Children hold the potential for a sustainable future society. This means that society today needs to invest in having healthy and empowered children to have lifelong, intergenerational social and economic benefits. They are “a valuable resource” as former President Herbert Hoover calls them. Taking care of the future means giving the children better healthcare, education, protection, and love. Parents, guardians, teachers, governments, NGOs, and everyone in the society has a responsibility of ensuring the children are growing up in a conducive environment.
In this regard, child labor is one of the greatest dangers that millions of children across the globe are prone to. June 12, 2022, was the World Day Against Child Labor with the theme that calls for increased investment in social protection systems and schemes to establish solid social protection floors and protect children from child labor. Statistics indicate that 160 million children are engaged in child labor today. This is saddening knowing that these children are future leaders and policymakers. Some people tend to take advantage of the cheap labor from the children, which compromises their mental, social, physical, and educational development.
Even though the developing countries have reported the heist number of child labor, high-income countries have reported about 2 million children engaged in child labor. The fight against child labor is a fight for a better tomorrow. Governments and non-governmental organizations have a greater responsibility of investing in universal protection systems as part of an integrated and comprehensive approach to tackle this problem. Social protection minimizes children’s vulnerability and reduces poverty among families by reducing contributing factors of child labor. Lifecare Children & Women Empowerment Initiative has taken the responsibility of supporting children and poor families to ensure children enjoy their right to education and protection. This is a collective responsibility that society should take to give every child a better future.
