admin | July 3, 2017
Like this week’s Farmer story from DRC, our Script of the Week focuses on children.
It is estimated that more than one million children are forced into exploitative child labour each year. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 246 million children are engaged in child labour worldwide; 186 million of these are under the age of 15.
Some forms of work are perfectly acceptable, and can be a positive experience for children. Child labour, on the other hand, is exploitative, physically or psychologically harmful or abusive, and unfair. It robs children of their youth and their education. While some adults exploit children intentionally, others do so because they are unaware that they are risking children’s physical or mental health.
Our Script of the Week aims to raise awareness among adult listeners of child labour issues, by telling the stories of several children who have been exploited. Perhaps you can discover other stories of children in your area to add to these.
The stories of the children in this script should be read on-air by children. Work with young actors in your community who can read the scripts with expression. Have them practice the script in advance, and give them time to get used to a microphone. If possible, tape the script in advance so that you can edit out any mistakes
If you wish to develop more programs about this issue, consider a program about children’s human rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international agreement that lists the rights of children everywhere. It has been ratified by 192 countries around the world. Likewise, child labour is addressed by two ILO Conventions: the Minimum Age Convention No. 138 and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182. These Conventions have been widely ratified. If your country has ratified one or more of them, it can be held accountable; if it has not, your programs might encourage your government to take that step.