Children in Africa <Part 2>

Imagining the tears of children the same age

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), it is estimated that 1.2 million children in the world were victims of trafficking in the year 2000, an appalling violation of children's rights.

Child trafficking is especially serious in western Africa. We contacted Messan Azanlekor, 45, working in Togo for the international NGO Plan International.

In response to our email, Azanlekor wrote that thousands of children are victims of child trafficking, bought and sold for cash. Boys are sent not only to cities in Togo, but also to farms in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria, while girls are forced to work as housemaids and are sometimes forced to become prostitutes.

Youth in Togo relate the dangers of child trafficking through a play. (Photo courtesy of Plan International)

On farms, the boys are compelled to work for more than 12 hours a day and, in some cases, they are even injected with drugs to be able to endure their long, hard days. Even when they are able to return home, many have suffered such emotional and physical trauma that their health deteriorates.

A 12-year-old student, who wishes to remain anonymous, is attending a school in central Togo and belongs to a school club which strives to protect students from the dangers of child trafficking. He and the members of his club are working in cooperation with adults to keep an eye out for students trying to leave the country for work and raise awareness of child trafficking through plays. He feels that their activities are having an impact since he has found that fewer children are being drawn into trafficking.

One cause of child trafficking is the poverty suffered by farming villages. Because the poor soil does not produce healthy crops, parents do not earn enough income to feed their children. As a consequence, they decide to sell their children or the children themselves choose to work. Some children, too, are duped into going with child traffickers.

The field offices of Plan International are engaged in educational efforts to convey the dangers of children trafficking and in vocational training projects so that children can earn money. (Takeshi Suyama, 17)

According to UNICEF, 42% of the people south of Sahara Desert have no access to clean water for drinking. Clean water comes from water systems or wells, while water from ponds and lakes is often contaminated.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) says that about half the population of Ghana must drink contaminated water due to the lack of clean water sources. Finding water underground or establishing wells is difficult work so they store water in reservoirs or water tanks instead. However, since this water is stored for long periods of time, it becomes infested with worms.

People in Ghana collect water from a reservoir holding rainfall. (Photo courtesy of JICA)

We asked Takashi Suto, 29, and Hisataka Sato, 33, working for the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), about the situation. They are currently digging wells and providing training in the management of water resources in northern Ghana.

Nimatu, 14, who lives in the village of Tolon in that area, had been collecting water from a reservoir until a few years ago due to a lack of nearby wells. But since the water in the reservoir dried up, he has had to walk more than an hour to reach a well to fetch water.

Armi, 16, who lives in the same village, has family members--his father and older brother--who contracted the "Guinea worm" after swimming in a reservoir. It was distressing for him to see his father and brother suffer the pain of these intestinal worms. Other people came down with cholera or diarrhea as a result of this contaminated water.

Moreover, because of the distance involved in collecting clean water from wells, children are then unable to attend school. So far, JICA has dug about 1,700 wells in Ghana. These wells have contributed to a decrease in the number of people who are contracting Guinea worm disease. In 2007, there were over 3,300 cases, but in 2008, the figure dropped to about 500. (Masashi Muro, 16)

According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics, about 40% of people over the age of 15 who live south of the Sahara Desert cannot read or write. Approximately 60% of children go to elementary school, but only 26% of boys and 22% of girls go on to attend junior high.

From 1990 to 1994, the nation of Rwanda suffered civil war and ,in 1994, experienced genocide. A Japanese non-profit organization called "Think About Education in Rwanda," which is located in Fukushima City, provides support to Umuco Mwiza School in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Through this organization, we were able to send email to the school.

Children at Umuco Mwiza School in Rwanda. (Photo courtesy of "Think About Education in Rwanda")

The school principal, Sinamenye Charles, 57, wrote back to tell us about the situation in Rwanda. He said that 45% of the people don't complete elementary school and, even if they do, only 10-20% attend junior high. Those that don't go on to junior high school tend to lose their literacy skills.

At the age of 15, Rwamurera Kefa, just graduated from Umuco Mwiza School's elementary school program last October. Though his father couldn't afford the cost of tuition and even found it hard to provide school supplies, the school waived Rwamurera's tuition and he was able to complete the course.

Twizerimana Germaine, 24, entered elementary school when she was eight, but two years later the widespread killing began. Her father fled to a refugee camp and the family's lack of money forced her to stop going to school. Four years ago, she enrolled at Umuco Mwiza School and was able to graduate last October.

Principal Sinamenye points out that one of the major factors preventing children in Rwanda from attending school is that parents don't clearly understand the importance of education. At the same time, access to education is also impacted by civil war, with parents losing their jobs, families becoming refugees, or children becoming orphans.

Umuco Mwiza School was built with support from the Japanese NPO in Fukushima City. Of the 223 students attending the school, 75, ages 4 to 18, are receiving their education tuition-free. (Yuka Iguchi, 14)