1 Are there children who work and go to the project?
little school of iquitos: Yes, in the community children start working life very early. Above all, they do work for the family.
Educational center in Cusco: Yes, almost all the boys and girls work helping their families in one way or another during the week or on weekends.
In the Educational NGO of the Collana community: Efraín, 13 years old, Jhon, 11, Judith, 9, Elmer, 8, and Anita, 6, work. They go every day to look for firewood for hours to cook their meals. They also collect scrap metal in different places to sell it later, or raise chickens and a little pig. In addition, they wash their clothes by hand every weekend and take care of their younger siblings.
They also work Leysi, 8 years old, who helps her mother at a chicharrones stand in the afternoons; Yahaira, 13, Yendi, 12; and Oliver and Angel, ages 10 and 12, in an auto shop. They go to the restaurant where their mother works every weekend and help wash dishes. Lastly, Jean Paul, 16, a few days ago went to Arequipa to work in the mines. He has left school. I was in the second year of high school.
2 How old are they? What jobs do they do?
Educational center in Cusco: between 7 and 16, although some smaller ones also help, especially in the school, which is located in the countryside. The children of Cuzco, on the other hand, work selling on the street or in the market, shining shoes, washing clothes...
Center for Quechua-speaking minors in Cusco: Franklin is one of the children who works during the morning as a "dock worker" and studies at night, despite being in adolescence. He continues to come to the project and he really likes to share with the volunteers.
little school of iquitos: They work from the age of 7, especially in cultivation, harvesting and fishing.
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| Franklin works, but he hasn't stopped studying or going to the project. |
3 Do working boys and girls go to school?
Center for Quechua-speaking minors in Cusco: Yes! They go to school but at night, or only on weekends, there are 2 types of education.
Little school of Iquitos: The vast majority are educated in the community, however many do not attend school every day because they go to their farms to work or are helping at home.
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| boys and girls in Iquitos. |
4 Any more details?
Educational center in Cusco: education here is still not a priority for the government and the level of learning is not too high. There is no interest in them learning to read, to understand, to reflect... They just want them to pass the course in any way. Most of the tasks they are given are to copy and memorize.
And the role of teachers is not valued at all. Although many teachers start their career wanting to change things, they give up in a short time and become demotivated, which is why boys and girls do not love going to school.
You can collaborate with one of these projects to help change this reality. Take a solidarity trip to Peru. And always, always, say NO to child labor.