Making things better
Aim:
Think about how the lives of child labourers can be improved.
You will need:
Props (optional).
Duration:
45 minutes
There are around 250 million children working in poorer countries around the world. Many children suffer from this exploitation, but in lots of situations it is difficult to eradicate child labour completely. Poor families may be completely dependant on the income the child earns, and the alternative may be starvation and homelessness.
It is possible to bring about improvements in the lives of child labourers, even without ending child labour completely. For example some organisations are working to help child labourers, by providing flexible schooling and encouraging employers to protect children from dangerous work.
Do a sketch of a situation before and after improvements are introduced to help child labourers.
1) In the first situation the children are made to work long hours without any breaks. For example the child could be working on a farm, in a factory, or as a cleaner. They have to use dangerous equipment or machinery without any safety equipment. They are unable to go to school, so they cannot learn to read or write.
2) In the second situtaion, an organisation has started work to introduce improvements to the lives of child labourers. They have provided a night school, so children can go to lessons after they have finished work. They run a workshop to teach employers about children's rights, which tells people children should be given breaks, they should wear protective clothing and be prevented from using dangerous equipment. Although the new situation is not perfect, because children are still having to go to work, it is an improvement.
This is a realistic scenario, demonstrating the work of many development organisations. Look at these websites for more details: