Samuel Grumiau’s Post

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Today we celebrate World Teachers Day. Teachers play a pivotal role in the lives of children around the world. See this story of a teacher in Mali who brought back several child labourers to his school. Aboubakar Sadiki Keita is a teacher in Zambougou. He was trained by the education union SNEC through the WNCB (Work: No Child’s Business) project. “Before this project, when a student dropped out of school, there was no follow-up. But this is very different now.” In December 2021, Karim, 13 years old, dropped out of school. His father was poor, he wanted Karim to go to Bougouni to work. “In Bougouni I was pushing a cart belonging to my older brother to transport good such as bags water, etc. I was careful with the cars. It’s hard work, it’s tiring to push the cart. The dust raised by the motorcycles bothered me a lot. I did this work for half a day, the rest of the time I did domestic work. I worked 7 days a week,” Karim tells. Aboubakar Sadiki Keita shares how he convinced Karim’s father to let the boy return to school. “I know his father well. When I saw that Karim was not coming to school, I went to his father’s house to ask where he was. The father was convinced to bring him back to school. I had to go back three times, including once with my director, to make him change his mind. His idea was that he needed Karim for the income. After my third visit, I was able to convince the father about the value of education. He went to look for Karim in Bougouni and took him back to go to school.” Karim is happy now. “I was happy to come back to school, here I like all subjects. I am in 6th grade. Later I would like to be a minister.” The story shows how teachers play an important role in the change of mindset among parents. To have these social dialogues within the communities, including the authorities, is a crucial element in the area-based approach towards the elimination of child labour. #education #teachers #union #school #child https://lnkd.in/eR_yctcf

Great news from Malawi!  1,000 children removed from work and now back to school 1,200 students at risk of child labour prevented from leaving education All thanks to an education union project! Education International member organisations TUM and PSEUM celebrated the Week against Child Labour in Chigudu Zone (Dowa District) during the third week of August. The event is part of the union project aiming to end child labour in the area. According to Pilirani Kamaliza, coordinator of the project, “over 1,000 children were removed from work and brought back to 15 schools, while 1,200 students who were at risk of school dropout have prevented from leaving education”. What are the key factors to the project’s success? -Creating children's rights clubs in schools. -Raising awareness among parents and local leaders of the importance of education and the negative effects of child labour. Providing remedial catch-up classes for the children removed from child labour and for those who are at risk of dropping out. As part of the Week against Child Labour, TUM and PSEUM organised a Child Labour Open Day Event on Friday, August 19 at the Chigudu Sport Ground. Children performed songs, poems, and plays to highlight the importance of education to influential stakeholders including parents, Chiefs, and teachers. The event also featured an awards ceremony celebrating the winners of an art competition conducted in all 15 primary schools in Chigudu Zone. Both General Secretaries of TUM and PSEUM attended the event of August 19. In his remarks, TUM’s General Secretary pointed out that quality education is key to ending child labour and urged Dowa District education authorities to make sure that schools in Chigudu Zone have adequate infrastructure, teaching and learning materials, and enough qualified teachers. The unions were praised by Chiefs and the district education authorities for their commitment to end child labor in the area. This project is supported by Education International, the AOb, Mondiaal FNV, and the GEW Fair Childhood Foundation. #education #teachers #union #school #child

Teachers and their unions in Burundi are leading their communities in combating child labor. One powerful example is the work of the STEB teachers’ union (Syndicat des travailleurs de l'enseignement du Burundi) who have been able to secure the return to school of 223 child laborers in Rukamaru (Bujumbura province in Burundi). This was accomplished thanks to a series of trainings with teachers, community outreach about the importance of education, and the creation of anti-child labor clubs within schools. “In the past we have organized teacher training on the topic of child labor, but this time we did it within the schools, and listened to teachers’ analyses of the reasons behind the exploitation of children, and analyzed with them on strategies that work best,” explained Remy Nsengiyumva, President of STEB “The teachers who live in the area are in the best position to lead the fight against child labor. These local teachers have committed to visit the families of children who are out of school and to collaborate with school principals and local administration to get their support to enroll all child laborers in the area, about 926 children. STEB is also preparing more specific prevention actions for the former child workers who returned to school at the beginning of the school year, since they remain in the category most at risk of dropping out,” he added. This STEB project is supported by Education International and the GEW Fair Childhood Foundation. #childlabour #education #teachers

Happy International Romani Day! To mark this day, students at the Shushice School in Elbasan (Albania) organised a painting exhibition, as well as a poetry and essay reading. The students were supported in their activities by teachers trained by Albanian education unions SPASH and FSASH in the framework of a joint project against child labour. Roma children are at the centre of union work against child labour in Albania. They are more likely to drop out of school and often face discrimination. The SPASH and FSASH project is implemented with the support of GEW Fair Childhood Foundation and Education International.

In Togo, 61 children started in December to attend catch-up classes in schools in the localities of Adjendré, Tchébébé and Kazaboua (Sotouboua prefecture). They left child labour and returned to school thanks to a project developed by the education union FESEN. The 43 boys and 18 girls were working full time in activities such as farming, sand and gravel extraction, gold panning and domestic work. Their return to school comes after a series of awareness campaigns on the importance of education conducted by FESEN-trained teachers and school directors, village committees, and school clubs against child labor set up through the project. This FESEN project is implemented with the support of Mondiaal FNV, AOb, GEW Fair Childhood Foundation and Education International. #education #child #teachers #unions #school

The life of Balkissa, a 7-year-old pupil at the village school in Doh, Burkina Faso, was almost turned upside down at the end of March when her aunt came to visit her family. She wanted to take her to Côte d'Ivoire, where she works on plantations. Balkissa was at risk of being exploited for labour, like many West African children trafficked to Côte d'Ivoire. The anti-child labour project developed in Doh by the teachers' unions affiliated to EI helped save Balkissa. "Balkissa did not want to leave her parents and her school, her parents did not want her to leave either, but in our tradition, an aunt has certain rights over her nieces, the parents cannot oppose her wishes," explains Amidou Bako, headmaster of the Doh school and project coordinator. "Balkissa's mother, powerless in this situation, approached the head of the association of mothers of pupils set up by our project. She in turn alerted the school's anti-child labour club and the village committee against child labour, which were also created by our project. We were able to mobilise the whole village community to put pressure on the aunt. Thanks to this, Balksissa was able to stay in our village and to continue her education”. This union project is supported by Mondiaal FNV, AOb, GEW Fair Childhood Foundation and EI.