Zimbabwe marks success in combating child labour

via Zimbabwe marks success in combating child labour 25 November 2014 by Tapiwa Zivira

ORGANISATIONS working towards the elimination of child labour, diplomats and government officials will on Thursday converge at Masimbiti Primary School in Chiredzi to celebrate the country’s successes in combating child labour.

This will be part of the build-up to an international child labour symposium to be held in Harare next month.

The Coalition Against Child Labour in Zimbabwe (Caclaz), which is part of the campaign, has so far facilitated the return of over 1 000 former child labourers to school in Chiredzi in the last three years.

Caclaz national co-ordinator Pascal Masocha said: “We hope this campaign will raise more awareness on the successes that we have made using the child labour free zones concept, and that this may hopefully be adopted at national, regional and international level, hence the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.”
The concept of forming child labour free zones was pioneered in India where an organisation, MV Foundation, has since successfully re-integrated over a million school dropouts back into learning institutions.

The foundation has done that by setting up bridge schools where child labourers would get exceptional lessons that would enable their re-integration into the mainstream school.

Zimbabwe and five other African countries — Uganda, Morocco, Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia — are among the first to adopt the idea two years ago.

Caclaz, using the same concept, has — with the help of the community, government and other NGOs — created what they call “incubation centres” at two primary schools, Masimbiti and Uswaushava, in Chiredzi’s Ward 16.

As part of Thursday’s event, delegates will tour Masimbiti and Uswaushava Schools and interact with villagers, school children and teachers who have been an integral part in the elimination of child labour as the child labour free zones concept entails the active participation of members of communities in the creation child labour free zones.

On the international symposium, Tendai Chakarisa of the Women’s University of Africa, which is also taking part in the campaign, said: “The symposium seeks to take stock of the child labour situation locally, regionally and internationally and there will be presentations from various countries. The ultimate aim is to be able to map the way forward in ending child labour.”