CHILD LABOR IN KENYABy Sonya Das, Nolan Fahey, Vittorio Orlandi and Alicia Zhang

GENERAL STATISTICS

At the present, 3 million minors are enslaved in Kenya 10% of these children are under ten years of age

60% of the workforce in the central plantations in the Central Province are children

In 1999, 3.5 million children aged between 6 and 14 were child laborers That’s 11.4% of the population

25% of the agricultural workers in Kenya are children

THE WORK THEY DO Most of the work is agricultural

They work on tea, coffee, sugar, and rice plantations Here they are constantly exposed to harmful

pesticides as shown on the arm of the boy in the picture

Many children will work all day on farms and plantations Even those who go to school will go to work after their

classes have finished

HOW THEY WERE ENSLAVED

Poor parents give their children away for money They hope for a better life

Children with no parents are especially vulnerable

THINGS ALREADY BEING DONE

Donations are being collected Without awareness, though, little money is made

Other than this, very few are seriously pushing for justice The corruption in the government doesn’t allow

for any one politician to make serious changes Serious reforms need to be made and

international support needs to be raised

PEOPLE ALREADY HELPING

Solitary Center Works to give children education who were

forced to work on coffee plantations and supports the families

Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union Gives financial aid for education

Stolen Childhoods Organization making a documentary to raise

awareness They also take in donations to help enslaved

children

OUR ACTION PLAN: PREVENTION Our action plan involves both ways to prevent child

labor and ways to help those already being abused Prevention is much more difficult to institute because

the number one reason children are sold or given into slavery is poverty

60% of all Kenyans live below the poverty line. Most families live on less than one dollar a day so they need kids to help earn money. To prevent more child slaves in Kenya we should give

more money to the families in need. More fundraisers should be made and programs to

actually go over there and help struggling Kenyans. It is extremely difficult to simply eliminate poverty in

children but with awareness and proper funds being raised, it is possible to make a difference

PREVENTION (CONTINUED)

Another huge reason there are so many child laborers in Kenya is because the children are vulnerable

Many have no parents and no where to go and live This makes them easy targets for traffickers

Instituting foster-home organizations and orphanages would ensure that children are cared for instead of neglected, and that they will not be abused in the future

OUR ACTION PLAN: PROTECTION

Many parents take their children out of school is because they can not afford it. Public schools could be built so that more kids are able to go to school.

Orphaned children and children found on streets are vulnerable to trafficking. Adoption agencies or shelters could be made so that the children can be safe from the traffickers.

The government has been working with NGOs to shelter and rehabilitate victims

The Ministry of Gender and local NGOs work together to operate a 24-hour hotline for victims

OUR ACTION PLAN: PROSECUTION Many laws have been passed to put a stop to slavery such as the

Employment Act which outlawed forced labor. Despite several measures, though, reports of human trafficking continue. The government does not do much to end the trafficking.

In response the following was done: The Kenyan Police Training College trained the police on anti-

trafficking and child protection. A recruitment agency that was reportedly illegally selling Kenyan

immigrants to foreign countries was shut down by the Ministry of Labor.

Also, in July 2010, the Counter-Trafficking Persons Bill was signed by the president into law. It prohibits and outlaws trafficking as well as increases the previous sentence for violators.

The problem of corruption in the government is one that is very difficult to fix and yet one that needs to be solved if child trafficking is to be stopped Our solution is to have governments from other countries or large

organizations like the UN, investigate the government system and ensure that it is just

EDUCATION NPOs (Non-Profit Organizations) could also raise

money and institute public schools in Kenya Implementing public schools and education would

be a big step towards liberating the children of Kenya

Making education free would help ensure that a greater majority of children participate, thus making them less likely to fall victim to kidnappers and traffickers This is supported by evidence from 2003, when, after

public schooling was made free, 1.5 million students showed up on the first day of school

IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION It is important for Kenyan children to go to school so

that they may eventually work in more intellectually based jobs

This allows them opportunities for the future so they won’t be stuck in poverty and more importantly, there kids won’t be passed up to traffickers

Even for people like Margaret Basigwa, though, head of the National Council for Children’s Services (NCSS), it is hard to make a change She herself admitted in 2003 that “about 1.9 million

[children] of ages five to 17 have not yet been able to access free primary education because they are busy working” (Mulama).

Once again, we believe support from outside the country is essential to putting an end to this problem

RESOURCES (NGOS)

Non-government organizations such as ANPPCAN and KPAWU receive most of their funds from donations Spreading awareness of the issue

and the organization increases donations

Volunteer workers help directly in Kenya Building homes and necessities

for the city Educating children and adults in

school systems An example of spreading awareness: a magazine for youth education educates kids and parents.

RESOURCES (GOVERNMENT)

With a centralized tax system set by the government, the Kenya can help fund: Labor saving

inventions for the plantations

Public education Centralized centers

in villages Incentives for

landowners to not use child labor

Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki gives a speech

EXPANSION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION Though primary education in

Kenya is free, there are not enough facilities or resources to teach all of the children Qualified teachers coming to

work in Kenya would also be a huge help

Despite the free education, many children in rural areas were seen attending school for part of the day, then leaving to work in the fields to make money Almost 20% of the children

attending the schools were orphans, and needed to support themselves as well as educate

A crowded primary school classroom

INTERNATIONAL RATING

Kenya is rated by the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report as a Tier 2 Country

A Tier 2 Country is defined as a country that does not fully comply with the set standards but that is trying to make significant change

Reports by the US Department of State show that Kenya’s efforts to combat human trafficking have been reinforced and that they are making an impact

INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE

Use resources and assistance from international organizations such as the United Nations The added assistance

could help keep the plan organized through its execution

Assistance could also be granted from more stable and less corrupt governments in close proximity to Kenya

ACTION PLAN SUMMARY Prevent child labor by redirecting government funds

and by NGOs and NPOs raising money Increase technology and research in order to lower

the demand for manual labor Protect the children by creating more orphanages

and adoption agencies More educational facilities would also ensure better

education for the children so that they could have a better future

Even though there are organizations and laws against child labor, they are inefficient with all the corruption in the government We need to raise awareness by using the media

Prosecute the traffickers and corrupt persons in the government

SUMMARY OF RESOURCES

Centralized tax system instituted by the government which could raise money This money would be used for public education,

investigation of illegal labor institutions, and to improve technology

NGOs and NPOs could raise money and awareness in different countries

International aid from other countries with stable governments and the UN to supply resources and volunteers Volunteers would be needed to teach and help

build facilities

PICTURES

A 13 year old coffee plantation worker (above)

A worker with her younger sister on a plantation. Both are in contact with chemicals (above).

A whole family sorting coffee beans(above).

A boy gathers spilled beans to bring back to a sorting center (above)

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