How Can I Help Stop Child Labor Exploitation?
Child labor exploitation is a worldwide issue that touches multiple industries and millions of children. The issues are complex, and some of them will take intense advocacy in order to uproot. However, there are two things you can do as an individual to help this situation.
The first is to be aware of the extent of the problem. Two industries that are notorious for child labor intersect with many of our lives. Those are the garment/fashion industry and the chocolate industry. Being aware of the source of your goods and services is one way to make choices that either add to or take away from any companies profiting from the fragile minds, bodies and hearts of children working for them.
Being an informed consumer is a great step in acknowledging and helping address child labor.
The number one reason children find themselves in exploitive labor situations is due to poverty.1
Families all over the world are forced to make decisions for their children that most people would never dream of making. For instance, a family already on the brink of starvation may have to deny their children the opportunity for an education because they cannot afford the fees to send them to school. In the world of extreme poverty, even this is not likely to be enough of a solution for their circumstances.
They then face the decision of putting children to work, selling them into slavery or entering their child, usually a daughter, into child marriage. It is a heartbreaking situation for all involved. The parents often see no other way to avoid starvation for the whole family.
The second thing you can do to help keep children out of child labor and away from exploitive situations is to sponsor a child through GFA World. Our child sponsorship program helps children and their families in places of extreme poverty like South Asia and Africa. With a community-based approach, children and their families are given the support they need to escape the clutches of poverty.
There are typically hundreds of children waiting to be sponsored. You can view pictures of the children needing sponsorship at https://www.gfa.org/sponsorachild/. If your heart is drawn to one in particular, you can choose that child and even begin a correspondence with them, encouraging them with the Word of God and your prayers.
The program provides children and their families with needed basics such as nutritious food, medical attention, clean water and help with school. Families often even receive help with basic hygiene items and some household needs. All of this takes a huge financial burden off the parents and helps parents make education a priority for their children. Your love and care through a $35 per month gift helps children and their families escape poverty, making it less likely children will be used for child labor. Please sponsor a child today.
Learn more about child exploitation1 “Child Labor: Causes.” International Labour Organization. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.ilo.org/moscow/areas-of-work/child-labour/WCMS_248984/lang–en/index.htm.