To our dear partners,

BAN Toxics is a Philippine-based non-profit non-government organization founded in 2007. The group has been focused on issues relating to  toxic chemicals and waste, environmental justice, and human rights.

BAN Toxics has worked closely with the poverty-driven artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector to promote transformative and sustainable growth. Some of the key issues faced by the sector include unsafe working conditions, adverse environmental impacts, and poverty. ASGM is also considered the primary man-made source of mercury releases and emissions globally.

Since working with impoverished ASGM communities, we have recognized the intricate link between poverty and the various social, economic, and environmental issues that plague the sector. We acknowledge that the sector’s issues cannot be solved without addressing poverty first. As such, we have worked tirelessly to address specific problems such as elimination of mercury use, formalization of the sector, lack of access to government services, such as health and education, and the presence of child labor in mines.

In previous years, BAN Toxics has helped withdraw children from mining sites. Through our partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and ILO (through the SHIELD Project), 384 child laborers in our partner community of Camarines Norte were removed from mining and were a given a chance to access education from 2017 and 2019.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected these efforts. With Filipino families losing their jobs (an unemployment rate of 46% was reported in August 2020), the children of Camarines Norte we helped were forced to go back to the mines to help support their families. BAN Toxics conducted a rapid assessment at the onset of the pandemic showed that the majority, if not all, of the identified child laborers have gone back to mining. Moreover, the price of gold in their area has plummeted from around Php1300 per gram (US$27) to just Php300 (US$6), severely affecting the income-generating capacities of ASGM families.

In response, BAN Toxics started a crowdfunding campaign to help the children. For just US$1,000, a child can go to school and receive daily sustenance for 1 whole year. BAN Toxics is hoping to raise at least US$526,000 to help the 526 children and their families in our partner areas.

We are asking for help from our global network – let’s all help the children and their families.

Donate through the following channels:

Download formal letter: http://bantoxics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Formal-Letter-Donation-Drive.docx