Day of the African Child.

Today we commemorate the day of the African Child. It is a pity that despite the vigorous campaign against child labor and oppression, the two are still evident in our community. I
will not blame anyone but instead will provide an overview of child labor.

Work becomes child labor when it is likely to harm the welfare of the child. Among the worst cases of child labor are, child trafficking, compulsory training for war, prostitution, pornography, drug trafficking among others.

In rural areas such as Murang’a County, instances of child labor have been evident in Agriculture where they pick coffee, mangos, tea and French beans. Other examples are quarrying activities, sand picking along rivers, touting, charcoal burning, hawking, ferrying of goods and fetching of water in rural hotels.

 Do not overwork your child in the name of domestic chores. There is a clear distinction between child labor and child work. Child labor is paid or unpaid work and includes activities that are harmful to children and those that deprive them of education. Child work is any activity done for the purpose of civilization and normal training of a child under the supervision of a parent, teacher or guardian. Child domestic labor on the other hand is the engagement of a child in performing domestic tasks at the house of a third party.

Now you know the difference, make sure you are not one of those engaging children in child labor.

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