By Sathya Hem | Project Leader
March – May 2014
Striving for survival
The province of Siem Reap is one of the many provinces in Cambodia that has child labourers. Today, many people do not know that child labourers are very shocking. Children from well-off families have food, a nice place to stay, toys, and lots of love, while children come from very poor families have to work endless hours and are treated poorly. These children are underprivileged of getting an education and of developing well mentally and physically.
Brick factories in the rural areas are one of the places that children work at and some of these children live in the brick factories with their families as they do not have their own house – poverty makes them sell their home. Conditions in the brick factories meet the criteria of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for the “Worst Forms of Child Labour.” Working in hidden and unregulated industries, like brick factories, makes them more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, including working prolonged hours and undertaking risky jobs.
You might wonder why parents let their children work and the vast majority of the parents let their children work for the family's survival. Some parents who live in the factories say that their children want to work and so they let them. Parents who do not reside in the factories let their children work as they need help because they are either sick or too old to work or in debt to the bank or the Microfinance Institution.
The Project “Empower Child Labourers in Need through Education” of the Cambodian Children’s House of Peace is designed for its staff not only to provide school supplies, uniforms, and other things that the children need for their education but also to work with the poorest and most vulnerable families to empower them through provision of counseling and information. Counseling discussions covered issues relating to social inclusion, health, education and livelihoods as well as a range of social/emotional problems or disputes facing the family and their children. We have tried to educate the parents about the importance of education and making sure that their children access to education like other children in the community.
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