IT'S FANTASTIC:....10,000 children from mines join school

Geita District Commissioner Omar Mangochie

 Over 10,000 children have finally joined schools following an extensive project to remove them from the goldmines activities.

The duo project implemented by the government and private partners - Plan International Tanzania, NELICO and CODERT with the financial support from the European Union and the government of France through the Agence Francaise Development (ADF) - had managed to remove 12,187 children from the worst form of child labour.

Speaking during a plenary discussion in Dar es Salaam over the weekend, Plan International Tanzania Country Director, Jorgen Haldorsen, said the project was a compliment to the government efforts to eradicate the worst forms of child labour in the region. 

He said at least 2bn/- was spent to implement the project in eleven wards of Mtakuja, Nyakagomba, Katoro, Kaseme, Rwamgasa, Nyarugusu, Bukoli, Butobela, Nyabulanda and Mwingiro in Geita and Nyang’wale districts.

Haldorsen said exploitation of children through hazardous work is a major problem that had existed in Geita Region for many years and that the presence of small scales gold mines, weak policies and laws governing child labour, among others, were contributing factors.

He also mentioned low awareness on child rights and child protection, low income by most of the households living in mining areas and inadequate capital and technology to small scale miners leading them to employ children as other driving factors exacerbating the situation.

Geita District Commissioner Omar Mangochie said school drop-out in the district was relatively high due to economic disparities.

“The rates are higher as 50 per cent,” he said. “Public awareness campaign is equally needed to ensure all families are accountable towards ensuring that all eligible school children are enrolled in schools but not on child labour markets.”

“We won’t win the war against poverty by taking school children out of education systems,” he said.

EU representative Serena Bertaina acknowledged that the Union had been at the forehead in the fight against all forms of child exploitation, violence and abuses.

“We support the project considering that it is in line with the mission of the Union … national and international laws and policies have seriously been neglecting in this area of child labour,” Bertaina noted.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN