June 12 marks World Day Against Child Labor which was launched by the International Labor Organization in 2002.
Throughout the world today, approximately 168 million children work, many full-time. They do not go to school and have little or no time to play. They are denied the chance to be children. More than half of them are exposed to the worst forms of child labor such as work in hazardous environments, slavery, and illicit activities including drug trafficking and prostitution, as well as involvement in armed conflict. Each year on June 12, the world day brings together governments, employers, workers, and civil society to highlight the plight of child laborers and to explore what can be done to help them. This year’s theme shines a spotlight on the global need to improve safety and health of young workers and end child labor.
AMS support several local projects that provide education as a source to alleviate modern slavery. In Bangladesh, St Marcellin School works with tea garden children who would not otherwise be able to attend secondary school due to the high cost of housing and transportation of other schools. Click here to visit the project.
In Thailand, the Marist Centre for Migrants empowers Burmese migrants through support of education for employment. Because the parents of the migrant children cross the border to find work in factories that only offer low wages and poor conditions, their children are often forced to work alongside them. Click here to visit the project.