CHILD LABOUR - A Challenge the World is Facing - Causes and Effects

The main causes of child labour include poverty, unemployment, and excess population. Among these, poverty is the primary cause of child labour. You must have observed that poor families have more number of children, so it becomes very difficult for them to survive on the income of only one family member which is also quite less. So they make their small children their source of income. They make their children work in factories, shops, even selling items on streets. Some parents even carry infants on the streets to earn money from begging. There are very bad effects of child labour for our society, which forces some children to steal things from others in order to satisfy their daily living. Many small girls are even made to indulge in prostitution. Some percentage of child labour also comes from harassment by parents, step-parents or relatives.

Hence to eliminate this problem, various organizations are fighting against child labour by helping children and imparting education among that part of society from where majority of the child labour comes.  However, this is not enough.  I feel that poor families should be given knowledge about family planning/control so that they are not burdened by children. It would be advisable not to keep small children at home for taking domestic help in daily household chores. 

Let us all take some step in this direction so that we can bring smiles to many faces and make this world a beautiful place for a child to live in. 

This is one of the many causes of Child Labour... 

I will elaborate more when I find more interesting articles..

'Is fairtrade fair?'

Often people talk enthusiastically about fair trade, but how realistic is it to make this claim? In this world, claiming that any trade is «fair» is a big statement. Most trade systems are so arranged that it can be almost impossible for people without financial assets to take any control of trade. Faced with a prevailing world system based on capitalist «free enterprise», it is probably inevitable that the principal beneficiaries of commerce will always be those who are already relatively well off. Workers are often prepared to accept low rates of pay only because the alternative might be no income at all. Trade creates great wealth for some at the cost of poverty for many others. Today, internationally, more often than not the situation for workers remains hard and is getting worse as inequalities increase. On the other side, it can be said that the aim of fair trade is clear; to get a better deal for Third World farmers. In order to win the Fairtrade tag, the application of which is monitored by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International, companies have to pay farmers higher than the market price for their products. This means fair trade farmers are not at the mercy of the market's whims, and have extra money to invest in education for their children and other social needs. Fairtrade focuses on ensuring that farmers in developing countries receive an agreed and stable price for the crops they grow, as well as an additional Fairtrade premium to invest in social projects or business development programmes. Some feedbacks show that those farmers involved in fair trading are happy with the results. The farmers and workers involved in Fairtrade always talk about how much they, their families and their communities benefit. Yet others argue that fair trade can end up being a trap for farmers, tying them into a relationship of dependence with charity-minded shoppers in the West. Looking around us, the reality is that we can see no place where authentic «fair trade», meaning true social justice in a global perspective, has actually been achieved.  That social justice goal should certainly be the central cornerstone of everyone's aspirations for the world community. Sadly, whatever people might like to claim, justice and fairness remains a distant dream.

An awareness video about the atrocities of child labour