This is a Kidz' World

If you go to the Isla Del Sol, not only will you encounter beautiful stars, dazzling sun and a dozen donkeys, but you’ll also see the cutest puppies and babies EVER. Before you scroll onto the next post, I promise there’s no soppy ranting here, my weekend trip to Copacabana and the island was just the jolt I needed to write about the abundant amount of child labour in Bolivia.

Morales’ government has just passed a new law legalizing the employment of children. On the one hand, this doesn’t seem to be working towards a future where kids are in full-time education and people employing them are penalized by the state, but on the other hand now those children who have no option but to work can be protected by legal rights and take pride in their work, instead of being ashamed or vilified.

My belated blog entry about such an important topic highlights how second-nature it is to see a six-year-old selling sweets and cigarettes, or an eight-year-old shining shoes.

I watched a film about two young boys working in the mines in Potosi. This type of work is really dangerous in case of collapsing mines or gunpowder miss-explosions, not to mention the lack of oxygen, and the dust which infiltrates and irritates lungs. These kids had to work there because their father had died, and their mamá’s income was not enough to sustain them. In a Spanish language class, we watched a video produced by Save the Children in which many children said they opted to work with their parents to minimize the risk of being mistreated elsewhere, and to boost profit for the family company. Why do so many children work? Because their parents are employed in precarious work, and they have little other choice to help or to go hungry.

Lots of the children work in the morning and go to school in the afternoon. One little girl I met whilst walking around the Isla del Sol was towing along her llama, Ivan, and started telling me that she’s on commission for the local hotels to take newly arrived tourists straight to their door, and after all the boats have docked, she goes to school. Her brothers came rushing up to us a little later, and demanded Bs. 5 to keep walking. You have to pay Bs. 15 at the start of the hike, but anything after that and the young entrepreneurs are having you on. These kids work and study, but when do they have time to play?

Two elements could be addressed to reduce the number of kids working: firstly, children need resources to be able to go to school. Schools have strict regulations about clothes and haircuts. If the state provided uniforms, paper and pens, children wouldn’t need to save up to go to school. Listening Morales? Secondly, the nature of the work can be really damaging for the children. Working in the mine is of terrible detriment to health even if you’re a healthy adult, children’s lungs suffer, and they have vitamin deficiencies and can be poisoned from the chemicals in the metal. Elsewhere, children are paid to carry heavy sacks for shoppers in the market, which is really bad for their backs and can stunt growth. Perhaps an amendment to the law could stop children injuring themselves and impacting on their future. Judging by the number of children parading around Plaza Avaroa playing instruments and singing on Independence Day, it’s a future which remains bright and hopeful.