I once worked on a project of the International Labour Organization in El Salvador that addressed child labour in shellfish harvesting. The conditions faced by children as young as five were terrible. Children climbed among mangrove swamps to collect the shellfish, working in hot temperatures for long hours, smoking cigars to keep mosquitos away, and taking amphetamines to maintain their energy.
It was clear that these children were missing out on their childhood and suffering physical and emotional consequences that would last a lifetime. The project worked with the Ministry of Education to set up non-formal education centers to provide accelerated education and get children re-enrolled in formal school. Alternative income generating schemes were supported so that parents could increase their income and replace the money their children were earning.
Awareness raising was very important as well. Children’s participation was encouraged through ILO’s SCREAM methodology, so children would feel empowered to make a demand for education and proper treatment to their parents, schools and communities. Many of the children lived on an island called Isla de Espiritu Santo. Community based child protection and monitoring committees were established, and local leaders were engaged in the cause.
Like many agricultural supply chains, this one was strictly domestic. Middlemen bought the shellfish and they were sold on the menus of local restaurants and in the capital, San Salvador. Ask any Salvadoran about the shellfish, called curiles, and they will confirm that they are a national delicacy. So it was important to engage restaurants and intermediaries, raise awareness about the problem, and encourage them to not use child labour in the supply chain.
Nationally, the project made a huge effort to change perceptions about child labour. Little by little, things changed and there was a greater understanding of the hazards of child labour, and the importance of education.
I had the opportunity to return to Isla de Espiritu Santo a couple of years after the project ended and I had left El Salvador. It was very gratifying to the see that the child protection committees were still functional, the operation of the non-formal education centers had been taken over by the Ministry of Education, and according to reports from local NGOs, by and large there were no more children involved in shellfish harvesting.
先生 Benjamin Smith