CAMARINES NORTE, 30 MAY– Families and sectors converged as they pledged to combat child labor during the local celebration of World Day Against Child Labor in Daet, Camarines Norte.

At most 250 participants including child laborers, miners, financiers, and representatives from government units joined the 2018 WDACL with the theme “Ligtas sa Paggawa, Malusog na Batang Malaya” or “Generation Safe and Healthy”.

BAN Toxics, an organization championing for environmental justice, spearheaded the event in partnership with the International Labor Organization (ILO); Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); and the provincial and local government units of Camarines Norte.

“We at BAN Toxics, in partnership with ILO and in cooperation with DSWD and DOLE through the CARING Gold Project, are very pleased to celebrate the World Day Against Child Labor here in Camarines Norte as our organization is currently working with the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASGM) communities in the province where a lot of child labor cases are reported,” BAN Toxics Development Program Manager Ms. Sarah Marie Aviado said. “Hopefully, through this celebration, child miners and families will be given support and opportunities so that the children stay in school, not in mining sites,” she added.

For this year, the WDACL celebration aims to end child labor especially in its worst forms such as mining and quarrying. It also seeks to spread awareness of the different forms of occupational safety and hazards (OSH) in mining. Both efforts pursue to contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to end all forms of child labor by 2025.

In 2002, the ILO launched the World Day Against Child Labor to spread awareness on the problems of child labor. To solve child labor and exploitation issues in the Philippines, the organization called on government agencies and non-government entities. Among those who answered the call are BAN Toxics, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The local celebration of the 2018 WDACL is a synergy between: 1) CARING Gold Project of ILO and BAN Toxics with funding from the U.S Department of Labor, a flagship effort to eliminate child labor and improve work conditions in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector; 2) SHIELD Against Child Labor of DSWD which pioneers child labor local registry (CLLR) mechanisms to connect child laborers to government support systems; and #1MBatangMalaya of DOLE which campaigns to decrease the 2.1M number of child labor cases in the country by a million.  The organizations are currently engaging Camarines Norte municipalities Labo, Paracale and Jose Panganiban as their pilot sites for the above-stated projects. These communities are involved in ASGM– an informal sector which is characterized by gold mining activities through rudimentary techniques, minimal machinery, and heavy manual labor.

Prior to the actual celebration, the children and their parents attended breakout sessions and shared their hardships in relation to child labor and small-scale mining through story-telling, visual arts, and performance arts.  After the workshops, the organizers and participants jointly collated the outputs.  For their part, the stakeholders, comprising miners, financiers, and representatives from the local government units attended lectures on small-scale mining occupational safety and hazards.

Children participants focus on their artwork to be presented at the culmination activity.

The pinnacle of the event commenced when the child miners and their parents showcased the output of their workshops. The parents tackled education, health, and livelihood as foundations to eradicate child labor.  Meanwhile, the children performed a compelling act featuring the difficulties they experience when engaging in small-scale mining. They chanted “pagod, bigat, delikado” as they acted. Performers shouted “E dukha, ayun! E dukha, aksyon! Edukasyon!”, referring to education as the key to address child labor issues in their communities.

After the simultaneous workshops, the participants attended the culminating activity in which stakeholders from the local government units of the Labo, Paracale, and Jose Panganiban joined to deliver their pledge to end child labor in their municipalities.

The performances were witnessed by the stakeholders from the regional, provincial up to the barangay levels. In response to the families’ call for aid, they announced their pledge of commitment towards abolishing child labor in their areas. Some of their pledges include keeping their children from hazardous work and supporting programs campaigning against child labor such as CARING Gold, SHIELD, and #1MBatangMalaya.

As of now, the national celebration of the World Day Against Child Labor is scheduled on June 23. Keep posted for venue updates for the national WDACL celebration this June.