Child Labor in Africa
Africa is the poorest continent on the face of the
planet, and often considered the most effected by child labor. Over 70% of the region lives and
works in extremely poor conditions. Of the 250 million children world wide, it
is estimated that 32% work in Africa. In Africa, most of the children work in agriculture. A huge scandal arose after nearly
half the chocolate purchased in the United States was
linked to children producing it in cocoa fields in Africa. “The cocoa farms are
just the tip of the iceburg,” says Jonathen Cohen, who is a researcher for the Human Rights Watch.
“Trafficking in child labor occurs
along numerous routes in West Africa, and governments aren’t doing enough to
stop it.” Girls who were interviewed by the Human Rights Watch said that they
were told to board ships bound for Gabon, where they were to work as servants
and house-maids. To rephrase what Cohen said, there is more than meets the eye
to Africa’s plight of child labor.
Child Labor in Africa
Africa is the poorest continent on the face of the planet, and often considered the most effected by child labor. Over 70% of the region lives and works in extremely poor conditions. Of the 250 million children world wide, it is estimated that 32% work in Africa. In Africa, most of the children work in agriculture. A huge scandal arose after nearly half the chocolate purchased in the United States was linked to children producing it in cocoa fields in Africa. “The cocoa farms are just the tip of the iceburg,” says Jonathen Cohen, who is a researcher for the Human Rights Watch. “Trafficking in child labor occurs along numerous routes in West Africa, and governments aren’t doing enough to stop it.” Girls who were interviewed by the Human Rights Watch said that they were told to board ships bound for Gabon, where they were to work as servants and house-maids. To rephrase what Cohen said, there is more than meets the eye to Africa’s plight of child labor.
Rural poverty in Nepal
Despite some progress in poverty reduction in recent years, Nepal remains one of the world’s poorest nations, with a Human Development Index of 0.458 placing it 157th out of 187 countries. Poverty in Nepal is a deeply entrenched and complex phenomenon. Over 30 per cent of Nepalese live below the poverty line of US$12 per person/per month. Notwithstanding declining rates of urban poverty, the problem remains widespread, with indicators suggesting a rise in rural poverty.
About 80 per cent of Nepal’s people live in rural areas and depend on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. Household food security and poor nutrition are still major concerns in rural areas, where 48 per cent of children under 5 years of age are malnourished. Most rural households have little or no access to basic social services such as primary health care, education, safe water and sanitation services.
Rural poor people generally have large families, are landless or have very small landholdings, have high rates of illiteracy and are concentrated in specific ethnic, caste and minority groups – particularly those of the lowest caste (dalits) and indigenous peoples (janajatis). Population density is variable according to altitude, surpassing 1,000 persons per square km in the low Terai region, about 300 persons per square km in the hilly regions (1,000 to 3,000 metres in altitude), and as low as 30 persons per square km in the mountains (above 3,000 metres).
Small, fragmented subsistence farming is a characteristic of Nepalese agriculture, and the average landholding is only 0.8 hectares. Life is a constant struggle for survival. The most vulnerable and marginalized groups are the lowest social castes, indigenous peoples and women.
The rural poor population in Nepal includes:
- Destitute people, such as the sick or disabled, abandoned children and displaced persons
- Extremely poor people, including illiterate or landless individuals or those with very few assets
- Moderately poor people, such as those who have small farms but are often heavily indebted
- People who are “nearly poor,” including small farmers who are at risk of falling back into poverty as a result of factors such as conflict, debt and land degradation.
Building peace and reconciliation
Poverty, lack of economic growth and increasing marginalization have contributed to political unrest and violence in Nepal. A Maoist rebellion, which began in 1996 in the remote hill districts of the Mid-Western Region, later intensified and spread across large parts of the country. More than 14,000 Nepalese were killed in the conflict, and about 600,000 have been internally displaced or made homeless. In addition, more than 2 million people are believed to have fled to India. Fighting occurred largely in rural areas, with agriculture particularly affected.
In November 2006, the government and the Maoists signed a comprehensive peace accord. In addition to provisions for disarmament and the end of hostilities, it included clauses on the country’s transformation to a multi-party democratic republic, and on respect for human, social and economic rights. A re-instated parliament abolished the monarchy, formed an interim government led by the former Maoist rebels and provided an interim constitution for the nation.
A Constituent Assembly convened in May 2008 to draft a new permanent constitution, declaring Nepal to be a secular and inclusive democracy, and the country entered into the era of “the 3 ‘R’s” – reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction. In May 2010, the deadline for drafting the constitution was extended. In November 2011, a formal agreement began the process of reintegrating the former Maoist combatants. The Constituent Assembly is scheduled to complete the constitutional and governmental formation process during 2012.
Why are Nepal's rural people poor?
Land ownership in Nepal has traditionally been concentrated in a feudal system under the monarchy. For most poor rural families, access to land is extremely limited. Almost 70 per cent of households have holdings of less than 1 hectare, and many of them depend on plots that are too small to meet their subsistence requirements. Productivity levels remain low as a result of limited access to new farming technologies, inputs and extension services.
Because of poor growth in the agricultural sector, living standards in rural areas are deteriorating and poverty is increasing. The growing population has put huge pressure on cultivable land, especially in the Terai Region, which also supports many landless migrants from the hills.
Various factors contribute to chronic poverty in Nepal's steep and mountainous areas. The rugged terrain is difficult for promoting economic activity and delivering services. These areas are also physically isolated, with poor communications and infrastructure, and they are ecologically fragile. Population pressure has led to unsustainable use of natural resources, including overgrazing and deforestation. Erosion in the uplands causes flooding in the lowlands that can be devastating to crop yields.
Nepal is prone to frequent earthquakes, as well as severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides and glacial melting, whose severity is compounded by the effects of climate change.
Who are Nepal's rural poor people?
Social discrimination plays a significant role in keeping the most disadvantaged people in rural Nepal poor and marginalized. Excluded groups include smallholder farmers, landless labourers, dalits (lower castes), indigenous peoples and women. Discrimination on the grounds of caste has officially been illegal in Nepal since 1962 but is still widespread, especially in rural areas. Members of the lowest caste are the most disadvantaged group. Many dalits work as wage labourers for higher-caste farmers.
There is a wide gap between women and men when it comes to access to health, nutrition, education and participation in decision-making. Infant mortality is much higher for girls than boys, and illiteracy is far more common among women than men. Many rural women live in severe poverty, without any means of improving conditions for themselves and their families. Within households, women often have less to eat than men. Insufficient calorie intake has led to chronic malnutrition of the infants they feed.
At the same time, lack of economic opportunity and the recent conflict resulted in many of the most productive members of households to migrate and leave the villages, and Nepal is now one of the highest recipients of remittances in the world – 310 billion Nepalese Rupee in 2010.
Despite this high level, most remittances (78.9 per cent) are used in daily consumption, followed by loan repayment. Only 2.9 per cent of all remittances are used for capital formation. As a result, more and more women have been heading households alone and taking on the burden of sustaining the rural economy. Women constitute more than 60 per cent of the agricultural labour force but have little access to land, production technology and training..
Poor families are often obliged to send their children to work rather than to school, perpetuating the cycle of poverty into the next generation. An estimated one quarter of children in Nepal are engaged in some kind of family or wage labour.
* Where are Nepal's rural poor people?
The highest concentration of poor rural people is found in the Mid-Western and Far-Western Regions. While the overall poverty rate for Nepal is 25 per cent, this figure increases to 45 per cent in the Mid-Western and 46 per cent in the Far-Western Region. In these remote hill and mountain zones, the terrain is rugged, rainfall is low and the soil is poor and difficult to farm. Agricultural holdings per household are the smallest in the country, and access to health, education, roads, telephones, electricity, water supply and sanitation services is very limited. Conflict has exacerbated the extreme isolation of these regions.
The Terai plains area has good potential for food production but is increasingly overtaxed by the needs of a growing population. The number of landless and marginalized poor people is rising in the region.
FOR MOR INFORMATION;SEARCH http://childrenstargroups.blogspot.com/
Child labour situation
Child labour remains a major economic and social phenomenon in Nepal. According to the National Child Labour Survey undertaken in 1997 ( 1 ), 1.660 million children (26.6 per cent) out of the total 6.225 million children aged between 5 and 14 years in the country are economically active ( 2 ).
- Among the 1.660 million economically active children, boys (54 per cent) outnumber girls (46 per cent) ( 3 );
- Many of these children do not go to schools (14.54 per cent of the boys and 25.96 per cent of the girls) ( 4 );
- The large part (94.7 per cent, 1.576 million) of the economically active children are engaged in the agriculture sector, mostly as unpaid family workers and partly as forced labour attached to their parents under debt bondage or similar other exploitative labour. Besides agriculture, working children are mainly involved in the services sector (27,000) and communications and transportation sector (26,000) ( 5 );
- Based on several studies conducted under the IPEC Time-Bound Programme (TBP) ( 6 ), it is estimated that there are 127,143 children working in the worst forms of child labour — as bonded labourers, ragpickers, porters, domestic workers, in mines, in the carpet sector, and being trafficked. According to the same studies, the children involved in these forms of child labour start working between the ages of 10 and 14. In addition, more than one-third of them are illiterate, and a majority are school dropouts, who have been brought to their present workplace by their parents or relatives. It also appears that they all come from landless and relatively large families. Finally, more than 80 per cent of children trapped in the worst forms of child labour have migrated for work. With the exception of children bonded into agricultural labour and children working as long distance porters in the rural areas of Nepal, the vast majority of children work in urban areas.
Factors that generate child labour in Nepal can be summarized as follows:
- On the demand side, while the society at large is aware of the ill effects of child labour, both to the individual child as well as to the nation, the existing societal attitude remains largely indifferent to it. Legal provisions on safeguarding child rights and preventing child labour are inadequate in enforcement and children continue to be hired as child labourers. In rural areas, children work mostly in the agricultural sector, while in urban areas, they can be found in almost all kinds of work requiring manual labour;
- The supply side of this is characterised by illiteracy of the parents, lack of access to as well as low perceived value of education, disharmony and diminishing family support, subsistence livelihoods that push families, particularly in rural areas, to send their children to work;
- The civil war is another factor contributing to child labour in Nepal. In rural areas, many families prefer to send their children to urban areas for fear of them being caught in the cross-fire, or becoming a victim of the security forces or Maoists. As a result, these children enter the child labour market and very often end up in the worst forms of child labour.
problem of children and women in nepalOf course the constitution must deal with the problems of Nepal. So what are the issues for Nepali children? Some of them are:
- Lack of any schooling or lack of good schooling
- Lack of treatment for childhood diseases
- Children whose mothers die giving birth to them or to younger children
- Street children
- Children abducted or otherwise affected by conflict
- Child soldiers
- Child la
bour - Children who are suspected of having committed criminal of fences and are
- Tried in courts designed for adults
- Kept in facilities with adult criminals
- Children whose mothers have been imprisoned and are themselves in prison because there is nowhere else for them to go
- Children who have no nationality
- Children who are forced into prostitution (by poverty or by exploitative adults)
- Children who are used to beg
- Children who are beaten - at home or in school
- Children who are married at a very young age
Message from the Group coordinator
Hi Everyone
Welcome to Children Star Group,
Home of the Bhutanese refugee children. My name is Lila ram Siwakoti and I am the coordinator of Children Star Group. I am from the Bhutanese refugee camp Beldangi 2 and recently resettled in the United States of America. I am studying in the 11th grade. As a group coordinator I would like to share you some of the facts about children star group.
Children Star Group is a children based common group established by Bhutanese refugee children in eastern Nepal. Children Star Group was created as a place for Bhutanese refugees to come together and help the children up to age 18 in our communities. We are made of up of youth 15-19 years old refugees primarily already resettled in different places around the world. The group focuses on the promotion of children who are made targets of civil wars, social unrest and domestic violence.
In June 2008, Children Star Group members and executive members passed a group code of conduct. Codes are divided in to four main sections. Each section described group member responsibilities and group procedure. These codes help group members to stay up to date with group, future activities and diplomacy.
In addition, Children Star Group has also raised children’s voices through social network sites such as “face book”. Furthermore, there is Face book page designed to spread children’s news. Throughout the Face book page children star Group have weekly updates which consist of a quotation, short stories and tech news.
At last, I would like to welcome people of all ages to join our cause against children corruption. United we can. Let’s uphold our mission together, and help spread the voice of voiceless.
Thank you
Lila ram Siwakoti
(CBS) Six million. That's how many people will die this year as a result of exposure to tobacco smoke - and the number of tobacco-related deaths could soar to eight million by 2030. The World Health Organization made that projection on Monday - one day ahead of today's World No Tobacco Day, which is marked each year on May 31.
PICTURES: 55 gruesome tobacco warning labels
To save lives, the organization is pressing countries around the world to ramp up their antismoking efforts. It's asked them to sign on to its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which requires implementing tobacco taxes, banning tobacco advertising and sales to minors, and taking steps to protect citizens against second-hand smoke.
The FCTC also calls for placing large health warning labels on cigarette packages - and in this respect the U.S. and many other nations seem to be doing their part. Next month the FDA will finalize its new warning labels for cigarette package and ads, months after putting forth a set of 36 proposed labels - which shocked some for their blunt messages and graphic depictions of tobacco-related health dangers.
The World Lung Foundation says that, on average, smokers see images on tobacco packs 15 times a day, adding up to almost 5,500 times a year, Reuters reported. That makes pictures "a highly effective channel to inform smokers about the dangers of tobacco," the foundation said.
It seems young people, in particular, may need to be informed.
"Every day, nearly 3,500 kids under the age of 18 try a cigarette for the first time, and 850 of them become daily smokers," Dr. Howard K. Koh, assistant secretary of health for the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, said in a written statement. "The suffering behind these statistics is unbearable and unacceptable."
Smoking causes lung cancer and emphysema and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the world's #1 killer. Every day, more than 440,000 Americans die preventable deaths from tobacco-related diseases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the health effects of cigarette smoking.
Earthquake 101
an earthquake is a sudden clash between the rocks beneath the earth’s surface. It is caused by faulting which is a facture underneath the earth. Earthquakes that are extremely dangerous and regressive occur mostly in the Rocky Mountains and hills. Furthermore, the hills and Rocky Mountains are formed by tectonic plates, and these tectonic plates push each other and crash down. In addition, it is believed that earthquakes occur every 11 seconds. The instrument that measures earthquakes is called the seismograph. It was invented by a man named Chang Heng in 136 AD from China.
Historically, there have been many earthquakes around the world that have caused many tragedies. For example, the earthquake of 1993 in India resulted in nearly 20,000 deaths and more than 30,000 people were injured.
What causes an earthquake?
As I have mentioned in above paragraph, earthquakes are caused by faulting. However, there are other important factors that contribute to the cause. For example, the underground explosions of nuclear power plants and volcanic eruptions are the causes some of the minor cases of earthquakes.
World’s Most Vulnerable Countries
There is many countries in the world which are vulnerable to earthquakes. Most of these countries are poor and abortive. According to the GeoHazards International, a nonprofit research group, Nepal is one of most vulnerable countries followed by Turkey. Moreover, it is estimated that 6.0 Magnitude earthquakes will kill more than 69,000 people in Kathmandu.
How does one survive an earthquake?
There are many resources on how to save a life during an earthquake. It is important to find a safe place to go when earthquake erupts. Educate yourself and your family about local emergency numbers, keep first aid materials in your home, and make an emergency plan of action. In conclusion, one negative impact that an earthquake can have are fatalities. It is vital to one’s safety to remain knowledgeable about emergency disasters like earthquakes to keep your family from harm.
Credit : ( This report is based on research )
Connecting Nepal.
BANKE, APR 21 - A five-year-child was abducted in Banke district last evening.Shunka Adhakari, a UKG student of Kohalpur Bagyashowri Academy, was abducted while he was playing near his home, said family members.An unidentified person made a phone call to Adhikari’s family last night using an Indian sim card and owned up the abduction.
Narayan Adhakari, father of the abducted child and proprietor of Kohalpur-based Adhakari Agrovet, said an unknown man a month ago had telephoned him and demanded money. He suspected that the abductor might be the same person.
The District Police Office, Banke, has beefed up security in the district after news about the child’s abduction spread like a wildfire.The abduction comes at a time when criminal activities are on the rise in Banke district lately.
New Source: Ekantipur Nepal.
A moving car caught fire at Srijana Chowk in Pokhara,Nepal on Sunday morning.
It is learnt that a Toyota car (Ga 1 Ya 220) of a hotel in Lakeside Pokhara caught fire while it was in motion.
What triggered the mishap is yet to be ascertained, police said.
The car has been completely gutted although the fire brigade was called immediately.
Further investigation is underway.
News Source : Ekantipur,NepalU.S secretary of the state Hillary Rodham Clinton wishes happy New Year 2068 to all Nepalese people on Tuesday 13th 2011. On her statement Clinton describe the “United States hopes that the coming year will see fulfillment of the peace process and a new constitution that will keep Nepal on the path toward progress and prosperity”. In addition, US embassies in Kathmandu have also wishes Nepali people a happy and prosperous new year.
"U.S military and Japanese force found nearly 70 dead bodies from earth quake and tsunami in Japan ", authorities announced on Sunday. According to Japan's National Police Agency 12,087 where dead, 15,552 are missing and more than 2,876 were injured. The 9.0-magnitude has hit Japan last March 2011 at 14:46 JST in the western Pacific Ocean.
News Source: CNN with Summarizing By Lila Siwakoti.
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