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Child Labor in Kenya: Education vs. Poverty

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Child Labor in Kenya: Education vs. Poverty

Child Labor in Kenya: Education vs. Poverty

Imagine a home so burdened with financial needs that the parents have no choice but to engage their young children in income-generating activities.

This is the reality for many families in Kenya, including Job and Nyaoka (not their real names), two primary school students who are forced to play the breadwinner role in their family.

At the Daraja Mbili Primary School in Kisii County, where Job and Nyaoka attend, many children as young as six years old are engaged in hawking and other businesses at the wee hours of the morning on market days and are still expected to attend school during the day.

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The school is overcrowded, and students are often forced to sit on the floor to quench their thirst for education.

Despite these glaring challenges, Job and Nyaoka’s situation is even more dire. They are absent from class on Mondays and Thursdays to help their parents hawk paper bags within the adjacent market.

They have to go through this to put food on the table, and their physical appearance shows fatigue and despondency.

Their father, Isaack Makori, who lives with his wife and their seven children in a single-room home separated by a dark stained curtain, says they live at the mercy of their landlord.

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Makori does odd jobs together with his wife, but unfortunately, they do not make enough money to sustain the whole family, thus the children are incorporated in the daily hawking business.

The situation is not unique to Job and Nyaoka’s family. At the school, the teaching staff makes us aware of another challenge that they face as they are at times forced to go out of their way to provide food for destitute children. Majority of the learners are unable to afford sanitary towels, cloths, and food.

Section 56 of the Employment Act makes it illegal to employ children under the age of 13, but many children are still working to support their families.

The Kisii County Director of Education, Pius Ng’omaN, says the scenario at Daraja Mbili primary school is a worrying case that needs a multi-sectoral stakeholders approach in finding a lasting solution.

The situation calls for urgent action from the authorities to help destitute families access quality education and a dignified lifestyle. Kisii County Commisiner Tom Anjere has promised to rally his troops in combing the county’s major market centers in an effort to flush out underage individuals doing odd jobs during school hours.

Education stakeholders in Kisii are now waiting to see whether the authorities will take action to mitigate the situation.

Read the full article

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