Child labour

This morning I read an article on child labour in Uganda on the BBC website.  I want to give you my thoughts based on my own family history and also my experience living in South Sudan, which I am sure is similar to many other African countries, including Uganda.  You might want to read the article before continuing to read this post.

I pity the poor priests who were interviewed by the author.  Without doubt they were local men who funded their own studies through their own hard work; a huge achievement as to become a seminarian in Uganda, young men must reach Senior 6 level (the equivalent of A’ levels).  They must have been deeply puzzled to receive such hostile accusations when the children were only doing what they themselves did when they were children.

Even the author admits that the children he spoke to seemed happy.  They were not working in a sweat shop.  They were working with people of all ages, probably including other members of their family, in the fresh air.  If my experience is anything to go by, the atmosphere would have been relaxed.

I come from a northern English working class background on my father’s side of the family.  My grandmother, born in the 1890s, left school at eleven years old to work as a maid in the local ‘big house’.  That was normal in England at that time.  She had to work for very long hours and live away from home with very few holidays.  She was even moved between the family’s residences in different counties without informed consent.  Similarly, my father and his brother, born in the 1920s, both left school at fourteen and started work full time in a local factory, one as a clerk and the other as an apprentice.  At least in their case they were acquiring skills for the future.

It is likely that my great grandparents did not go to school at all, but started work as soon as physically capable in the ‘dark satanic mills’ of the north of England.  That really was an abuse of children and was the driver behind anti-child labour legislation in the UK. 

For previous British generations it was expected that in a poor family, children would work and contribute their wages to the family.  Social welfare had not been invented and families had to rely on their own manpower to survive. 

Why did children in my family start work at later and later ages?  It was due to education becoming compulsory and available to the poor.  Over the years the school leaving age increased along with the legal age to start work.  Even when I was a child it was legal for children of fourteen to work outside school time.  I did so myself in the 1970s as soon as I hit fourteen.  In my case it was not to support my family but to give me money for my own purposes.  I had a great time spending it while learning to manage my finances!

Here in South Sudan, families struggle to survive in exactly the same way as my own family used to do.  Almost all children work when not in school whether at home or outside.  They do numerous household chores as well as cultivating vegetables, keeping chickens, collecting empty plastic bottles for sale to recyclers, working on market stalls and many more activities. 

Some children use these activities to help fund their school fees, which would otherwise not be paid.

The BBC article is unclear if the children described working were doing so in holiday time, outside school time, or if the children were actually not attending school at all.  This is an important distinction.  As mentioned earlier, education is extremely important.  My own family made progress through education, even while their educational level was curtailed by work.  Even my grandmother who left school at eleven could read, write and budget very efficiently.

The BBC never misses an opportunity to swipe at the Catholic Church.  However, the Catholic Church in Africa has to be realistic.  As mentioned before, the local priests have been through the same struggles as other locals and are therefore in a much better position to show sympathy and offer help.  They know that if they do not allow children to work, the families will suffer.  At the same time, the Catholic Church promotes education strenuously in Africa and does a great deal of work in enabling young people to study both in vocational training and university.  There is a difference between promoting child labour and helping families to survive and make progress.  It is necessary to allow families to use every means at their disposal to survive in countries where it is easy to starve to death.

The BBC has also completely ignored the fact that the UK is a first world country which up until relatively recently had very similar society problems to Africa.  Most African countries are third world countries, still at a stage where the UK was one hundred years ago.  As far as I know no other country criticised Britain in 1900.  What gives the BBC the right to criticise Uganda and other African countries?  These countries need help, not condemnation.

Cece Primary School is exceptional in South Sudan in not charging school fees.  This is a way forward out of poverty for the poorest children and their families.  I have to be sympathetic and understand that the children also have to work when not in school.  This does not necessarily mean that they lead unhappy lives.  They have time to play as well (see my post on toys).  We have the saying ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.’  There has to be a balance.

As from the beginning of February the school needs to expand to cater for a Primary 2 class as well as Primary 1.  We will have more mouths to feed and also need more teachers.  When I made my appeal in December, there was very little response.  Please can I ask for your help again?  It is seriously needed.  The bank account details are Santander, account name: Ms R Mallinson, account number: 48996636, sort code 09-01-28.  Please make the reference ‘Cece School’.

I know that in the long term it is not going to be possible to sustain the school with private donations.  We are looking for outside organisations to help but this is a slow process.  In the meantime, please can I continue to ask your help for Cece Primary School to gradually lift our children out of poverty.