“Seeing children of my age going to school felt like torture. It really broke my heart and I would always hide in a nearby bush so that no one could see me herding cattle,” said Clement Mwale from Mukwela village, Kalomo district. Clement, aged eighteen (18) dreamt of becoming a teacher after completing school but his dreams were shattered when he stopped going to school at the age of seven (7). Clement did not have a normal childhood as he took up the role of supporting his family at an early age. Instead of being in school, in 2006 Clement found himself working at a tobacco farm where he was herding cattle. He lost the important years of his life just for a paltry ZMK150 which he earned every month and would use it to buy food for his family.
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Face to Face with child labour by Tarisai Jangara
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Clement says he dropped out of school just when he was in grade two (2) as his parents could not afford to pay for his fees. Coming from a family of seven, the story was the same for Clement’s siblings. They would be enrolled in school but would drop out as there was no money to keep them in school. Clement’s two-year stint in school was characterised by absenteeism as he was always being sent away for failing to pay school fees. He says he was constantly ridiculed by other students as he never had a proper uniform.
“There were a number of times when my parents were summoned to accompany me to school but
they would never take heed. When I stopped going to school, they never said anything and just like my other siblings, I started working,” explained Clement.
However, the year 2016 brought so much joy in Clement’s life. He heard about a project which our partner, Support for Poverty Reduction in Zambia (SPRIZ) was implementing in Kalomo district focused on ending child labour. SPRIZ discovered that children under the school going age in Kalomo were exposed to health hazards by working in tobacco farms due to lack of education sponsorship. Thus, SPRIZ worked with Community Child Labour Committees (CCLC) to identify school dropouts that were working in farms. This saw Clement being rescued and sent back to school. He is now attending school at Mukwela Basic School and despite his age, he is in grade four (4). He says learning with younger pupils has not been easy but he is adjusting. An ecstatic Clement says going back to school has rekindled his dream of becoming a teacher.
This is just one example of children who have been denied their rights to enjoy their childhood, which should be eventful and full of blissful memories. Apart from Clement, SPRIZ rescued 57 children from child labour in Kalomo in 2016 and also enrolled them back into school.
SPRIZ said most of the former child labourers who had been integrated into the school belonged to families whose financial difficulties prompted them to send their children to work instead of school.
“The children, who are from poor households, were mostly working as paid labourers for purposes of supplementing their family income. The children, who were aged between 8 and 13 years, received support in form of school uniforms, shoes and books. There was jubilation as the children received the support with the visibly overjoyed parents expressing their gratitude for the support,” SPIRZ said.
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