Coalition against Child Labour co-ordinator Pascal Masocha told Literary Outlook that more than a third of Zimbabwean children are labourers, during a Children’s Rights Cocktail held in Harare on
Tuesday.
“Chiredzi is the worst affected with 1 500 child labourers who are within the school-going age,” Mr Masocha said.
“We have declared the ward a child labour-free zone by 2015. We are currently on course to achieve this objective. As of now we have managed to return 550 children to school,” he said.
A baseline survey conducted by ZIMSTAT in 2011 showed that close to 40% of Zimbabwean children between 5 to 18 years are child labourers.
“We commend the government for a multi-sectoral approach in rescuing the situation. We have received notable support from the government and other non-governmental organizations. We are all working together to combat the scourge of child labour, Mr Masocha said.
CCEL has partnered with government and other local and international groups in rehabilitating child labourers and returning them to school.
“The success of the scheme has surprised even us. The children who were formerly labourers are actually outdoing their counterparts. We have set up a programme at two schools which we call incubation centres.
“The children are taken through orientation by our specially trained tutors. Thereafter they are taken through a health-check and given a starter-pack which includes fees and school uniforms before being
introduced into the mainstream education system.
Mr Masocha said the community had responded positively to the venture and were helping to build child-friendly classrooms to replace the pole-and-mud structures which he said kept most children away during the rainy season.
“The worst form of child labour is agriculture. Most people in the area rely on subsistence farming and do not realise a sustainable livelihood because the region is generally dry.
“Guardians in the area erroneously think that they need numbers to fight poverty hence they withdraw children from school and take them to the fields.
“There are also large herds of cattle which children are being withdrawn from school to herd. Parents need to understand that education not child labour ends poverty.
“We have noted from hindsight that government-supported initiatives register more success. We therefore appeal to the relevant ministries, particularly child welfare and education to be heavily involved in the drive to get children from the fields and pastures to school,” Mr
Masocha said.
Government policies and the new constitution are picture-perfect in respect to children’s rights but there are not enough awareness exercises in place to cascade the message down to society.
