Nike, Adidas, Puma, without a doubt, these are some of your favorite footwear companies. However, let's stop and ask ourselves. Where are these shoes really made and by whom?
Are they made by adults' legally employed in the work force or are they made by underage children with little or no choices?
Honorable judges, teachers and fellow students, the topic of my speech is "Child Labour."
First let me ask you all, what is child labour?
Well, though definitions vary, child labour means work that is done by children under the age of 15, 14 in some developing countries, which restricts or damages child's physical, emotional, intellectual, social and or spiritual growth.
Don't get me wrong, work does not harm children. As a matter of fact, work may even help children to learn new skills or to develop a sense of responsibility.
In the normal lives of families with steady and adequate incomes, parents go to work every day while children normally play with friends and go to school. However, such is not the case for about 218 million child labourers around the world who daily find themselves working long hours under harsh, dangerous and exploitative conditions.
Globally the majority of child labourers come from the poorer sections of society. Social exclusion and discrimination, a result of poverty and ethnic and gender biases, are important factors that keep children out of school and force them to work.
Every year, thousands of young girls and boys are forced into child labour and sadly, the parents of these children do little or nothing to stop this unacceptable type of abuse. Why?
Well usually these families are poor and as a result they need to keep as many family members working as possible to ensure income security and survival, even if that means giving up their children to work in harsh, dangerous and exploitative conditions.
These children are subsequently subject to abuse, both physical and sexual, from their employers and often work under conditions that are both unhealthy and potentially fatal.
This scenario cannot continue
Ending poverty and increasing access to education are therefore crucial tools in the fight against ending child labour.
In conclusion, let us all take an active role in doing our part to combat child labour by raising awareness through:
- Better access to education
- Social awareness and activism
- Legislation and proper enforcement of child labour laws
And in turn, governments need to devote resources to education so that; schooling is compulsory, of good quality and relevance, and is of little or no cost to poor families.
I hope you all leave here today being more informed and aware because my purpose here today is not to lecture you but to raise awareness. Thank you all for giving me your undivided attention during my presentation.
