Help Eradicate Child Labor in Colombia

Our organizations has been creating child labor eradication efforts for almost 10 years, we have programs around 19 municipalities in Colombia were we create academic and extracurricular activities for children to make healthy and productive use of their free time attending activities that range from capoeira, soccer to painting and break dancing. We also have the mission to educate their families and the community about the importance of eradicating child labor.

This past 12^th of June, we commemoratedWorld Day Against Child Labor. This is a key day for our organizations because it represents the opportunity to approach communities and create awareness about the importance of education and keeping children and youth away from child labor. Our organization strives every day to give children the opportunity to have a life of learning, healthy development and happiness and informing the community about this problem is a fundamental step in eradicating the attitudes that foment the hiring of children.

With your generosity and the help of our allies, this month we worked hard to create awareness about the places and events where children are employed. We enlisted the help of local governments and civil society to create compromises to stop the abuses.

One of our biggest celebration and triumphs over child labor, happened in Monteria, a small town located on the Pacific coast of Colombia, where children and adolescents are usually forced to work during the local livestock fair- the biggest economic and commercial event of the region-.

However, this years and thanks to your generous help, children were instead celebrated in a grand “Children’s parade” where the dance group from the child labor eradication extracurricular program, Proniño- formed by children from three allied schools-, performed a traditional dance, showing off their moves to the beat of typical Colombian music, wearing big and colorful dresses!

It was a wonderful experience, the children enlivened the evening with their dances and energy in the streets of Monteria and left a meaningful message to their communities, about the importance of eradicating child labor, and making sure that everyone remembered their smiley faces and how it was important to protect their opportunities and dreams.

In 19 municipalities across Colombia from the coastal region to the mountain, School kits supplies, marches, mime shows, soccer games, and even dance competitions were held to create awareness in families, business oweners and the community at large.

Thanks to your donations, Juntos Construyendo Futuro was able to plan and  take to fruition activities across Colombia, where children had fun, learned about their rights, showed of their talents and the importance of protecting their dreams! We can’t wait to have more activities like these soon! For us the most important thing is to see how smile doing what they love and you can be part of this incredible project sharing and donating! 

Links:

• Visit our official web page!