Despite by stakeholders in the field of child protection, many children are being forced all over the world, including The Gambia, to work.
It is evident that nowadays you always see children selling along our streets in the Greater Banjul Area, and at some of our border towns.
While some children are busy selling things like water, groundnuts, and other foodstuff, others are busy washing plates or doing some other form of child labour.
Some of the work of young people in this sector may be considered legitimate, but there are indications of considerable abuse of children in our society.
It is evident that some of these children are busy working for their parents or guardians, at a time when they should be attending school.
Some of them are exposed to a lot of risks such as road traffic accidents, human trafficking, prostitution, health risks, among others.
We are very much concerned about the plight of these child labourers, and urge the Department of Social Welfare to take note, and take necessary action based on the laws of the country.
Globally, it is reported that 215 million children are still labouring to survive, and more than half of these are exposed to the worst forms of child labour, including slavery and involvement in armed conflict.
With this statistics, eradication of child labour becomes a daunting challenge, and thus calls for collective efforts to address it.
With join efforts of government, employers and civil society organizations highlighting the plight of child labourers, the menace could be seriously addressed.
A strong and sustained global movement is needed to provide the extra push towards eliminating the scourge of child labour.
