Children and Work: Save the Children Perspective

By Magdalene Muoki- Save the Children - Kenya

20th -21st March 2014, Addis Ababa

Outline

• SC Perspective on children and work

• SC Geographical footprint

• Kenya Experience: ChP: Policy, programmes

and practice

– Strategies and key achievements

– Kenya’s legislations/policies

– Challenges

– Lessons Learnt

Children and Work

• Priority focus area for Save the Children’s child

protection work

• Guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of the

Child (UNCRC) the best interests of the child

principle, the ‘do no harm’ and the involvement of

children themselves

• Employs a holistic and integrated approach –

combining expertise from various sectors- education,

livelihood, health, CRG

• Overall goal of achieving healthy, educated and

empowered citizens

What is Decent Child Work?

• participation in work that does not affect children

health and personal development or interfere with their

schooling

• Work that contribute to children’s development and to

the welfare of their families.

• provide children with skills and experience that help to

prepare them to be productive members of society

during their adult life.

What is Harmful Work?

• Article 32 of the UNCRC which states: States Parties

recognize the right of the child to be protected from

economic exploitation and from performing any work

that is likely to be harmful or to interfere with the child’s

education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or

physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.”

SC Geographical footprints

Countries of focus for SC include, but not limited to

•Africa: Burkina Faso, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire,

Mali, Togo, Benin, Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya,

Uganda, Rwanda

• Latin America and Caribbean: Mexico,

Nicaragua, Bolivia, El Salvador, Paraguay,

Peru, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Brazil

• Asia: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Fiji, Cambodia,

Thailand

• Middle East and Eurasia: Bosnia , Herzegovina, Montenegro,

Serbia, Egypt, Jordan

ChP: Policy, programmes and practice

Kenya Experience

Children Lead the Way (CLW) program in Kenya targets

children working in khat (miraa) farms, quarries, domestic

work, water vending, coffee farms and scrap metal business

The Program aims

to empower working girls, boys and youth to become

engaged citizens and access dignified work

to protect children from exploitative, hazardous and worst

forms of child labour through prevention and withdrawal

and referral services

Children Lead the Way Program aims to ………

to build the capacity of communities and structures to

protect children from getting into harmful work and

protect the rights of working children

to advocate and engage with the government,

CSOs, children, to identify policy gaps and

review policies to support and protect children

Children Participation Strategies and Key Achievements

• Informing children about their rights and teach

them life-skills that contribute to their self-

confidence and resilience to resist exploitation

o child rights and life skills training for children

o Importantly children are taught on their rights to

education and play

o Children are informed about the existing support

structures within the communities and reporting

channels in case of abuse and exploitation

Strategies and Key Achievements…….

• Establishment and support child led

groups/organizations and peer to peer

methodologies

o SC has been supporting the African Movement of

Working Children and Youth

o Organizations/ groups for children and youth

engaged in work are successful forum

o 24 working children groups (WCGs)- 2 registered

with the MLSS&S

o Linkage of the groups to the Children

Assemblies/Parliament

Strategies and Key Achievements…….

o Peer education has been a key component and

CRCs in target schools are taking active role in

advocating for their rights and protecting their

peers from harmful work

Strategies and Key Achievements…….

• Building working children’s capacity to raise their

voice to influence national policies and practices

through collective actions o A good example is the Kenya’s Child Labour Policy

o Formation of the Government led technical

committee

o Memoranda prepared by children to policy makers

o Key principles: child participation, best interest of the

child and decent work incorporated in the policy

o List of hazardous work developed with children’s input

o Consultation with children in the UNCRC reporting

(3rd, 4th and 5th report), Basic Education Act

formulation, Children’s Act (currently under review)

Strategies and Key Achievements…….

o Children involved in research studies and feedback on

recommendations sought- (baseline, Miraa study)

o Quarterly meetings with children and policy makers

Children Voices

“Who said every work we do is bad? I have educated myself and

am now in form four in a good secondary school. My parents

passed on when i was a young boy; If it were not for the work i have

done for the last 6 years, i will be useless and on the streets

begging” (17 year old boy- garbage collection)

“Crushing stones is difficult, i hurt my fingers everyday, no one

seems to care here but if I left this work I would not get money to

buy food ” – 15 year old

“Nothing about us and for us without us” (13 year old boy) during

a children consultative meeting with policy makers)

Existing Policies/Laws related to child work/labour

• The Constitution of Kenya 2010 -53. (1) Every child has

the right––(d) to be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful

cultural practices, all forms of violence, inhuman treatment

and punishment, and hazardous or exploitative labour;

• Children’s Act 2001

• Social Protection Act- (OVC CT)

• Sexual Offences Act 2006

• Basic Education Act- age 16

• Employment Act 2007 – minimum age 16

• Tourism Act

• Counter Trafficking in Persons Act (2010)

Challenges

• Widespread cultural acceptance of work as part of

children’s socialization – hence exposing children to

unnoticed hazards

• High household poverty levels

• Non functional child protection structures (DCLCs,

AACs) to protect working children and those at risk of

entering into harmful work

• Dragging of the policy enactment (Devolved

government)- advocacy- right timing-right targets-right

packaging of key messages

Lessons Learnt

The multifaceted nature of child work calls for

•multi-level and multiple approaches (Policy & Legislative;

Action programs, functional child work monitoring and

referral system at national, county and community levels )

•Multiple approach that addresses the pull and push

factors to harmful work, including demand for (cheap)

labour, challenges in education system, household

circumstances etc

Lessons Learnt ……………

• Kenyan Government portrays some commitment

towards eliminating harmful work. However this

commitment is less translated into substantive

budgeting, programming, which have become advocacy

issues for CLW program.

• Partnerships, coalitions and harnessing of key messages

go a long away in fighting harmful child work.

• Children participation and specifically working

children has had a significant positive impact on our

own efforts.

Thank you! Asanteni!